Skip to content
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

Closed for now

The funder has not said when this reopens.

Opens soon
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 — Work Programme 2026-2027 in force. The 'European Startup and Scaleup Hubs' call will open in October 2026. Beneficiaries are mainly innovation intermediaries, not individual startups.

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"

Last checked against the official page on 5 October 2026

Source: eismea.ec.europa.eu

Report an error Something wrong or out of date? Tell us.

Similar programmes

Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3)

Closes in 31 days

European Commission (EISMEA), European Regional Development Fund

European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges

Closes in 16 days

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

European Innovation Council Pathfinder

Closes in 16 days

European Innovation Council (European Commission / EISMEA)

European Innovation Council Accelerator

Closes in 23 days

European Innovation Council (European Commission / EISMEA)

EIC Accelerator Challenges (thematic calls)

Closes in 23 days

European Innovation Council (EISMEA) / European Commission

Creative Europe Culture strand

Usually opens in October and January

European Commission (EACEA), Creative Europe

Paid, separate from Unclaimed

Want a human to review your application?

Involve Consulting can help — a paid expert-review service run by the same person behind Unclaimed, entirely separate from this free check. A flat fee, agreed up front; never a cut of what you receive.

Talk to Involve Consulting