Topic updates

18 January 2026

PROPOSAL NUMBERS

Call HORIZON-EIE-2026-01 has closed on 20.01.2026.

148 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:

HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-02: 133 proposals.
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in June 2026.

Expanding Investment Ecosystems

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-02

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2026.1) (HORIZON-EIE-2026-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]

Status: Forthcoming

Deadline model: single-stage

Planned Opening Date: 10 September 2025

Deadline dates: 20 January 2026 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Increased foreign^[1] venture investments from funds from 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator regions and enabling later-stage growth for expansion to these regions of local start-ups from less connected and developed innovation ecosystems ('emerging” or 'moderate' innovator regions);
• Increased foreign investors’ awareness and access to the flow of local deals from 'emerging' or 'moderate' innovator regions;
• Improved foreign investors’ knowledge on regulatory frameworks and networks/syndicates to support joint cross-border venture investment in the above characterised underserved markets.
• Improved start-ups’ knowledge from 'emerging' or 'moderate' innovator regions on market and regulatory frameworks and expectations from networks in foreign 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator region to support their expansion and access to funding in these regions;
• Increased available and committed venture capital in less connected innovation ecosystems, enhancing their scale, diversity, breadth, openness and potential.

Scope:

The lack of later-stage funding and partners for expansion to foreign markets is one of the most problematic aspects of business growth particularly for the startups from less developed innovation ecosystems. In order to scale to a leading business, startups need to expand to foreign markets beyond their region. At earlier stages start-ups are typically supported by local investors and partners. However, in order to expand inside the EU they would need access to the funding from actors with presence and knowledge in these new markets. The lack of partners for expansion to foreign markets beyond their region is harmful for local start-ups’ growth and investor activity and the development of regional scale-ups, even more so for women-led companies. While the limited number of established European start-up hubs attract significant money and traction, the innovation ecosystems in other areas struggle to keep pace with fewer resources, including funds and technical expertise. In the struggle for resources, many start-ups face the choice to either forego growth and ultimately close their business or move elsewhere, while foreign investors struggle to enter new markets due to insufficient information about the market, its opportunities and regulatory frameworks.

If organised and structured, investments ecosystems should be able to attract foreign investors into “emerging’ and ‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems by raising awareness of local innovation ecosystems and their start-ups, as well as the potential of the whole region, to capital providers from across Europe. Foreign investors should be interested to support startups from these ecosystems to expand to other markets and increase their connectivity to relevant partners and market knowledge.

The action supports co-designed programmes of activities, of at least two (2) years, proposed by business acceleration service providers and/or investor networks and clubs, and/or innovation hubs^[2] located in less developed innovation ecosystems (‘emerging’ and ‘moderate’) and more developed ones (‘strong innovators’ and innovation leaders’), to facilitate the entry of foreign funders from ‘strong innovators’ and innovation leaders’ regions to less developed innovation ecosystems through activities, including at least five of the examples below:

• market orientation/introduction programmes for foreign investors, including establishment of central points of information for foreign investors providing them with knowledge on the ecosystem's establishment conditions, incentives, tax and local legislation;
• market orientation/introduction programmes of developed markets for local startups and funds, including establishment of central point of information providing them with knowledge on the ecosystem's establishment conditions, incentives, tax and local legislation;
• assistance to foreign investors during the whole process of investment, from the pre-entry stage until the exit, by ensuring support in administrative, legal, linguistic and cultural issues;
• roadshow to leading innovation hubs to showcase the potential of the local ecosystem, its promising start-ups and active local investors;
• organisation of European international business forums, conferences and events to attract and connect foreign investors with local investors;
• establishing cooperation with public and private buyers of innovative solutions and with the innovative companies they are buying from; peer-matching of investors and business angles and other networking activities to encourage joint ventures;
• a repository of best practices of market entry facilitation for foreign investors;
• a repository of best practices of market entry facilitation for startups from 'emerging” or 'moderate' innovator regions to markets of foreign 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator regions;
• a list of recommendations for local authorities and European regulators to better address investors’ entry challenges and facilitate cross-border deals.

All of these activities should be targeted to one or several of the 5 burning challenges of the New European Innovation Agenda in order to ensure more targeted and tailored match between participants and more tailored services. The 5 burning challenges include: reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity), improving healthcare and achieving circularity.

To ensure that the impact of the action goes beyond consortium members and their respective countries, it is encouraged that the consortium works closely with innovation agencies and/or similar government organisations, supporting start-ups and development of innovation and entrepreneurship from their respective territories and beyond, and seeks synergies with relevant EU initiatives such as the Enterprise Europe Network, as well as with the other projects funded under this topic.

[1] For the purposes of this topic, foreign should be understood as from a different EU Member State or Associated Country.

[2] Innovation hubs encompass a wide range of stakeholders, including entities from both the private and public sectors, as well as incubators and accelerators.

Topic destination

[CONNECT - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2025)] [

Today’s urgent challenges are inherently complex and systemic and will not be solved by individual actors or territories in isolation. Fostering enabling innovation ecosystems across the European Union (EU) requires a systemic approach that is inclusive and collaborative, involves diverse actors, institutions and territories, maximises the value of innovation to all, and ensures equitable diffusion of its benefits.

