EUROPEAN UNION · GRANT AND FUNDING ACCESS
€2.5 million. Nothing to pay back.
Europe does not have one programme, it has dozens. We scan them, find the one that fits your company, build the file and run the application. The best known is the EIC Accelerator: a non-dilutive grant of up to €2.5 million with an optional €1 to €10 million investment on top. Türkiye has been fully associated to Horizon Europe since 2021, so a company incorporated in Türkiye applies at the same door as a German or French one.
A two-minute test. No sign-up.
First, see which programmes you qualify for- €95.5bn
- Horizon Europe's total budget, 2021–2027
- €1.4bn
- The EIC's 2026 budget alone
- €2.5m
- EIC Accelerator grant ceiling, no equity taken
- 2021
- Türkiye fully associated to Horizon Europe
WHAT MOST FOUNDERS DO NOT KNOW
This door is open to companies in Türkiye.
Same door, same terms. The difference is the file.
It is on the European Commission's own page: Türkiye has been fully associated to Horizon Europe since January 2021. In practice that means a company incorporated in Türkiye applies to the EIC Accelerator on the same terms as one in an EU member state. No separate quota, no second-class status.
Even without a company yet the door is not shut: the programme accepts individuals intending to found an SME.
And still, in the last round the money went largely to Germany, Spain, France and Sweden. Not because the technology is better there, but because companies there know this door exists and know how to build the file.
The EIC's official pageWHAT EUROPE HAS
The EIC Accelerator is one of them. We look at all of them.
Horizon Europe's budget for 2021–2027 is €95.5 billion. Not all of it goes to companies; most of it funds universities and research consortia. But the part set aside for start-ups and SMEs alone came to €1.4 billion in 2026. The problem is not finding the money. It is finding the door that fits you.
€95.5 billion
Horizon Europe, 2021–2027 in total
€1.4 billion
The EIC's 2026 budget on its own
EIC AcceleratorBest known
European Innovation Council
€634m
Grant up to €2.5m + €1–10m investment
A single company, a working prototype, TRL 6–8. Most of this page is about this one.
EIC Pathfinder
European Innovation Council
€262m
Grant up to €4m
Earlier stage: for proving the idea itself while the technology is still in the lab.
EIC Transition
European Innovation Council
€100m
Grant up to €2.5m
From lab to market. Where you look when you have a research result but not yet a product.
EIC STEP Scale Up
European Innovation Council
€300m
€10–30m investment
Direct equity at growth-round scale, for companies after an investor rather than a grant.
Eurostars
Eureka · TÜBİTAK 1709 in Türkiye
From national budgets
R&D funding through TÜBİTAK
R&D projects run with a partner in another country. Türkiye is a member of the programme.
Figures from the EIC's 2026 work programme. The list is not closed: which calls are open, and which one you fit, is checked for each company before a word of the application is written.
FUNDING WIZARD
Which European programmes do you qualify for?
Answer seven questions and we match your profile against verified programmes in the Gulf, Europe and Türkiye. See the programmes you can apply to and the total you could receive, right away.
- 7 questions · 2 minutes
- 27 verified programmes
- Every record with its official source
Free, no sign-up.
LET'S SETTLE THIS FIRST
This money is not given to an idea.
What the EIC looks for is specific: a working prototype and a genuinely novel technology. The money is there to take it to market within two years. Applying to a programme you do not qualify for is not just a rejection; it goes on record.
Worth talking about
- You have a working prototypeThe programme funds TRL 6 to 8: technology you can demonstrate working outside the lab, in a relevant environment.
- The technology is genuinely newNot a cheaper version of an existing solution, but something that counts as a scientific or technological step change.
- A two-year route to marketThe grant is a lump sum tied to a 24-month implementation plan.
- You have a company, or will have oneStart-ups, SMEs and small mid-caps, or a person intending to found an SME.
Not this file, not yet
- If you are still at the idea stageHowever good the deck, without a working prototype the screening ends at the first step.
- If the product is new but the technology is notA good application or a business-model innovation is not enough on its own; the programme is looking for a technological step change.
