EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Call for Proposals #2

The EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Call for Proposals #2 is a European Union funding opportunity under the HORIZON-EIT-2023-25-Cross-KIC-Regional-Innovation initiative. It aims to support early-stage innovators and startups whose Management Board, Founders, or Co-Founders are alumni of specific EIT Community programs. The submission period opened on April 30, 2025, and the application deadline is June 30, 2025, at 23:59 CET. The program runs for eight months and has a total funding pool of €23,000.

Eligible applicants must be companies or individuals whose Management Board or co-founders are alumni of specific EIT programs, including EIT Jumpstarter, EIT Digital, EIT Food, EIT Health, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT RawMaterials, and EIT Urban Mobility. These applicants must be registered in one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme countries or Moldova, which includes nations such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, and others, totaling 27 eligible regions.

The program targets a wide array of sectors aligned with EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, including climate, digital, health, raw materials, food, energy, manufacturing, urban mobility, and culture & creativity. Support includes financial assistance for travel and accommodation costs for matchmaking events and the Grand Final, as well as non-monetary services like training and visibility enhancement.

The application process is single-stage and utilizes an online form, with applications evaluated on a rolling basis. The evaluation criteria consider innovativeness, market potential, external financing obtained, previous achievements such as sales or awards, and other factors. Additionally, applications that include at least one female co-founder receive extra points.

The program consists of five phases, including training on business development plans, a matchmaking event, and preparation for a Grand Final, where eight teams will be selected based on the criteria outlined. The selected teams stand a low success rate due to limited slots, likely below 10%, indicating competitive selection.

While co-funding is not explicitly required, showcasing secured external funding is advantageous. Applications are encouraged to address societal challenges through innovative solutions, contributing to the EIT's overarching goals. The program concludes with selected teams presenting their projects at the Grand Final, aiming to bolster regional innovation within the EIT ecosystem.

The EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Call for Proposals #2 is an EU funding opportunity under the HORIZON-EIT-2023-25-Cross-KIC-Regional-Innovation topic, specifically the EIT Cross-KIC Regional Innovation initiative. The call aims to support companies whose Management Board, Founders/Co-Founders are alumni of specific EIT Community programmes. The opening date for submissions was April 30, 2025, and the deadline for submitting proposals is June 30, 2025, at 23:59 CET. The EIT Jumpstarter Next is an eight-month-long program. The total funding available is 23,000 EUR. The project acronym is Cross-KIC RI, and the full name of the EU-funded project is Cross-KIC Strategic Regional Innovations Cluster, with grant agreement number 101113214.

The application process is single-stage and requires applicants to use an online application form. Applicants should emphasize the innovativeness and uniqueness of their products/solutions, the market potential, achievements to date (including sales, external investment, awards), the development stage of their startup, team description, fundraising plans, and current challenges. They must also specify the EIT Community programme they participated in. Independent external experts will evaluate the applications based on the innovativeness of the product/solution, the amount of external financing obtained, the number of sales generated, and scalability. Additional points will be awarded to teams co-founded by at least one woman. Eight teams will be selected to join the program. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis.

The competition is open to companies whose Management Board, Founders/Co-Founders are alumni of the following EIT Community programmes: EIT Jumpstarter editions 2017-2024, EIT Digital: Venture Incubation Program; EIT Food: TeamUp, Test Farms, Sales Booster, EWA; EIT Health InnoStars Connect; EIT InnoEnergy Hello CleanTech; EIT Climate-KIC ClimateLaunchPad; EIT Manufacturing EVO-R and Leaders programmes, Inno2Market; EIT RawMaterials: Lab2Market, Open Innovation Challenge; EIT Urban Mobility: Corporate Venture Builder, Investment Readiness programme, Student Entrepreneur Grant Scheme, Start for Future.

Eligible companies must be registered in one of the following EIT RIS countries and territories and Moldova: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Türkiye, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain).

Applications can be submitted by a single co-founder or a team represented by a contact person. Participation of a team is encouraged, especially if the team covers different competencies required in running a startup. A maximum of two co-founding members per team are eligible to participate in the EIT Jumpstarter NEXT program. At least one co-founding member must have citizenship in one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme eligible countries and territories.

