Program guide
How to apply to EIC Accelerator
EU flagship funding for startups and SMEs with breakthrough innovations, combining a grant of up to €2.5M with optional equity of up to €10M from the EIC Fund, plus coaching and business acceleration services.
Step by step
- Check that you are eligibleThe published rules: Open to founders; Startups/SMEs established in EU member states or Horizon Europe associated countries; UK applicants may apply for grant only.
- Gather the materialsYou will need: Project proposal, Pitch deck, Financial summary.
- Write the answersSay what the company does in one plain sentence at the top; if a reviewer can't repeat it, the rest is read less closely.
- Submit on the official pageApply through the official page (Eu funding tenders portal), and keep the confirmation.
- Follow upNote when results are due. If the organiser invites questions, ask once, briefly, after the date has passed.
Timeline
- 21 days before the deadlineUpdate deck and numbersRefresh the deck, key metrics and the one-sentence description of the company.
- 14 days before the deadlineDraft the answersAnswer every question plainly, with numbers you can verify.
- 7 days before the deadlineRecord and reviewRecord the video if one is asked for, and have someone outside the team read the answers.
- 2 days before the deadlineSubmitSubmit early; some programs review applications as they arrive.
Questions you will meet, answered honestly
Describe what your company does in one sentence.
Who it is for and what it does for them, without adjectives. “Payroll software for restaurants with under 50 staff” beats “a revolutionary platform”.
Why now, and why your team?
Point to something that changed (a regulation, a technology, a cost) and to what each founder has done that fits the problem. Don't claim expertise you can't show.
What reviewers of accelerators look for
- Say what the company does in one plain sentence at the top; if a reviewer can't repeat it, the rest is read less closely.
- Show progress with numbers you can verify (users, revenue, pilots, retention) and when they changed.
- Check the terms first: the equity taken, the amount invested and any relocation requirement are on the program's own page.
How Onward Scout helps
This one is submitted on the organiser's own site, behind your login. Onward Scout prepares every answer and file in the form's order with one-tap copy, so submitting takes minutes; you mark it submitted when you're done.
Let Onward Scout prepare your EIC Accelerator application
Get a pitch deck and a one-pager for this programme, drafted from what you already have in about two minutes. Free to start, no account needed. Every answer is drafted from your own documents with sources, and nothing is submitted without your tap.
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