Expanding Investment Ecosystems
HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-02
€1.0M - €1.0M
20/01/2026
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Trusted by
What is the Expanding Investment Ecosystems Call?
Expected Outcomes
• Enhanced foreign investors’ awareness of and access to the flow of local deals in less connected innovation ecosystems.
• Improved foreign investors’ knowledge of regulatory frameworks and networks/syndicates to support joint cross-border venture investments in underserved markets.
• Strengthened start-ups’ understanding in ‘emerging’/‘moderate’ regions of market and regulatory frameworks and expectations in foreign ‘strong’/‘innovation leader’ markets, facilitating their expansion and access to funding.
• Increased availability and commitment of venture capital in less connected innovation ecosystems, enhancing their scale, diversity, breadth, openness and growth potential.
Scope Requirements
• Facilitate EU cross-border scale-up and later-stage growth by providing foreign market access and funding.
• Target both investor and start-up orientation to bridge information and network gaps.
• Proposed programmes must be co-designed by business acceleration service providers, investor networks/clubs and/or innovation hubs from both less developed and more developed ecosystems.
• Programme duration must be at least 2 years.
• Activities must be targeted to one or more of the 5 burning challenges of the New European Innovation Agenda: reducing fossil fuel reliance; increasing global food security; mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity); improving healthcare; achieving circularity.
• Encourage engagement with national/regional innovation agencies, government organisations, the Enterprise Europe Network and synergies with other projects under this topic.
• ‘Foreign’ is defined as entities from a different EU Member State or Associated Country.
Special Conditions
• Deadline model: single-stage.
• Opening date: 10 September 2025.
• Deadline: 20 January 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.
• Call identifiers and indicative budgets:
– HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-01: €4,500,000 (approx. grant: €450,000).
– HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-02: €5,000,000 (approx. grant: €1,000,000).
• Consortia must include partners from both less developed (‘emerging’/‘moderate’) and more developed (‘strong’/‘innovation leader’) regions.
• Proposals must include at least five of the listed example activities.
• Activities must align with one or more of the 5 burning challenges.
• ‘Foreign’ entities must be from a different EU Member State or Associated Country.
Open from: 10/09/2025
Deadline:20/01/2026
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