EIC board member Yousef Yousef on the practical impact of Business Acceleration Services

In an interview with the EIC Community team Yousef Yousef, founder and CEO of LG Sonic and newly appointed member of the European Innovation Council Board, laid out why he sees the EIC Business Acceleration Services as a critical complement to grant and equity instruments. He framed the services as practical tools that help turn inventions into marketable products by providing mentorship, customer introductions and strategic support across markets.

Who is Yousef Yousef and why his perspective matters

Yousef Yousef is an entrepreneur who built LG Sonic, a company focused on water quality management, environmental monitoring and data driven solutions. He also chairs the Green Scaleups Association and has worked with the EIC as an Ambassador and Advisory Board member prior to his appointment to the EIC Board. His background combines technical development in environmental technologies with scaling experience in conservative industrial markets.

The context: what European innovators face now

Yousef identified several persistent obstacles for European innovators. These include gaps in access to capital, complexity in regulatory environments across member states, and the absence of robust commercial networks that can move early pilots into broad adoption. Deep tech and green technologies face additional friction because buyers are often conservative public utilities or large corporates that require lengthy validation and regulatory compliance before procurement.

What the EIC Business Acceleration Services offer

Yousef presented the EIC Business Acceleration Services, or BAS, as a set of nonfinancial supports intended to bridge the gap between R and D and commercialisation. He argued that mentorship, investor matchmaking, market intelligence and corporate partnerships can shorten timelines to first revenue and help startups avoid common strategic mistakes. He emphasized a holistic approach rather than a single silver bullet.

Practical examples from Yousef's experience

Yousef described how securing a pilot with a water utility was pivotal for LG Sonic. The pilot provided real world validation and feedback that helped iterate the product and convince other clients. He said that programmes like the Corporate Partnership Programme and one to one mentoring would have accelerated that process by opening doors to early pilot partners and shortening time lost to market education.

How BAS helps the invention to market transition

According to Yousef the BAS suite supports innovators at multiple stages: validating market need selecting and localising a target market crafting communications and sales strategies and preparing for regulatory and legal constraints. Importantly BAS aims to connect innovators to customers and partners who can buy or pilot solutions and to investors who can fund scaling.

Corporate demand side and procurement

Yousef emphasized that BAS does not serve only startups. He said corporates and public procurers often struggle to find the right innovations to meet strategic goals. BAS tries to close that loop through matchmaking events innovation fairs and targeted networking designed to surface aligned solutions and facilitate pilot opportunities.

A measured view on impact and limits

While Yousef was positive about the BAS offer he also implicitly acknowledged limits. Support services can improve odds and accelerate learning but they do not guarantee market success. Remaining obstacles include fragmented regulation differences in procurement practices across member states and the persistent need for later stage private capital to scale production and distribution.

Policymakers and programme managers should be wary of treating acceleration services as a panacea. These services are most effective when combined with predictable finance pathways a clear regulatory roadmap and continued efforts to harmonise standards across the European market.

Advice to innovators and next steps

Yousef closed with a practical call to action. He invited innovators to apply to EIC Business Acceleration Services and to use BAS as part of a broader strategy that includes building pilot partnerships preparing for regulation and seeking investor readiness. His simple message was to seize the opportunity and not try to navigate international scaling alone.

Key takeaways

Yousef Yousef positions EIC BAS as a practical complement to financial instruments. The services aim to reduce time to market by connecting innovators to customers mentors and investors and by offering market entry support. They address well documented pain points for European deep tech such as conservative buyers and regulatory complexity but they are not a substitute for sustained financing and policy reforms that reduce market fragmentation.

If you are an EIC beneficiary or an innovator in the European ecosystem consider BAS as part of a balanced scaling plan that includes pilot partnerships regulatory preparation and fundraising strategy.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on an interview published by the EIC Community on 12 June 2024. The views expressed are those of Yousef Yousef and are provided for information and knowledge sharing. They should not be interpreted as the official position of the European Commission.