Additional eligibility criteria include:

a. Proposals must be in English.

b. Incomplete submissions or submissions via other routes (e.g., email) will be rejected.

c. Proposals must be submitted before the deadline.

d. The company must operate within the scope of one of the main challenges which the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities tackle:

-In EIT Climate-KIC: supporting cities, regions, countries, and industries to meet their climate ambitions through systems innovation and place-based transformations. More details: https://www.climate-kic.org/who-we-are/about-eit-climate-kic/

-In EIT Digital: investing in strategic areas to accelerate the market uptake and scaling of research-based digital technologies (deep tech) focusing on Europe’s key societal challenges: DigitalTech, Digital Cities, Digital Industry, Digital Wellbeing, and Digital Finance. More details: https://www.eitdigital.eu/our-community/purpose/

-in EIT Health: New models to deliver healthcare; Facilitating the uptake of digital medical devices in Europe; Harnessing the full potential of health data for innovation; Supporting the deployment of Important Project of Common European Interest in Health (IPCEI) to address market failures. More details: https://eithealth.eu/who-we-are/our-focus-areas/

-In EIT RawMaterials: Thematical focus on Metals, Minerals, Advanced Materials & Industrial Side Streams; Technologies and solutions for improved and new mineral exploration; Digital solutions for remote monitoring, analytics, sensing, modelling, digital twins, etc.; Advanced and fully integrated exploration – smart targeting of ore deposits; Technologies and solutions for more efficient, safer and sustainable modern mining; Technologies and solutions for mineral and metal processing and for improved materials production; Improving processing efficiency by reducing resource use and/or emissions and CO2-footprint; Technology that address equipment-damage problems such as wall thinning, creep or corrosion; Technologies and solutions for materials supply from secondary sources and recycling; Cost-efficient and clever collection, dismantling and sorting of waste; Turning waste resources into a valuable raw materials feedstock for EU industries; New technologies, materials or services that make it possible to substitute or use lower quantities of critical or toxic materials in key industries; Advanced materials’ processing, incl. additive manufacturing; Solutions and business models implementing circular economy concepts; Design of products for recycling and lifetime extension; Resource efficient design of materials; Innovation to improve traceability, sustainability, and transparency across raw materials value chains. More details are accessible here: https://eitrawmaterials.eu/

-in EIT Food: optimising resource efficiency and environmental sustainability of agriculture supply, primary production, processing, storing, packaging, logistics/distribution, retail, consumer research, nutrition monitoring, and food service; developing nutritionally customised food products, addressing unmet needs and generating consumer relevant functionalities; building trust in the food system, securing traceability and auditability of food quality, safety, and authenticity, combining digital and sensor technologies to acquire and transmit information through the food value chain. In general – developing solutions that will put new products on the market, introduce new and improved commercial processes and services, and achieve Healthier Lives Through Food, A Net Zero Food System, A Fully Transparent, Fair, and Resilient Food System. More details: https://eitfood.eu

-in EIT InnoEnergy: energy costs reduction, system performance increase and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decrease, circular economy (particularly in the context of energy usage), green hydrogen, energy management systems, and energy storage. It doesn’t exclude any other innovative approaches based on sustainable energy generation, storage, or usage.

-in EIT Manufacturing: Flexible Production Systems for Competitive Manufacturing, Low Environmental Footprint Systems & Circular Economy for Green Manufacturing, Digital & Collaborative Solutions for Innovative Manufacturing Ecosystems, and Human-machine coworking for socially sustainable manufacturing. More details here: https://www.eitmanufacturing.eu/what-we-do/focus-areas-flagships/

-in EIT Urban Mobility: Active Mobility, Sustainable City Logistics, Future Mobility, Mobility and Energy, and Public Realm are the main focus areas. This is not a closed list; any idea/solution to solving city challenges is welcome. More details: About us - EIT Urban mobility

