EU ESF+ Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) strand
ESF+ EaSI strand - social economy and social innovation
Open continuously
No deadline — apply whenever you are ready.
Calls supporting social economy ecosystems, social enterprise finance and social innovation. Grants normally cover up to 80-90% of eligible costs; project sizes commonly range from a few hundred thousand to a few million euro.
You must co-fund 20%.
European Commission (DG EMPL) via EISMEA and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation
public · supranational
Deadline: annual_call — EaSI calls are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with fixed deadlines, typically a handful per year.
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.
Quick — mostly identity and bank details.
You fund 20% yourself.
Who can apply
- Sectors: social
- Stage: seed, series_a
- Locally registered entity required
Applicants are usually public bodies, social economy networks or intermediaries rather than individual social enterprises; social enterprises benefit as end recipients. The InvestEU Social Investment and Skills window provides complementary guarantees to lenders.
Source. https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/esf — checked 2026-08-14 · not human-checked