EIC pre-accelerator - Widening

The EIC Pre-Accelerator - Widening program, part of the Horizon Europe initiative, aims to support early-stage deep-tech startups located in EU widening countries. It provides financial assistance and business development services to enhance their readiness for larger funding opportunities. Eligible applicants are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps from Horizon Europe widening countries. The funding type is a grant, with a lump sum ranging between €300,000 and €500,000, covering up to 70% of eligible costs, while applicants must co-fund 30%. The projects are aimed at technologies at an early development stage (Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 5/6) and the application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline set for November 18, 2025.

The program's objective is to bridge disparities in innovation capabilities by fostering the growth of deep-tech startups. These are defined as companies developing transformative technologies rooted in advanced science and engineering, which have the potential to disrupt markets. The initiative encourages startups to demonstrate clear intellectual property ownership, a solid commercialization roadmap, and measurable milestones.

Selected applicants will receive not only funding but also access to non-monetary support such as coaching through EIC Business Acceleration Services, which aims to improve investor and market readiness.

The expected budget for the call is €20 million, with approximately 50 grants to be awarded. The evaluation process will involve independent assessments based on technological breakthroughs, commercial potential, and the overall impact of proposals. Successful applicants will also have the opportunity to pursue EIC Accelerator funding following project review. The call is designed to prepare deep-tech startups to scale up, enhance competitiveness, and secure further investment opportunities.

The HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-02-ACCESS-01 call, part of the Horizon Europe Programme, aims to increase the innovation potential of deep-tech startups located in widening countries, facilitate their access to private investments, and enhance their overall competitiveness. This call is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) with a lump sum grant agreement (HORIZON-AG-LS). The planned opening date is 12 June 2025, and the deadline for submission is 18 November 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated for this call is EUR 20,000,000, with individual contributions ranging from EUR 300,000 to EUR 500,000. The indicative number of grants to be awarded is 50.

The expected outcome of this call is to enhance the business, investor, and technology readiness of deep-tech startups in widening countries, enabling them to secure EIC Accelerator funding, attract private investment, and obtain national or regional funding through Seal of Excellence programs.

The scope of this action is focused on early-stage deep-tech startups that possess high-impact innovation technology, products, services, or business models with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones, and demonstrate a strong ambition and commitment to scale up. Deep-tech is defined as technology based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries, requiring constant interaction with new ideas and results from the lab. Deep-tech innovations deliver transformative solutions rooted in science, technology, and engineering, combining advances in physical, biological, and digital spheres, and is distinct from high-tech which is only R&D intensive. This call aims to enable deep-tech startups to develop their innovations from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 to TRL 5/6, attract investment for scaling up, and successfully apply for funding from the EIC Accelerator or other sources.

Applicants are expected to demonstrate that they have developed technology validated in the lab (at least TRL 4), possess the necessary Intellectual Property Rights to ensure freedom to operate and adequate protection of the idea, and have a clear vision on the intended pathway and route to market, including specific milestones and verifiable KPIs.

The support will be awarded as grants covering a maximum of 70% of the eligible costs, with the remaining 30% to be co-funded by the beneficiary through its own resources. A lump sum amount between EUR 300,000 and EUR 500,000 for a period of up to 2 years is considered appropriate. A Seal of Excellence will be awarded to proposals that meet the evaluation thresholds but cannot be funded due to budget limitations.

The requested grant is expected to be used for addressing investor and market readiness towards commercialization and deployment, including market research, value proposition, business case and model, prospects for growth, intellectual property protection, competitor analysis, and aspects of regulation, certification, and standardization. It can also be used for the maturation and validation of novel technologies beyond proof of concept to viable demonstrators of the technology in the intended field of application, advancing from TRL 4 up to TRL 6.

At the end of the EIC Pre-accelerator project, the technology component of the innovation should be tested and validated in a laboratory and other relevant environment (at least completed all aspects of TRL 5), and the startup should be ready to apply for EIC Accelerator and/or to seek other investors or sources of funding, to enter licensing or collaboration agreements with third parties, or other routes to market deployment.

Successful applicants and those awarded the Seal of Excellence will receive free access to the EIC Business Acceleration Services, including coaching and specific events tailored to their needs, such as improving investor and market readiness. This will be complemented by access to the EIC Accelerator Fast Track for submissions to the Accelerator program following a project review in the second half of the project.

The admissibility conditions include compliance with the proposal page limit and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and in Part B of the Application Form. Part B of the proposal, covering the evaluation criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation, must not exceed 22 A4 pages.

Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Applications must be submitted by a single legal entity (mono-beneficiary). The beneficiary must be a small and medium enterprise (SME) established in a Horizon Europe Widening country, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications that exceed all evaluation thresholds but cannot be funded due to budget limitations, as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The proposals will be evaluated by 3 independent evaluators based on the award criteria for EIC Transition Open at the first evaluation step, as outlined in the EIC Work Programme 2025. The evaluation criteria include:

Excellence (Threshold: 4/5):
Technological breakthrough: Novelty and higher performance compared to other technologies, commercial potential.
Objectives: Credibility and feasibility of technology development and maturation, credibility and feasibility of business development process objectives and KPIs.
Methodology: Timing, feasibility, minimum technological readiness level (TRL), unique selling points.

Impact (Threshold: 4/5):
Credibility of the impacts: Credibility and substantiality of expected commercial impacts within and beyond the project.
Economic and/or societal benefits: Scale-up potential, capacity to gain or create new markets, positive impacts for the European Union, Member States or Associated Countries.
Investment readiness and go to market strategy: Contribution to investment readiness, well-defined and convincing go-to-market strategy and pathway, regulatory approvals, time to market, business and revenue model.

Quality and efficiency of the implementation (Threshold 3/5):
Quality and motivation of the team: High-quality capabilities and motivation to move towards market, expertise to create commercial value and develop an attractive business and investment proposition.
KPIs and Milestones: Relevance and clarity of milestones and KPIs to track progress, identification of main risks and mitigation measures.
Workplan and allocation of resources: Appropriateness and effectiveness of resource allocation between work packages.

In cases of ex-aequo applications, priority will be given to proposals with coordinators established in a Widening Country not otherwise represented as coordinator higher up the ranking list, based on geographical diversity criteria. The method described in Points 1), 2), 3) and 5) of General Annexes Part F (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking proposals.

The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The legal and financial set-up of the grants follows the rules described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. The funding rate is 70% of the eligible costs, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, along with a standard application form (HE CSA) and evaluation form templates. Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (Lump Sum MGA), call-specific instructions, a detailed budget table (HE LS), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and various rules and agreements related to legal entities, financial capacity, and grant management.

The EIC Pre-accelerator Widening call aims to bolster deep-tech startups in less developed European regions. It provides funding and support to help these startups mature their technologies, develop robust business plans, and attract investment. The call focuses on startups with innovative technologies rooted in science and engineering, offering grants of 300,000 to 500,000 EUR to cover 70% of eligible costs. The goal is to bridge the gap between lab-validated technology and market-ready products, enabling these startups to compete for further funding and investment opportunities, ultimately increasing the competitiveness of widening countries within the European innovation landscape.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type for this opportunity is a small and medium enterprise (SME) established in a Horizon Europe Widening country. Applications may only be submitted by one legal entity (mono-beneficiary).

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a single applicant (mono-beneficiary).

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is limited to SMEs established in Horizon Europe Widening countries. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The target sector is deep-tech, focusing on high-impact innovation technology, products, services, or business models that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones. Deep-tech innovations are understood to be those that have the potential to deliver transformative solutions, rooted in cutting-edge science, technology, and engineering, including innovation that combines advances in the physical, biological and digital spheres.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity targets Horizon Europe Widening countries.

Project Stage: The project stage targets early-stage deep-tech startups with technology validated in the lab (at least TRL 4) aiming to advance their innovations from TRL 4 to TRL 5/6.

Funding Amount: The funding amount is between EUR 300,000 and EUR 500,000 in the form of a lump sum for a period of up to 2 years.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant. Successful applicants and those awarded the Seal of Excellence will also be granted free access to the EIC Business Acceleration Services, such as coaching and specific events tailored to their needs, and access to the EIC Accelerator Fast Track for submissions to the Accelerator programme following a project review.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the call indicates that Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all evaluation thresholds but cannot be funded due to a lack of available budget. The indicative number of grants is 50.

Co-funding Requirement: Yes, there is a co-funding requirement. The support will be awarded by grants with a maximum of 70% funding of the eligible costs. The remaining 30% co-funding must be covered by the beneficiary through its own resources.

Summary:

This EIC Pre-accelerator Widening call, part of the Horizon Europe program, aims to bolster the innovation potential of deep-tech startups located in Horizon Europe Widening countries. The call seeks to enhance their ability to attract private investments and scale up, thereby increasing the overall competitiveness of these nations. The program provides grants ranging from EUR 300,000 to EUR 500,000 as a lump sum over two years, covering up to 70% of eligible costs, with the remaining 30% to be covered by the startup. Eligible applicants are SMEs from Horizon Europe Widening countries with early-stage deep-tech innovations, specifically those with technology validated in the lab (at least TRL 4) and the ambition to scale up. The call is designed to help these startups advance their technologies from TRL 4 to TRL 5/6, improve their investor and market readiness, and successfully apply for EIC Accelerator funding or other funding sources. The evaluation process involves assessment by three independent evaluators based on criteria such as technological breakthrough, impact, and quality of implementation. Successful applicants also gain access to EIC Business Acceleration Services and the EIC Accelerator Fast Track. The call opens on June 12, 2025, with a deadline of November 18, 2025. The call aims to award approximately 50 grants.