Sarah O’Reilly’s Post

https://lnkd.in/dQn_aCc8 *Get Ready for the 2025 European Innovation Council Work Programme.* The 2025 Work Programme of the European Innovation Council (EIC) has been released, offering over €1.4 billion in funding opportunities for innovative SMEs, startups, and researchers aiming to bring groundbreaking projects to life. Key Highlights: EIC Pathfinder: €262 million allocated for multi-disciplinary research teams to undertake visionary research with the potential to lead to technology breakthroughs. Grants up to €4 million. -EIC Transition: €98 million to turn research results into innovation opportunities, following up on results generated by EIC Pathfinder projects and others. Grants up to €2.5 million. -EIC Accelerator: €634 million for start-ups and SMEs to develop and scale up innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones. Grants below €2.5 million, investments from €0.5 to €10 million. -STEP Scale Up: €300 million to provide additional equity funding to promising companies driving innovation in critical areas, with investments ranging from €10 to €30 million. Upcoming Deadlines: -EIC Pathfinder Open: Proposals due by 21 May 2025. -EIC Pathfinder Challenges: Submission deadline on 29 October 2025. -EIC Transition: Proposals must be submitted by 17 September 2025. -EIC Accelerator: New funding opportunities and application dates will be announced in the 2025 Work Programme. Short applications can be submitted at any time. Why Act Now? The EIC’s funding calls are highly competitive, requiring detailed planning and strong applications to stand out. Our consultancy specializes in helping organizations successfully navigate these funding opportunities. We provide: *Expert evaluation of your project’s potential. *Development of tailored, competitive proposals. *Guidance throughout the application process to maximize your chances of success. Contact us for more information or to schedule a consultation. Together, we can turn your innovative ideas into funded realities. #EIC2025 #GrantWriting #InnovationFunding #EuropeanInnovationCouncil #HorizonEurope #InnovationConsulting

Calling all WA-based innovators! Submissions for the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation's New Industries Fund grants close soon ⏰ The $25.8 million New Industries Fund is aimed to support collaboration and relationships between innovators in Western Australia. 💸 The Commercialisation Bridge Grant offers between $50,000 and $200,000 for WA innovators to help bridge the ‘Valley of Death’ between commercialised innovation and a scalable business, creating more jobs and economic diversification for WA. Learn more: https://loom.ly/XE4kV20 💰 The Innovation Booster Grant offers WA-based startups and small businesses up to $40,000 to access professional skills, services or knowledge to support commercialisation of early-stage innovative projects. Learn more: https://loom.ly/brSdW_4 Although both programs are open all year round, there are various ‘cut-off dates’ when the latest submissions will be downloaded, and then assessed. Submitted applications cannot be changed after this date. Thursday 17 October 2024 at 11:00 am (AWST) is the upcoming cut-off date for both programs. Learn more: https://loom.ly/RFU2Unc

Australia's premier ESIC-compliant fund allows investors to contribute directly starting from $1000 in 10 or 25 high-potential startups alongside 20 of the top Angel Investor Groups in the country. With fees limited to 4.9% and no carry costs, investors can benefit from a 20% non-refundable tax offset that carries forward, along with a 10-year CGT Holiday. More Info: https://lnkd.in/eaReuget This opportunity extends to investments through your SMSF, enabling individuals (as trustee) to receive the tax offset on their personal tax returns. https://lnkd.in/ewAJ7TKg To participate, individuals must be a "Qualified Startup Investor" (QSI) and hold either a Wealth (s761G) Certificate or QSI Course Completion (s761GA) Certificate. Next Courses: https://lnkd.in/gqcBWC97 #ESIC #InvestmentOpportunity.

As a founder of a UK company, understanding the core tax reliefs for potential investors is crucial when fundraising. In this article we go through the key rules and some practical points around SEIS and EIS tax reliefs for founders. Stay tuned for part 2!

