European Innovation Council Pre-Accelerator
EIC Pre-Accelerator
Status not published
No open cut-off confirmed on the official page at the time of verification. The EIC states the next EIC Pre-Accelerator call is planned in the WIDERA work programme 2026-2027 with a EUR 40 million budget; the exact deadline could not be verified from an official page and is recorded as null.
'Individual grants between 500 thousand and 1 million EUR.' The 2025 call awarded up to EUR 500 000 per company (70 companies, ~EUR 32.5 million total). The next call under the WIDERA work programme 2026-2027 is stated to raise this to EUR 1 million per company with a EUR 40 million budget.
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) / European Commission, under the Horizon Europe Widening (WIDERA) work programme
public · supranational
Deadline: annual_call — No open cut-off confirmed on the official page at the time of verification. The EIC states the next EIC Pre-Accelerator call is planned in the WIDERA work programme 2026-2027 with a EUR 40 million budget; the exact deadline could not be verified from an official page and is recorded as null.
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Moderate — a form and supporting documents.
Who can apply
- Up to 250 employees
- Sectors: deeptech
- Stage: pre_seed, seed
- R&D activity required
- Locally registered entity required
Restricted to single SME applicants established in Horizon Europe Widening countries (listed by the EIC as including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and others), associated Widening countries and EU outermost regions. Aim is to boost capacity to later apply successfully to the EIC Accelerator.
How to apply
- Check that your company is established in an eligible Horizon Europe Widening country or outermost region. — link
- Register on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and obtain a PIC. — link
- Submit a single-applicant SME proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal when the call is open. — link
What you will need
- Proposal Part A and Part B
- SME self-declaration / evidence of SME status
Source. https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pre-accelerator_en — checked 2026-08-14
"Individual grants between 500 thousand and 1 million EUR. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, ..."