Andalucía TRADE strengthens its support for SMEs and startups to attract funding from the European Innovation Council and its EIC Accelerator instrument

Maximizing the chances of success for Andalusian SMEs

For this purpose, the services currently provided to Andalusian entities through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), the European business support network, will be strengthened.

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Andalusia TRADE-Business Agency for Transformation and Economic Development It will reinforce the support services it currently provides to Andalusian companies interested in submitting proposals to European calls. Specifically, to those of the European Innovation Council (EIC) and its EIC Accelerator instrument, whose objective is to promote the rapid international scaling of companies that develop radically new products close to the market.

Andalucía TRADE, as an entity associated with the Andalusian node of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), The European business support network already had a cooperation mechanism with the EIC which is now reinforced thanks to the project EEN2EIC, focused on supporting and providing specialized advice to companies that want to apply for financing from the EIC Accelerator. The purpose is to increase both the number of proposals presented by these companies and their quality, maximizing the possibilities of success of Andalusian SMEs.

Within this initiative, special attention will be paid to the promotion of proposals led by innovative women and also, at the European level, to those that come from the so-called expanding or associated countries (those with lower performance in research and innovation, members and non-EU members).

The objective of this initiative is to help those companies that have disruptive innovations to obtain funds for their international scaling.

In addition, this project will also serve to promote those proposals that, having not been able to be beneficiaries of the EIC, have achieved the seal of excellence that the entity grants to projects that stand out for their innovative nature, offering them alternative sources of .

Launched thanks to funds from the European Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe, the EEN2EIC project will help make the European Commission's support for innovation profitable, improving the ability of SMEs to qualify for these specific funds.

The agency will support and advise Andalusian companies in the search for specific public and private financing, as well as in participating in events. e-pitching, attendance at webinars and specialized training organized by the network, personalized monitoring of their activity and the proposals they have developed and are going to present to the EIC Accelerator; promotion of SMEs among national investors and financing entities, search for individual investors, etc. In short, the entire portfolio of complementary services available to the EEN network will be made available to all of them.

All activities developed by the Andalusian node of the network within the framework of the EEN2EIC project will continue until July 2025. Currently, the Andalusian node is made up of a consortium formed by the Andalusian TRADE agency, the Andalusian Innovation and Development Agency-IDEA (in the process of integration into TRADE); the Confederation of Businessmen of Andalusia (CEA) And the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce.