This call supports programmes that strengthen connections between emerging or moderate innovator regions and stronger EU innovation hubs by attracting foreign venture capital and enabling cross-border investment.
Actions will create market access pathways for startups, enhance investor awareness of local opportunities, and improve knowledge of regulatory frameworks to boost scale-up potential.
The initiative fosters growth of regional innovation ecosystems, expands later-stage funding options, and contributes to the New European Innovation Agenda challenges.
Objective
Support joint programmes between accelerators, investor networks, and innovation hubs to attract foreign investors to emerging ecosystems, fostering crossborder funding flows and stronger EU innovation connectivity.
Deadline
Open from 10 September 2025 until 20 January 2026 - 17h
Budget
5 000 000 EUR
Around 1 000 000 EUR per project (indicative number of 5 grants awarded)
Description and activities
Support co-designed programmes of activities, of at least two (2) years, proposed by business acceleration service providers and/or investor networks and clubs, and/or innovation hubs located in less developed innovation ecosystems (‘emerging’ and ‘moderate’) and more developed ones (‘strong innovators’ and innovation leaders’), to facilitate the entry of foreign funders from ‘strong innovators’ and innovation leaders’ regions to less developed innovation ecosystems through activities, including at least five of the examples below:
- Market orientation/introduction programmes for foreign investors, including establishment of central points of information for foreign investors providing them with knowledge on the ecosystem's establishment conditions, incentives, tax and local legislation
- Market orientation/introduction programmes of developed markets for local startups and funds, including establishment of central point of information providing them with knowledge on the ecosystem's establishment conditions, incentives, tax and local legislation
- Assistance to foreign investors during the whole process of investment, from the pre-entry stage until the exit, by ensuring support in administrative, legal, linguistic and cultural issues
- Roadshow to leading innovation hubs to showcase the potential of the local ecosystem, its promising start-ups and active local investors
- Organisation of European international business forums, conferences and events to attract and connect foreign investors with local investors
- Establishing cooperation with public and private buyers of innovative solutions and with the innovative companies they are buying from; peer-matching of investors and business angles and other networking activities to encourage joint ventures
- A repository of best practices of market entry facilitation for foreign investors
- A repository of best practices of market entry facilitation for startups from 'emerging” or 'moderate' innovator regions to markets of foreign 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator regions
- A list of recommendations for local authorities and European regulators to better address investors’ entry challenges and facilitate cross-border deals.
All of these activities should be targeted to one or several of the 5 burning challenges of the New European Innovation Agenda:
- Reducing the reliance on fossil fuels
- Increasing global food security
- Mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity)
- Improving healthcare
- Achieving circularity
Synergies and creation of links
The actions under this destination should promote the creation of links:
- Ensure inclusiveness and diversity with the involvement of varied innovation actors from the quadruple helix, for example, individual inventors, industry, startups, scaleups and SMEs investors, innovation hubs, business associations, clusters, public and private buyers of innovative solutions as well as citizens and civil society organisations.
- Among ‘innovation leaders’ and ‘strong innovators’ with ‘moderate’ and ‘emerging innovators’ across the EU and Associated Countries to increase innovation cohesion.
- With networks such as National Contact Points, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), and European Innovation Council (EIC) communities, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), clusters and Euroclusters, European university alliances, Missions, pan-European platforms such as Startup Europe, public and private regional or local innovation actors, in particular incubators and innovation hubs (e.g. European Research Area hubs and Digital Innovation Hubs)
- InvestEU financial instruments and advisory services bridging access to finance and de-risking projects beyond their upscaling phases, or any other EU programme that could interconnect innovators.
- Where appropriate, the applicants should consider and actively seek synergies with possibilities for further funding from other relevant EU, national and/or regional innovation programmes, including Cohesion Policy funds, the Recovery and Resilience Fund, the EU's External Action instruments, the Growth plan for the Western Balkans, the Growth Plan for Moldova and the Ukraine Plan, and other public and private funds or financial instruments.
Beneficiaries
Independent legal entities from three (3) different Member States or Associated Countries, of which at least:
- One (1) is established in a 'moderate' or 'emerging' innovator region
- At least one (1) in a 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator region
According to the European innovation scoreboard
Financing and activities
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021- 2025).
- Research and innovation action: 100%
- Innovation action: 70% (except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate of up to 100% applies)
- Coordination and support action: 100%
- Programme co-fund action: between 30% and 70%
- Innovation and market deployment: 70% (except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate of up to 100% applies)
- Training and mobility action: 100%
- Pre-commercial procurement action: 100%
- Public procurement of innovative solutions action: 50
Call
Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2026.1) (HORIZON-EIE-2026-01)
EU Funding & Tenders Portal link
Type of action: HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]