The competition is open to:
Companies, whose Management Board, Founders/Co-Founders are alumni of the following EIT Community programmes: EIT Jumpstarter editions 2017-2024, EIT Digital: Venture Incubation Program; EIT Food: TeamUp, Test Farms, Sales Booster, EWA; EIT Health InnoStars Connect; EIT InnoEnergy Hello CleanTech; EIT Climate-KIC ClimateLaunchPad; EIT Manufacturing EVO-R and Leaders programmes, Inno2Market; EIT RawMaterials: Lab2Market, Open Innovation Challenge; EIT Urban Mobility: Corporate Venture Builder, Investment Readiness programme, Student Entrepreneur Grant Scheme, Start for Future;
Such companies must be registered in one of the following EIT RIS countries and territories and Moldova: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Türkiye, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain).
The applications can be submitted by a single co-founder or a team represented by a contact person. The participation of a team is welcome and appreciated in the evaluation, mainly when the team is covering different competencies required in running a startup. However, a maximum number of two (2) co-founding members per team is eligible to participate in the EIT Jumpstarter NEXT programme to ensure the training activities' high quality and comfort conditions. In justified cases, the EIT Jumpstarter Next Programme Lead, or trainer/mentor may allow the participation of more team members in specific activities. Please note that at least one co-founding member has to have a citizenship of one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme eligible countries and territories.
Additional eligibility criteria are:
a. Proposals must be in English. Proposals in other languages will not be accepted.
b. Incomplete submissions or submissions via any other routes (e.g. email) will be rejected.
c. Proposals must be submitted before the deadline; all late applications will be rejected.
d. The company must operate within the scope of one of the main challenges which the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities tackle:
-In EIT Climate-KIC: supporting cities, regions, countries and industries to meet their climate ambitions through systems innovation and place-based transformations. More details: https://www.climate-kic.org/who-we-are/about-eit-climate-kic/
-In EIT Digital: investing in strategic areas to accelerate the market uptake and scaling of research-based digital technologies (deep tech) focusing on Europe’s key societal challenges: DigitalTech, Digital Cities, Digital Industry, Digital Wellbeing, and Digital Finance. More details: https://www.eitdigital.eu/our-community/purpose/
-in EIT Health: New models to deliver healthcare; Facilitating the uptake of digital medical devices in Europe; Harnessing the full potential of health data for innovation; Supporting the deployment of Important Project of Common European Interest in Health (IPCEI) to address market failures. More details: https://eithealth.eu/who-we-are/our-focus-areas/
-In EIT RawMaterials: Thematical focus on Metals, Minerals, Advanced Materials & Industrial Side Streams; Technologies and solutions for improved and new mineral exploration; Digital solutions for remote monitoring, analytics, sensing, modelling, digital twins, etc.; Advanced and fully integrated exploration – smart targeting of ore deposits; Technologies and solutions for more efficient, safer and sustainable modern mining; Technologies and solutions for mineral and metal processing and for improved materials production; Improving processing efficiency by reducing resource use and/or emissions and CO2-footprint; Technology that address equipment-damage problems such as wall thinning, creep or corrosion; Technologies and solutions for materials supply from secondary sources and recycling; Cost-efficient and clever collection, dismantling and sorting of waste; Turning waste resources into a valuable raw materials feedstock for EU industries; New technologies, materials or services that make it possible to substitute or use lower quantities of critical or toxic materials in key industries; Advanced materials’ processing, incl. additive manufacturing; Solutions and business models implementing circular economy concepts; Design of products for recycling and lifetime extension; Resource efficient design of materials; Innovation to improve traceability, sustainability, and transparency across raw materials value chains. More details are accessible here: https://eitrawmaterials.eu/
-in EIT Food: optimising resource efficiency and environmental sustainability of agriculture supply, primary production, processing, storing, packaging, logistics/distribution, retail, consumer research, nutrition monitoring, and food service; developing nutritionally customised food products, addressing unmet needs and generating consumer relevant functionalities; building trust in the food system, securing traceability and auditability of food quality, safety, and authenticity, combining digital and sensor technologies to acquire and transmit information through the food value chain. In general – developing solutions that will put new products on the market, introduce new and improved commercial processes and services, and achieve Healthier Lives Through Food, A Net Zero Food System, A Fully Transparent, Fair, and Resilient Food System. More details: https://eitfood.eu
-in EIT InnoEnergy: energy costs reduction, system performance increase and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decrease, circular economy (particularly in the context of energy usage), green hydrogen, energy management systems, and energy storage. It doesn’t exclude any other innovative approaches based on sustainable energy generation, storage, or usage.
