BlueInvest Platform

The BlueInvest Platform grant opportunity is a planned call for tenders organized by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The primary objective is to enhance the sustainable blue economy by assisting small enterprises in bringing innovative products and services to market while increasing investments in this sector within the EU. The initiative aims to build upon existing efforts and will focus on several key activities: facilitating matchmaking between investors and enterprises, improving investment readiness through coaching and mentoring, supporting financial intermediaries in developing blue economy funds, encouraging regional acceleration efforts, and promoting awareness and outreach to stakeholders.

Eligible applicants include service providers with expertise in business support, investment readiness, and community-building. Consulting firms, business development organizations, and financial intermediaries targeting blue economy investments are also likely candidates. The funding type is classified as a grant for services, specifically a contract worth €6.6 million over a maximum duration of 48 months. The application process is an open call through the Funding and Tenders Portal.

The procurement process will likely consist of a single-stage submission. There are no specified co-funding requirements, indicating that the contract would be entirely funded by the EU. Although the success rates for similar EU tenders typically fall below 20%, specific information on success rates is not available for this tender.

Geographically, the opportunity is open to applicants from EU member states and associated countries. The targeted sectors primarily include the blue economy, sustainable maritime industries, environmental technologies, and services related to investment readiness and coaching. The estimated publication date for the contract notice is July 11, 2025, and an official announcement was made in the European Union's Official Journal.

In summary, this €6.6 million service contract seeks to expand the BlueInvest Platform's ability to connect innovators in the blue economy with investors, providing essential business support services and fostering investment in sustainable solutions. The open call is expected to attract a range of qualified service providers capable of delivering these services across various maritime sectors.

The opportunity is a planned call for tenders titled BlueInvest Platform with procedure identifier CINEA/2025/OP/0016-PIN. The TED reference is 99/2025 333381-2025. It is classified as Forthcoming.

The description of the call is as follows: The purpose of this call for tender is to continue and further develop the BlueInvest Platform to assist in helping small enterprises to put innovative products and services from the blue economy on the market and increase investment in the sustainable blue economy in the EU. This will build on the existing work and will include:

matchmaking and community-building between investors and companies through events, pitching, animation of an on-line community and a project pipeline;
improving investment readiness of companies through activities such as coaching, mentoring and/or fundraising assistance;
supporting financial intermediaries/fund managers seeking to increase their investment in the Blue Economy and/or developing dedicated Blue Economy funds;
supporting regional or national acceleration efforts for the sustainable blue economy innovation;
promotion and outreach to key stakeholders and dissemination of results.

The procedure type is a planned call for tenders with OJ S publication. The estimated total value is 6600000 EUR. The TED publication date is 23/05/2025. The lead contracting authority is the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), CINEA - European Climate. The main classification (CPV) is 73100000 - Research and experimental development services. The nature of the contract is services. The maximum contract duration is 48 MONTH. There is no framework agreement. The estimated date of publication of a contract notice is 11/07/2025.

A question was asked regarding where to find the procurement documents. The answer states that the planned call for tenders announces the intention of the contracting authority to publish a future call for tenders and that no other information or documents other than those published are available. This answer was published on 16/02/2024 23:54.

In summary, this is a planned call for tenders from CINEA to further develop the BlueInvest Platform. The aim is to help small businesses in the blue economy commercialize their products and attract investment. The project will involve matchmaking, investment readiness support, supporting financial intermediaries, regional acceleration, and promotion. The estimated value is 6.6 million EUR and the contract duration is 48 months. The call for tenders is expected to be published on 11/07/2025. Currently, no procurement documents are available beyond the published announcement.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call for tenders aims to assist small enterprises, financial intermediaries/fund managers, and regional or national acceleration efforts. While not explicitly stated, eligible applicants would likely include SMEs, organizations supporting SMEs, financial institutions, regional development agencies, and similar entities involved in the blue economy.

Funding Type: This is a procurement opportunity, specifically a call for tenders. The nature of the contract is services.

Consortium Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope of the activities, a consortium might be advantageous, although a single applicant with sufficient capacity could also be eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is the EU, as the call aims to increase investment in the sustainable blue economy in the EU.

Target Sector: The target sector is the blue economy, focusing on innovative products and services, investment readiness, financial intermediaries, and regional acceleration efforts within this sector.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the geographic scope is the EU.

Project Stage: The call aims to continue and further develop the BlueInvest Platform, suggesting that the project is at the development and continuation stage. It focuses on putting innovative products and services on the market and increasing investment, indicating a stage leaning towards commercialization and scale-up.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the call for tenders is 6,600,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is a planned call for tenders with OJ S publication.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive funding in the form of a service contract to further develop the BlueInvest Platform. The support is monetary, provided in exchange for services rendered.

Application Stages: The information available does not specify the number of stages in the application process. However, as a call for tenders, it will likely involve multiple stages, including submission of a proposal, evaluation, and contract award.

Success Rates: There is no information available regarding success rates.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This is a planned call for tenders by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to further develop the BlueInvest Platform. The goal is to assist small enterprises in bringing innovative blue economy products and services to market and to increase investment in the sustainable blue economy within the EU. The project aims to build upon existing work and will encompass matchmaking between investors and companies, improving investment readiness through coaching and mentoring, supporting financial intermediaries in developing blue economy funds, supporting regional acceleration efforts, and promoting the platform to key stakeholders. The estimated total value of the tender is 6.6 million EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 48 months. The TED publication date was May 23, 2025, and the estimated date of publication of a contract notice is July 11, 2025. The call for tenders will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union Supplement (OJ S). The call is targeted towards entities capable of providing services related to investment readiness, matchmaking, community building, and support for financial intermediaries within the blue economy sector.