-New European Bauhaus powered by EIT Culture & Creativity: Selected ideas should propose innovative solutions that contribute to developing beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive places, products, and ways of living. The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a crossroad between art/culture and science/technology. Eligible projects may include accessible living spaces, alternative building methods that respect the environment and/or integrate cultural heritage, innovative solutions in architecture, materials and structures, design and production methods, smart infrastructure solutions, and circular and sustainable design and architecture. Proposals should focus on at least one of the three NEB dimensions: sustainability, aesthetics, or inclusion. For more details, please visit: About the initiative - European Union

e. Additional information, such as a weblink to the project, can be uploaded to support the application.

f. Required documents include: a certificate of completion of one of the programmes of EIT (listed above), an extract from the national registry indicating the company's setup date and location, confirmation of citizenship in one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme countries and territories.

g. Additional points will be given to startups with at least one female co-founder.

h. The submitted project must be exclusively concentrated on civil applications, with no intention of military use or serving military purposes. If a product/service/model involves dual-use items as defined by Regulation 2021/821 or other items requiring authorisation, participation, and support can still be considered, but a specific note will be added to ensure compliance with the relevant regulatory framework.

i. Multiple submissions are not accepted. Each applicant must use a unique email address.

j. Individuals, co-founders, and project team members are not eligible to be part of more than one submitted project at the same time and/or submit more than one project at the same time.

Financing is based on teams, regardless of whether one or two members represent the team. Team members share their costs and will be reimbursed based on invoices submitted using eligibility criteria and reporting documents. Successful applicants are eligible to receive support for covering their travel and accommodation in two stages:

1. Phase 3 – selected teams will have a budget of up to EUR 1,700 to cover their own travel and accommodation costs to attend the matchmaking for a maximum of two people, but only if this part takes place in-person events.

2. Phase 5 - Grand Final: Each finalist team will have a budget of up to EUR 1,000 to cover their own travel and accommodation costs to attend the Grand Final in person for a maximum of two people.

Key dates for Call for Proposals #2:

Deadline: June 30, 2025, 23:59 CET

Selection of participants and invitation to phase 2: July 15, 2025

Phase 2 Training on Business Development Plan preparations: July-August 2025

Phase 3 Upgrade visibility and branding and the Matchmaking Meet Up: September-October 2025

Phase 4 Preparation for the Grand Final: November 2025

Phase 5 Grand Final: November 2025

The main goal of the EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 program is detailed on the EIT Jumpstarter website.

In summary, the EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Call for Proposals #2 is a funding opportunity for startups that have emerged from specific EIT Community programs and are based in EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) countries and territories. The program aims to support innovative solutions addressing key societal challenges in areas such as climate, digital technologies, health, raw materials, food, energy, manufacturing, and urban mobility. The selected teams will receive training, mentoring, and financial support to develop their business plans and increase their visibility. The program culminates in a Grand Final where the teams present their projects. The call seeks to foster regional innovation and entrepreneurship within the EIT ecosystem.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are companies whose Management Board, Founders, or Co-Founders are alumni of specific EIT Community programmes. These programmes include EIT Jumpstarter editions 2017-2024, EIT Digital: Venture Incubation Program, EIT Food: TeamUp, Test Farms, Sales Booster, EWA, EIT Health InnoStars Connect, EIT InnoEnergy Hello CleanTech, EIT Climate-KIC ClimateLaunchPad, EIT Manufacturing EVO-R and Leaders programmes, Inno2Market, EIT RawMaterials: Lab2Market, Open Innovation Challenge, and EIT Urban Mobility: Corporate Venture Builder, Investment Readiness programme, Student Entrepreneur Grant Scheme, Start for Future.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism appears to be a combination of cascade funding and reimbursement for specific costs. Successful applicants are eligible to receive support for covering their travel and accommodation costs in two stages.

Consortium Requirement: A single applicant or a team represented by a contact person can submit applications. The participation of a team is welcome and appreciated, especially when the team covers different competencies required in running a startup. However, a maximum of two co-founding members per team are eligible to participate in the EIT Jumpstarter NEXT programme.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible companies must be registered in one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) countries and territories and Moldova. The eligible countries and territories are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Türkiye, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain). At least one co-founding member has to have a citizenship of one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme eligible countries and territories.

