Why market entry, not technology, is often the real barrier for European deep tech

For many European deep tech start ups and scale ups the headline problem is not the lab work. The harder, recurring problem is knowing which markets actually have a demand for the innovation and then finding the people and local relationships to convert that demand into pilots, orders and follow on revenue. That is the capability gap Global Business Inroads, an EIC Ecosystem Partner, positions itself to close. The organisation combines market research, local commercial operations, technical support and matchmaking to move technologies from demonstrations to paying customers in markets such as India, the United States and South East Asia.

Who Global Business Inroads (GBI) is and what it promises

GBI describes itself as an international business and cross border technology and innovation management consultancy and platform with offices and networks spanning India, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its stated mission is to accelerate technology access and deployment with a focus on solutions that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Leena Pishe Thomas, GBI's Managing Director, has been cited as bringing more than twenty five years of experience in building deployment opportunities for impactful technologies.

Tools and services GBI uses

GBI offers a mix of bespoke consultancy, digital platforms and local infrastructure. Descriptions on GBI public pages and its case material show three main categories of tools and assets that it deploys when working with European innovators.

Case study: Atlant3D and the India market

GBI and the European Innovation Council supported entry into India for Atlant3D, a Danish deep tech company backed by the EIC. The partnership is presented as a stepwise engagement. First GBI provided market research and a market entry strategy for India, then ran a two week roadshow across four major Indian cities to arrange meetings with potential customers, partners and distributors. Following the initial activities GBI provided local technical and business development support to secure pilots and early commercial orders.

The publicly described commercial outcome of that engagement is that Atlant3D secured more than twenty orders in India together with letters of intent, R&D collaborations and several commercial partnership opportunities. EIC materials state that the pipeline of orders and collaborations also strengthened Atlant3D's investor pitch for subsequent fundraising. In one EIC summary listing the partnership an alternative product order figure is reported. Such discrepancies in public summaries are common when multiple communications outlets produce synopses from a single project. The consistent point across sources is that GBI helped convert initial market intelligence into pilot projects and early revenue opportunities in India.

How this engagement was paid for and the role of EIC programmes

The Atlant3D market entry used a mix of EIC instruments and partner services. The company accessed a vetted partner via the EIC Service Catalogue. It also used the EIC Ecosystem Partnership Programme's visibility and matchmaking. For financial support the engagement made use of EIC ACCESS+ co-funding which can reimburse part of the costs of services drawn from the EIC Service Catalogue. These mechanisms are part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services, which are explicitly designed to complement EIC grant and equity instruments with downstream commercial support.

EIC ACCESS+ provides co-funding of up to 50 percent of the cost for services selected from the EIC Service Catalogue. The overall scheme planned to support hundreds of selected beneficiaries and had application windows through 2026. In practice co-funding is disbursed after eligibility checks and according to a first-come-first-served assessment process.

What sets GBI's approach apart and practical advice for innovators

GBI frames its method as highly customised, combining strategic market entry planning with hands-on local support. That mix is useful for capital light pilots that still require technical adaptation and stakeholder management. GBI emphasises that innovators need different market opportunities at different development stages and that internationalisation should be treated as an ongoing operational commitment rather than a brief marketing campaign.

Wider context in the EU innovation ecosystem

The EIC Business Acceleration Services and the Ecosystem Partnership Programme aim to plug a recognised gap in the EU innovation ecosystem. European funding instruments have historically focused on R&D and scale up finance. They have been less comprehensive at funding the actual commercial steps needed to enter regulated or distant markets. The Service Catalogue and partner network attempt to standardise access to those niche capabilities by vetting regional experts and creating a channel for co-funded services.

This model aligns with broader efforts in Horizon Europe to couple research funding with deployment channels and procurement opportunities. It also reflects a pragmatic recognition that public R&D funding alone is not enough to convert technologies into sustainable companies that sell internationally.

Critical perspective and limitations to watch

The Atlant3D example is useful because it shows a clear pipeline from research to initial orders. That said the public materials raise questions that are common with many success snapshots. First the long term sustainability and scale of early orders is not always tracked or disclosed. Securing early pilots and orders is a crucial milestone but converting them into repeatable revenue, local supply chain resilience and after sales infrastructure is harder and often more expensive. Second the evidence is anecdotal. Case studies highlight successful outcomes but rarely provide systematic comparisons with failures or neutral engagements. Selection bias can therefore lead to overoptimistic interpretations of the model's average effectiveness.

Finally, the approach depends heavily on local partners and on the quality of in-country execution. That introduces variability by market and sector. India, for example, is a large and diverse market with significant regional differences in procurement practices, regulation and payment structures. Success in one set of cities is not automatically replicable elsewhere without investment in localisation.

Practical checklist for EIC innovators considering similar support

1) Budget for localisation and post-sale operations. International pilots require more than marketing. Account for technical adaptation, certification and support. 2) Negotiate with investors early. If internationalisation is part of the growth plan secure investor alignment and dedicated resources rather than treating expansion as optional. 3) Start pilots at mid TRLs to capture market feedback without waiting for a finished product. 4) Use vetted partner catalogues such as the EIC Service Catalogue but ask for clear performance metrics and references. 5) Track outcomes over at least 12 to 24 months to evaluate conversion from pilots to recurring revenue.

How to access these services

EIC beneficiaries can browse the EIC Service Catalogue through the EIC Community platform. Co-funding opportunities such as EIC ACCESS+ are available to eligible EIC awardees and Seal of Excellence holders. These schemes typically run on competitive or rolling application rounds and have eligibility and reporting requirements.

Final assessment

GBI represents the kind of specialised, market-facing partner that many European deep tech companies need. The Atlant3D example is a plausible demonstration of converting research into early commercial traction in a large, complex market. The EIC's Service Catalogue and ACCESS+ co-funding provide useful scaffolding to make such collaborations more accessible. At the same time policymakers and beneficiaries should demand stronger, standardised outcome metrics and longer term tracking of commercial conversions. Those data points will be necessary to judge whether such partnerships reliably improve investability and scale outcomes across many sectors and geographies rather than only in selected success stories.