Business & Innovation Services and Innovative Entrepreneurship: details of financial and non-financial support for the program.

April 3, 2024 — A comprehensive Info Day dedicated to the overview of the “Business & Innovation Services” and “Innovative Entrepreneurship” support programmes was held online within the Seeds of Bravery (UASEEDs) project. The agenda also covered available non-financial support, including matchmaking-activities, access to investors/accelerators community, market discovery workshops, female entrepreneurship & leadership, as well as Q&A-session.

The event brought together a diverse group of speakers, including: 

• Maria Karpiłowska, Project Manager at FundingBox Accelerator
• Yana Paladiieva, Head of Projects and Programs at the Ukrainian Startup Fund
• Peter Torstensen, CEO at Accelerance
• Fionnuala Wall, Marketing Manager & EU Projects Coordinator at AxisBIC (formerly CorkBIC)
• Michał Olszewski, Acceleration Manager at FundingBox Accelerator
• Irene Muniz, Ventures Analyst at Plug and Play

Peter Torstensen opened the discussion with an overview of the “Innovative Entrepreneurship” support programme, which offers grants up to €25,000. The programme is specifically designed for two categories of applicants:

• Startups continuing operations in Ukraine
• Female led startups looking to relocate or continue in Ukraine or in one of the Member States of the European Union and its OCT or Horizon Europe Associated Countries after the beginning of full-scale invasion in Ukraine.

Maria Karpiłowska elaborated on the types of activities eligible for funding, emphasizing projects with the potential to support the rebuilding of the Ukrainian economy and infrastructure post-war, as well as European dimension. Additionally to 2 general requirements for all types of support, applicants for the Innovative Entrepreneurship programme must demonstrate clear objectives and scalability of their product/service/process. It means that they can be commercialised to solve a structural problem in a specific sector/process/etc.

A key aspect of the “Seeds of Bravery” project is its lump sum payment mechanism, designed to reduce the administrative burden on startups, allowing them to focus more on project performance than financial management. This innovative approach facilitates a smoother funding process, requiring proof of performance rather than thorough financial documentation. Within lump sum mechanism any documents proving that the work was done as detailed in the Individual Follow-up Plan (IFP) are acceptable, including:

• technical documents
• prototypes
• deliverables

Maria Karpiłowska also explained the cost categories, payment conditions, and milestones for “Business & Innovation Services” and “Innovative Entrepreneurship” support programmes, emphasizing the importance of submitting reports, meeting evaluation criteria, and fulfilling the conditions for receiving payments.

For “Business & Innovation Services” cost categories include:

• costs connected with one or more of eligible services;
• other costs directly linked to the performance of the Project (e.g. personal costs, travel etc.);
• overheads (25% of the above-mentioned costs).

Payment conditions require successful project completion and proof of service delivery (report on the activities performed and results achieved).

For “Innovative Entrepreneurship” costs that could be covered consist of:

• personnel costs (costs of the team members participating in the upscale activities);
• travel costs related to the Project implementation; 
• other direct costs (i.e. purchase cost of goods, works, equipment and services), directly linked to the performance of the Project; 
• overheads (25% of the above-mentioned costs).

Milestones for Innovative Entrepreneurship involve two stages, submission of individual follow-up plans that each company will develop, and evaluation based on programme reports. Reports must meet performance indicators (set beforehand in follow-up plans), and deadline compliance to receive payment under the support programme.

Beneficiaries are eligible to receive the payment once the evaluation results are approved and validated. Payment arrangements for these support programmes require meeting the threshold of 7 points. Failure to reach the threshold may lead to the selection committee deliberating on corrective actions, but taking into account the conditions in which startups, SMEs and entrepreneurs operate in Ukraine now.

After this Irene Muniz presented a Matchmaking part of non-financial support designed to connect startups with a network of stakeholders essential for growth.

Matchmaking activities will be implemented through 2 approaches. The first one is Tailored Matchmaking Journeys, which includes:

• Structured onboarding with Seeds of Bravery Lead Partner (IFP) and Matchmaking Officer
• Matchmaking interactions with stakeholders
• Onboarding into Playbook by Plug and Play 
• Connections to other Seeds of Bravery activities & events 
• Follow up and review of matchmaking activities with Matchmaking Officer

This approach facilitates strategic alliances to provide startups with opportunities that align with their specific needs and ambitions.

The second approach will be implemented through a Monthly Digest, covering general ecosystem events, partner events and other global activities available to all Seeds of Bravery participants. 

Up next Peter Torstensen shared insights of how the Access to Investors and Accelerators community will be implemented through the Accelerace platform. Due to lack of transparency in the investment market, startups struggle to raise funds, that is why the Accelerace platform was developed. It provides tools like Investment Readiness Test and interactions with curators to help startups connect with relevant investors and accelerators, as well as provides a collection of pitch decks from successful startups to aid in raising seed funding and building a learning path for startups. Moreover, the platform allows visitors to communicate with alumni (successful founders) who share their insights and experiences.

Next part of the Info Day was dedicated Market Discovery Workshops and Market Fast-Track Programmes, introduced by Fionnuala Wall. These activities are the pivotal components aimed at equipping startups with comprehensive market intelligence and access strategies for various EU countries. 

Market Discovery Workshops will start in May and will be delivered over 3.5 hours via a virtual webinar. Registration links will be uploaded shortly on the Seeds of Bravery website with everyone welcome to attend the online events. 

The Market Fast-Track Programme is a 2-week online programme to facilitate access to EU markets, working with key players and mentors, building a go-to-market strategy. This type of non-financial support will begin in September 2024 with 20 programmes within the project.  Each programme will be divided into workshops and one-to-one sessions covering areas like: 

• value proposition development and market validation;
• market intelligence; 
• go-to market strategy;
• finance and investment.

Further Michał Olszewski highlighted the Female Entrepreneurship & Leadership Programme, a non-financial initiative tailored to address the unique challenges faced by female founders. Covered areas include funding access, gender biases, negotiation challenges, and responsible business practices. By focusing on mentoring and support, the programme aims to erase barriers and foster a more inclusive, resilient tech ecosystem. 

The event’s Q&A session once again provided clarity on the nuances of the support programs, addressing inquiries about differences between “Business Innovation Services” and “Innovative Entrepreneurship”, evidencing service delivery, and the scope of services eligible for grant coverage. 

To watch the video recording of the Info Day #2, please follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH3F-RwUreI

The initiative will continue to engage and inform participants through a series of subsequent Info Days, focusing on different facets of the Seeds of Bravery project:

• Info Day №3: Deep Tech Incubators
• Info Day №4: Rebuild Ukraine
• Info Day №5: Deep Tech Scale-up and Acceleration

Do not miss the upcoming events!

Funded by the European Union, under the European Innovation Council (EIC). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them. The UASEEDs project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme under grant agreement No 101104445.