Target Sector: The program targets a wide range of sectors aligned with the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). These sectors include climate, digital, health, raw materials, food, energy, manufacturing, urban mobility, and culture & creativity. Specific thematic areas within these sectors are:
EIT Climate-KIC: Climate ambitions through systems innovation and place-based transformations.
EIT Digital: Digital technologies (deep tech) focusing on DigitalTech, Digital Cities, Digital Industry, Digital Wellbeing, and Digital Finance.
EIT Health: New models to deliver healthcare, digital medical devices, health data innovation, and Important Project of Common European Interest in Health (IPCEI).
EIT RawMaterials: Metals, Minerals, Advanced Materials & Industrial Side Streams, mineral exploration, digital solutions for remote monitoring, efficient and sustainable modern mining, mineral and metal processing, materials supply from secondary sources and recycling, circular economy concepts, and traceability across raw materials value chains.
EIT Food: Optimising resource efficiency and environmental sustainability of agriculture supply, primary production, processing, storing, packaging, logistics/distribution, retail, consumer research, nutrition monitoring, and food service; nutritionally customised food products; traceability and auditability of food quality, safety, and authenticity.
EIT InnoEnergy: Energy costs reduction, system performance increase and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decrease, circular economy, green hydrogen, energy management systems, and energy storage.
EIT Manufacturing: Flexible Production Systems for Competitive Manufacturing, Low Environmental Footprint Systems & Circular Economy for Green Manufacturing, Digital & Collaborative Solutions for Innovative Manufacturing Ecosystems, and Human-machine coworking for socially sustainable manufacturing.
EIT Urban Mobility: Active Mobility, Sustainable City Logistics, Future Mobility, Mobility and Energy, and Public Realm.
New European Bauhaus powered by EIT Culture & Creativity: Sustainable, aesthetic, and inclusive places, products, and ways of living, accessible living spaces, alternative building methods, innovative solutions in architecture, materials and structures, design and production methods, smart infrastructure solutions, and circular and sustainable design and architecture.

Mentioned Countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Türkiye, Moldova, France (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin), Portugal (the Azores and Madeira), and Spain (the Canary Islands).

Project Stage: The program appears to target startups that are in the development stage, with some achievements already made (sales, investment, awards). The program aims to help them upgrade visibility and branding, prepare for investment, and scale up.

Funding Amount: The funding amount is variable. Selected teams will have a budget of up to EUR 1,700 to cover travel and accommodation costs for the matchmaking event (Phase 3), and finalist teams will have a budget of up to EUR 1,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs for the Grand Final (Phase 5). The total funding available is 23,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with applications submitted through an online application form. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money to cover travel and accommodation costs. They will also receive non-monetary services such as training on business development plan preparations, matchmaking opportunities, and visibility and branding upgrades.

Application Stages: The program has five phases:
Phase 1: Application submission
Phase 2: Training on Business Development Plan preparations
Phase 3: Upgrade visibility and branding and the Matchmaking Meet Up
Phase 4: Preparation for the Grand Final
Phase 5: Grand Final

Success Rates: Eight teams will be selected to join the program out of all applicants. Therefore, the success rate is likely to be below 10%.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement. However, the evaluation criteria include the amount of external financing obtained up to date, suggesting that having secured external funding is advantageous.

The EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Call for Proposals #2 is an opportunity for startups that are alumni of specific EIT Community programmes to participate in an eight-month program designed to help them develop their business plans, upgrade their visibility and branding, and prepare for investment. The program is open to companies registered in EIT RIS countries and Moldova, and it targets a wide range of sectors, including climate, digital, health, raw materials, food, energy, manufacturing, urban mobility, and culture & creativity. The application deadline is June 30, 2025. Successful applicants will receive support for travel and accommodation costs to attend matchmaking events and the Grand Final. The program consists of five phases, including training, matchmaking, and preparation for the Grand Final. While co-funding is not explicitly required, having secured external funding is considered favorably during the evaluation process. The program aims to support startups in addressing key societal challenges and contributing to the goals of the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities.