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Unclaimed
Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Grants

European Innovation Ecosystems - CONNECT and INNOVSMES strands

European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)

Status

Status not published

Calls are published annually. One call open at verification: HORIZON-EIE-2026-03-CONNECT-01 (technology transfer offices), deadline 22 September 2026, 17:00 CET.

Check with the funder
Amount
Not published

Grants to direct beneficiaries cover 'up to 100% of costs (Coordination & Support Actions) or 30-50% for Co-funded actions'. No single per-project amount is published on the programme page. Startups are usually not direct beneficiaries: they benefit indirectly through cascade grants (financial support to third parties) redistributed by the funded intermediaries.

Funder

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), under Horizon Europe

public · supranational

Deadline: One call a year — Calls are published annually. One call open at verification: HORIZON-EIE-2026-03-CONNECT-01 (technology transfer offices), deadline 22 September 2026, 17:00 CET.

Your odds
Not published

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.

Effort
moderate

Moderate — a form and supporting documents.

Who can apply

Direct beneficiaries are 'national or regional innovation agencies, funding bodies, higher education institutions, research & technology organisations' and other intermediaries; 'Companies benefit indirectly through cascade grants'. This is a common trap for aggregators: EIE call pages are not startup application routes.

How to apply

  1. Identify the relevant EIE strand (CONNECT for interconnected ecosystems; INNOVSMES, the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs, delivering Eurostars, Innowwide and Fast Track to EIC). — link
  2. As a startup, look for cascade funding open calls run by EIE-funded projects rather than applying directly. — link
  3. As an intermediary (agency, university, RTO), submit a consortium proposal via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. — link

What you will need

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · The EIC Accelerator, explained

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://eismea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/european-innovation-ecosystems_en

"aims to create more connected, inclusive, and efficient innovation ecosystems and support the scaling of companies ... up to 100% of costs (Coordination & Support Actions) or 30–50% for Co-funded actions"

Verified on 14 August 2026

Source: eismea.ec.europa.eu

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Paid, separate from Unclaimed

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