Navigating the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) can transform your investment strategy and therefore also your growth trajectory. Our comprehensive two-part guide is here to help you master these invaluable tools. In Part 1, we cover: ✅ What SEIS and EIS are ✅ Key differences between SEIS and EIS ✅ Benefits for companies and investors ✅ Eligibility requirements ✅ Expert tips to maximise SEIS/EIS benefits Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll dive into: 🔍 How to access the schemes 🔍 Advanced Assurance vs. post-investment applications (compliance statements) 🔍 Detailed application processes 🔍 HMRC response times and investor commitments 🔍 Practical tips for SEIS/EIS eligibility Start your journey to smarter funding now! 🌟 https://bit.ly/45kPgmd #StartupFunding #SEIS #EIS #UKStartups #InvestmentStrategies #FounderTips

My work at the Ministry has always been connected to the EIC, and it’s nice to occasionally reflect on what is happening with the EIC. Looking back at how Estonian companies have fared in the EIC Accelerator and related activities this year: ▪️ Unfortunately, only one Estonian company received EIC funding in 2024. Congratulations once again to Mifundo! 🎉 ▪️ Fortunately, we launched SoE support for EIC Accelerator projects, funding three companies that received SoE labels—well done, UP Catalyst, GScan, and Vectiopep! 👏 ▪️ In 2024, 120 of the most promising deep-tech scaleups were selected to the EIC Scaling Club. Estonian companies continue to punch above their weight, with six companies chosen for this exclusive community. Congratulations once again to UP Catalyst and GScan, and well done, Salv, Elcogen, GeneCode, and PowerUP Energy Technologies! 🙌 Yesterday, the Commission adopted the EIC WP 2025 📓. Some key highlights related to the Accelerator include: ▪️ Two cut-off dates: March 12th and October 1st ▪️ Projects must start with a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 or higher ▪️ Step 1 proposals will be batched and sent for evaluation monthly (every first Tuesday) ▪️ The maximum equity amount has decreased from 15 to 10 million euros The last change is due to the introduction of a new instrument: the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). ▪️ STEP will provide equity-only support of 10-30 million euros to catalyze major funding rounds of 50-150 million euros, requiring at least a 20% precommitted investments   ▪️ STEP will support companies in digital, cleantech, biotech, and deep tech ▪️ No cut-off or different evaluation steps—applications meeting eligibility requirements will be invited to interview in batches at least quarterly EIC WP 2025 can be found here 👉 https://lnkd.in/evB3Dx3p For more information, you can join the EU’s EIC info day on November 5th or the Estonian EIC info day on December 3rd 📆 👉 https://lnkd.in/e8ise2Kh 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7UzKqSM Finally, there is an additional planned call in the WIDERA work programme to support deep-tech startups in widening countries, offering grants of up to 500,000 euros. This funding will help deep-tech startups develop their innovations from TRL 4 to 5/6, serving as a stepping stone to the EIC Accelerator. More (unofficial) info here 👉https://lnkd.in/e7pDf2yZ Once again, I encourage Estonian deep-tech and innovative companies to apply for EU funding and if there is anything that the Ministry can do to help You, just let me know. 📨 #EIC #DeepTech #EICScalingClub #EUFunding

European Angel Investment Summit 2024! Key areas for investments in Europe towards self sustainability: - deeptech investments - defensetech investments “It is not about the private sector pushing the public sector out the the investments in Startups and SMEs, it is about identifying areas where the public sector can help close the gaps and take more risks, while allowing the private investments to play its role.” by DG of Internal Market, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Kerstin Jorna. Great analogy by Kerstin, holding up the bottle of water pointing out that it is not an either or equation when it comes to PPP in deeptech and defensetech, it is about identifying areas where the government can come in to fill the investment gaps where risks are the highest, while enabling the private investments to do their work. #EBAN #angels #investors #deeptech #sustainability

This is a really good article from Granted Consultancy - a Ryan company on the benefits of advanced funding for R&D Grants. If you are considering applying for a grant or even if you have already been awarded a grant, you should be considering advance funding. To discuss how Sprk Capital can help your business, give me a shout (or drop me a DM).