- If you are a consultancy or a service businessWithout a technology product that scales, this is not the right door for you.
THE NUMBERS
Three stages, and each one cuts.
The EIC publishes the outcome of every round, so these are not estimates. In the October 2025 round, of 923 companies that filed a full application, 121 were invited to the jury interview and 61 were funded.
923 full applications
121 interviews
61 companies funded
6.6%
The October 2025 round, from the EIC's own announcement. The winners announced in February 2026 came from 17 countries, most of them Germany, Spain, France and Sweden.
12 pages, 10 slides, 3 minutes
Four evaluators read it and the result comes back within four to six weeks. This stage is continuously open; you submit when you are ready.
- A 12-page form
- A deck of up to 10 slides
- A video of up to 3 minutes
20 pages and every annex
Those who pass file a full application at one of the fixed cut-offs. The weight of the work sits here: implementation plan, financials, letters of intent and a freedom-to-operate analysis.
- A 20-page form
- Implementation plan and financials
- Letters of intent
- Freedom-to-operate analysis
A real jury, in front of you
Roughly two and a half times the budget in best applications is invited. You have to defend the file yourself, and if someone else wrote the pitch it shows at this stage.
- Founder pitch
- Technical and commercial defence
- Questions and answers
THE SHORTCUT
A TÜBİTAK grant can let you skip the first stage.
SMEs at TRL 6 or above that have held a TÜBİTAK 1501, 1507 or 1707 grant can skip the short proposal and go straight to the full application while TÜBİTAK's plug-in call is open. That saves months of calendar.
The call is not always open and places are limited. If these grants are in your history, it is the first thing we check.
- TÜBİTAK 1501
- TÜBİTAK 1507
- TÜBİTAK 1707
- TRL 6+
WHAT WE DO
We build the file and run the application.
The same spine as the Gulf side: the file first, then the right programme, then the application and the follow-up. What changes is what the file is built against.
- 01Weeks 1 and 2
The company and rights file
Company structure, cap table, founder agreements. We check that the code, the brand and the patents really sit with the company. This is exactly where the EIC asks for a freedom-to-operate analysis, and a file assembled after the fact does not survive that question.
Output
A list of gaps and the plan to close them
- 02Week 3
The right call and the right round
The open call or one of that year's Challenge topics? Where does your TRL actually sit, should you ask for the grant or blended finance, and is the TÜBİTAK plug-in route open to you? These are decided before a word of the application is written.
Output
The target call, the target round and the reasoning
- 03Week 4 onwards
Short proposal, full proposal, interview
We prepare the form, the deck and the video together. When the short proposal comes back we move to the full file, and if you are invited we rehearse the interview. You will be the one defending it, so the file is built in a way you can actually tell.
Output
A submitted application and a follow-up calendar
THE CALENDAR
The short proposal is always open; the full one has rounds.
There is no deadline on the short proposal: you send it when you are ready and the result comes back within four to six weeks.
Plainly: a company starting today will not realistically make the 4 November round, because the short proposal takes four to six weeks to come back. The 2027 dates are not published yet. The right move is to file the short proposal now and be ready for the first round of 2027.
Full-application cut-offs for 2026:
- 7 January 2026passed
- 4 March 2026passed
- 6 May 2026passed
- 8 July 2026passed
- 2 September 2026passed
- 4 November 2026last round of the year
THE GULF OR EUROPE
One file will not serve both.
The same company can apply to either, but the two sides look at different things first. A two-minute test shows which one fits you.
Europe comes first
- Your technology is a scientific or technical step change
- You have a working prototype but no revenue yet
- You want money without giving up equity
- You want to run it from Türkiye without relocating the team
The Gulf comes first
- You have revenue and paying customers
- You are genuinely considering a presence in the region
- You want a faster decision and a shorter process
- You want market and customer access alongside the investment
Frequently asked
First, let us see whether you qualify.
A two-minute test shows which side your company is ready for. If you qualify, we build the file together and run the application.
The test is free and asks for no sign-up.