EIC Accelerator pilot in numbers - EASME report available

EASME, the European Commisssion's Executive Agency for SMEs, has just published their 2014-2018 report on the EIC Accelerator pilot.

The EIC Accelerator pilot – previously known as the SME Instrument – carefully selects the best innovators in Europe and aims to bridge the critical investment gap in early-stage innovation, making the companies an ideal investment opportunity for follow-up investment from private entities. The 2019 edition of the Innovation Kitchen report presents the portfolio of successful companies emerging from Europe’s most wanted innovation funding programme for small businesses. Since the start of the programme in 2014 the EIC Accelerator pilot (SME Instrument) has helped over 4400 companies get a head start in the race to the market. The programme offers up to € 2.5 million in funding, innovation coaching and business acceleration services. More than two-thirds of the companies have placed their product on the market, since they received support from the EIC pilot. 17 companies float on the stock exchange market, 33 have been acquired and a total of € 3 billion of extra private follow-up investment has been leveraged. Over 75% of the companies funded have increased their operating revenues. Companies have also grown in size as around 67% of them have increased their headcount since the grant.

Source: EASME

Post-Brexit scenarios

Regarding the participation of British researchers in Horizon 2020 projects, UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Brussels-based UK Research Office (UKRO) is maintaining and regularly updating a factsheet providing the latest information on the current situation.

If the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified before Brexit, UK participation in Horizon 2020 will be ensured until the end of the programme and for the lifetime of projects.

In the event of a no-deal scenario, different rules will apply depending on whether UK bids to EU calls have been submitted before 31 October 2019 or after.

If UK bids to EU calls have been submitted before 31 October 2019, in case of a no-deal brexit the UK government has committed to guarantee competitive UK bids to EU funding submitted before exit, even if they are notified of their success after exit, for the lifetime of the projects.

If UK bids to EU calls have been submitted after 31 October 2019, the funding for successful UK bids will be guaranteed not by the EU but by UKRI itself, which has been appointed to administer the UK’s guarantee and post-EU exit extension. The funding then will be ensured for the lifetime of such projects, even if they last beyond 2020. The UK government is seeking discussions with the European Commission to agree the details of the UK’s continued participation as a third country.

Sources Swisscore, UKRI

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