Complementary blended finance from EIC Accelerator Pilot for SME Instrument Phase 2 beneficiaries

Is your SME company one of the beneficiaries for the SME Instrument Phase 2? Now known as EIC Accelerator, this EU instrument has announced a complementary blended finance to those companies that have already secured grants for their project at Phase 2. This is a great opportunity for you if need an extra financial boost to your disruptive breakthrough project to achieve its final goal.

As is often the case, many start-ups are struggling to find high-risk capital required to reach the stage where private sector investors are needed to step in. This applies to many SME Instrument Phase 2 beneficiaries, too. EIC Accelerator now offers an opportunity for such companies by making SME Instrument Phase 2 beneficiaries eligible to apply complementary funding in 2020. Equity and additional grant may be requested.

This additional funding opening up can make a big difference to innovative companies who need further investment to expand their project. The updated FAQ for the Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) Pilot details the terms of eligibility for the SMEI Phase 1 beneficiaries.

According to the FAQ, the company is not eligible in the case where the SMEI Phase 2 project is still running and the company is requesting Accelerator support for a different project which is not related to the first one. EU does not support concurrent implementation of two different projects. However, the company is eligible if the second proposal “aims at transforming the initial and still running grant-based SMEI Phase 2 or Accelerator project into a blended-finance Accelerator project, expanding its scope with new activities including TRL9 ones.”

Are you ready to look into these exciting new financing opportunities for your company? We at Spinverse are happy to share our expertise on the EU instruments to help you with your application process and business plan!