-in EIT Manufacturing: Flexible Production Systems for Competitive Manufacturing, Low Environmental Footprint Systems & Circular Economy for Green Manufacturing, Digital & Collaborative Solutions for Innovative Manufacturing Ecosystems, and Human-machine coworking for socially sustainable manufacturing. More details here: https://www.eitmanufacturing.eu/what-we-do/focus-areas-flagships/
-in EIT Urban Mobility: Active Mobility, Sustainable City Logistics, Future Mobility, Mobility and Energy, and Public Realm are the main focus areas. This is not a closed list; any idea/solution to solving city challenges is welcome. More details: About us - EIT Urban mobility
-New European Bauhaus powered by EIT Culture & Creativity: Selected ideas should propose innovative solutions that contribute to developing beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive places, products, and ways of living. The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a crossroad between art/culture and science/technology. Eligible projects may include accessible living spaces, alternative building methods that respect the environment and/or integrate cultural heritage, innovative solutions in architecture, materials and structures, design and production methods, smart infrastructure solutions, and circular and sustainable design and architecture. Proposals should focus on at least one of the three NEB dimensions: sustainability, aesthetics, or inclusion. For more details, please visit: About the initiative - European Union
e. Additional information, such as a weblink to the project, can be uploaded to support your application. These additional documents are not mandatory, and please be aware that if you do not explicitly refer to such documents in your application, the reviewers may not consider these attachments as the basis for their evaluation.
f. The required documents include: a certificate of completion of one of the programmes of EIT (listed above), an extract from the national registry indicating the company's setup date and location, confirmation of citizenship in one of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme countries and territories.
g. In the evaluation additional points will be given to the startups having at least one female co-founder.
h. The submitted project must be exclusively concentrated on civil applications, with no intention of military use or serving military purposes, in adherence to ethical considerations, to be eligible for participation. If a product/service/model involves dual-use items as defined by Regulation 2021/821 or other items requiring authorisation, participation, and support can still be considered, but we will add a specific note to make sure the Project complies with the relevant regulatory framework.
i. Multiple submissions are not accepted. Each applicant must use a unique email address for submission.
j. Individuals, co-founders, and project team members are not eligible to be part of more than one submitted project at the same time and/or submit more than one project at the same time.
To get information about Eligibility Criteria for participants please read carefully EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Terms & Conditions
Funding:
Financing is based on teams, no matter if 1 or 2 members represent the team. Team members share their costs and will be reimbursed based on invoices submitted using eligibility criteria and reporting documents.
Successful applicants are eligible to receive support for covering their travel and accommodation in two stages:
1. Phase 3 – selected teams will have a budget of up to EUR 1,700 to cover their own travel and accommodation costs to attend the matchmaking for a maximum of two people. *But only, if this part will take place in-person events, otherwise, not applicable.
2. Phase 5 - Grand Final: Each finalist team will have a budget of up to EUR 1,000 to cover their own travel and accommodation costs to attend the Grand Final in person for a maximum of two people.
To get more information about Funding Terms for participants please read EIT Jumpstarter Next 2025 Terms & Conditions
Key dates:
·Deadline for the Call for Proposals #1 is the 11th of April 2025, 23:59 CET.
·Selection of participants and an invitation to phase 2: End of April 2025
·Phase 2 Training on Business Development Plan preparations: May-June 2025
·Phase 3 Upgrade visibility and branding and the Matchmaking Meet Up:September-October 2025
·Phase 4 Preparation for the Grand Final: October - November 2025
·Phase 5 Grand Final: November 2025