As highlighted in the European Commission Communication on a New European Innovation Agenda^[1], by increasing the inclusion and interconnection of less represented regions and actors into a more strongly integrated European ecosystem, the EU can capitalise on the experience, needs, visions, and perceptions of an increasingly diverse range of people, companies and territories. In doing so, it can also take forward a uniquely inclusive European innovation model that is sustainable, guards against substantial labour market and wage gaps, and associated threats to territorial and social cohesion.

Moreover, such well-connected and diverse ecosystems provide innovative companies with the necessary support and conditions to thrive, i.e. through additional capabilities, data, customers, knowledge, and talents. Network connectivity within and between innovation ecosystems greatly contributes to sustainable business growth with high societal value. Therefore, the actions of this destination aim at strengthening and expanding cooperation between innovation players to better support the next generation of innovative companies whose solutions will lead the shift towards a more competitive EU and a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world.

Besides stronger innovation performance, increased competitive sustainability, and more rapid transitions to a green and digital society, ecosystem integration can provide ecosystem actors and companies with access to new resources, markets, customers, and contribute to disruptive and innovative solutions. By being actively engaged in their local, regional, national, and European networks, companies can increase their overall growth potential.

This destination offers a holistic package of actions that:

• Strengthen innovation ecosystems across the EU through fostering more efficient, inclusive, gender diverse, and connected innovation ecosystems, by accelerating the development and deployment of innovation, including deep tech^[2] innovation and encouraging co-planning, co-implementation, and co-investments around European strategic priority areas;
• Ensure the inclusion of all key innovation players from across the quadruple helix^[3], and all EU territories;
• Mobilise policies, funding instruments (EU, national, regional) and fostering synergies between them;
• Improve public and private buyers’ capacity to procure innovative solutions and enhance coordination on innovation procurement initiatives within Member States and Associated Countries;
• Promote interregional collaboration and investments with a view to improving territorial cohesion;
• Ensure openness and cross-fertilisation of the innovation ecosystem within and beyond the EU's borders.

In particular, the actions under this destination should promote the creation of links:

• Ensure inclusiveness and diversity with the involvement of varied innovation actors from the quadruple helix, for example, individual inventors, industry, startups, scaleups and SMEs investors, innovation hubs, business associations, clusters, public and private buyers of innovative solutions as well as citizens and civil society organisations.
• Among ‘innovation leaders’ and ‘strong innovators’ with ‘moderate’ and ‘emerging innovators’^[4] across the EU and Associated Countries^[5] to increase innovation cohesion^[6];
• With networks such as National Contact Points, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), and European Innovation Council (EIC) communities, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), clusters and Euroclusters, European university alliances, Missions, pan-European platforms such as Startup Europe, public and private regional or local innovation actors, in particular incubators and innovation hubs (e.g. European Research Area hubs and Digital Innovation Hubs);
• InvestEU financial instruments and advisory services bridging access to finance and de-risking projects beyond their upscaling phases, or
• any other EU programme that could interconnect innovators.

Where appropriate, the applicants should consider and actively seek synergies with possibilities for further funding from other relevant EU, national and/or regional innovation programmes, including Cohesion Policy funds, the Recovery and Resilience Fund, the EU's External Action instruments, the Growth plan for the Western Balkans^[7], the Growth Plan for Moldova^[8] and the Ukraine Plan^[9], and other public and private funds or financial instruments.

Expected impact

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to strengthening robust interconnected innovation ecosystems and creating a favourable environment to promote the scalability potential of businesses, including in the deep tech sector, and more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:

• Interconnected, inclusive, and more efficient innovation ecosystems across the EU that draw on the existing strengths of European, national, regional, and local ecosystems and engage new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced innovation territories, including rural areas, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions tackling challenges for the benefit of society, including green, digital, and social transitions, and advancing the European Research Area and the New European Innovation Agenda;
• Enhanced cross-border network connectivity and inter-regional collaboration for better innovation performance in the EU with reinforced connections between more and less innovative regions building on strategic areas of regional strength and specialization to create and renew European value chains in areas most relevant for the sustainable green and digital transition and the EU’s open strategic autonomy, including the five “burning challenges”^[10] as defined in the New European Innovation Agenda;
• Enhanced capacity building, experience sharing and cooperation fostering wider implementation of innovation procurement, to shorten the time-to-market for innovative solutions that respond to concrete procurement needs and societal challenges.
• Increase innovation co-investments, fostering synergies and other funding leverages;
• Improved innovation policy coordination and networking activities of the Member States and Associated Countries through the EIC Forum.

[1] A New European Innovation Agenda, COM(2022) 332 final

[2] Deep tech is referring to technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas and results from the lab. “Deep tech” is distinct from ‘high tech’ which tends to refer only to Research & Development intensity.

[3] A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong emphasis on citizens and their needs.

[4] Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS),European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS),GlobalInnovation Index (GII).

[5] Associated countries are described in General Annex B.

[6] The work programme will act in complementarity with the “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area” work programme

[7] COM(2023) 691 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2023:691:FIN

[8] COM (2024) 470 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0470

[9] COM (2022) 233 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0233#:~:text=In%20its%20conclusions%20of%20March%202022%2C%20the%20European,assistance%20to%20help%20Ukraine%20to%20implement%20necessary%20reforms

[10] Reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity), improving healthcare and achieving circularity

]

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