SME Instrument results announced
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn © European Union 2013 - EP 25 July, 2014

155 small firms to receive funding in first wave of SME Instrument grants

The European Commission has announced the first results of its new €3bn SME Instrument, with 155 SMEs from 21 countries (EU member states or countries associated to Horizon 2020) each receiving €50,000 to finance feasibility studies to develop their innovation strategy, as well as three days of business coaching.

Spanish SMEs (Small and medium-sized businesses) were particularly successful in the first round, with 39 proposals selected, followed closely by SMEs from the UK and Italy. In total, there were 2,666 applications for the first grants.

Commenting, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, said: “The response to the new SME Instrument is encouraging. There is clearly demand out there for this kind of support. I hope many of the business plans being financed will mature to become real products and services, generating growth and jobs for our economies. We need our champions of innovation to grow!”

The SME Instrument is a key element of the funding for small businesses available under Horizon 2020, offering fast and simple grants for business innovation feasibility studies (Phase 1) and demonstration projects (Phase 2). Investment-mature concepts can in addition benefit from business development advice and other support services (Phase 3). Eligible topics for funding are set out in the Horizon 2020 Work Programme on ‘Innovation in SMEs’.

Applications can be submitted at any time but are evaluated four times each year. The current results concern applications received by the first cut-off for Phase 1 grants on 18 June 2014. The next cut-off dates for evaluation are 24 September 2014 for Phase 1 and 9 October for Phase 2.

Around 645 projects (under Phase 1 and 2) should be funded in 2014, rising to 670 in 2015. Successful applicants will be formally notified in August. Thereafter, their names will be publicly announced by the Executive Agency for SMEs, which manages the programme. The SME Instrument was launched under Horizon 2020 to help innovative small firms get ideas from the lab to the market.