EU buyers wanted for InnoBuyer procurement challenge as EIC offers €41,500 to co-create solutions
- ›The InnoBuyer programme is seeking public and private buyers with innovation challenges and is offering up to €41,500 per selected challenger.
- ›Selected challengers will be supported through four actions from problem definition to help launching an innovation procurement for wide adoption.
- ›The programme is supported by the EIC Business Acceleration Services and aims to pair buyers with start ups or SMEs to co-create and pilot solutions.
- ›The call for procurement challengers closed on 31 March 2023 at 17:00 CET.
Buyers of innovation wanted: what the InnoBuyer call offers
The InnoBuyer programme, supported by the European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services, issued a call in March 2023 for public and private organisations that want to act as buyers or 'challengers' for innovative solutions. The programme offers selected challengers financial and advisory support to translate unmet needs into procurement challenges, identify and select suppliers, co-create and pilot solutions with chosen suppliers, and, if results are promising, get help to launch an innovation procurement procedure for broader deployment. The call offered up to €41,500 to participating challengers and was open until 31 March 2023 at 17:00 CET.
Four-step structure of the InnoBuyer support
InnoBuyer funds activities across four sequential actions. The structure is demand driven and intends to lower the barriers that buyers face when procuring innovative solutions. Each action builds on the previous one, with the ultimate aim of enabling wide adoption through an innovation procurement procedure.
| Action | What is funded | Purpose and expected output |
| Action 1 | Support to define unmet needs and translate them into a challenge | Clarify buyer problems, scope requirements and prepare a well formulated innovation challenge suitable for a call for innovation suppliers |
| Action 2 | Support to run a call for Solvers and select the best supplier | Organise an open call for innovation suppliers and select the most promising solution provider or team |
| Action 3 | Co-creation and piloting between Challenger and Solver | Jointly develop and test the innovative solution in a real world pilot or demonstration |
| Action 4 | Support to launch an innovation procurement procedure | Prepare and help execute a procurement or purchasing process that aims at wide adoption of the proven solution |
How the process is intended to work
InnoBuyer positions challengers as the drivers of demand. The programme first helps organisations to precisely define and scope an unmet need so it can be turned into a procurement style challenge. Once the challenge is set, an open call for solvers is launched to attract innovative suppliers. The chosen solver then works with the challenger in a co-creation phase to produce and pilot a prototype or demonstrator. If pilot results are positive, the challenger receives support to prepare and launch an innovation procurement that can lead to scaling and wider adoption.
Why this matters for innovation policy
Demand side instruments such as procurement are a recognised tool to stimulate innovation. They can create a buyer pull for new technologies and help startups and SMEs to scale by getting a first validated customer. The European Innovation Council has broadened its portfolio to include business acceleration services that link innovative suppliers with buyers. In theory this type of programme helps overcome the classic valley of death between prototype and market adoption by reducing technical and procurement risk for both sides.
Critical considerations and limits
The InnoBuyer announcement uses promotional language about co-creation with 'a very innovative Start-up or SME'. That framing is accurate insofar as the programme seeks early stage suppliers but the advertised funding level merits scrutiny. Offerings of around forty thousand euros are useful for scoping, design and limited piloting and for paying administrative costs. They typically do not cover full procurement or large scale deployment costs. Successful scale up through public procurement often requires far larger budgets and substantial internal procurement capacity.
Advice for potential challengers
Organisations considering applying should be ready to: clearly document the unmet need and how a pilot would be assessed, allocate staff time to manage co-creation and piloting, plan for follow up financing or procurement costs if a pilot succeeds, and be realistic about timelines. Use the InnoBuyer support primarily for problem definition, supplier matchmaking and a constrained pilot rather than expecting full financing for procurement and roll out.
Context in the EIC ecosystem
InnoBuyer sits within the EIC Business Acceleration Services which aim to help EIC-supported companies and other innovators to reach markets. The programme complements supply side grants and investments by adding a demand side route. Such programmes are part of a broader EU push to use public procurement to foster strategic technologies and to increase market uptake of deep tech solutions. That policy approach is practical but requires careful calibration so that procurement rules remain transparent and competitive while supporting innovative, often risky projects.
Deadlines and practicalities
The InnoBuyer Call for Innovation Procurement Challengers was open until 31 March 2023 at 17:00 CET. The announcement invited buyers who want to co-create with startups or SMEs to apply. Organisations interested in similar ongoing or future opportunities should monitor EIC Business Acceleration Services pages and the EISMEA announcements as the EIC runs multiple demand side and ecosystem support activities.
Bottom line
The InnoBuyer call is a targeted attempt to attract buyer partners into a structured co-creation and procurement pathway. The support is useful for scoping, matchmaking and piloting. However the modest funding envelope limits how far a single project can be taken toward wide deployment without additional resources. Buyers should treat the InnoBuyer offer as a way to de-risk innovation procurement steps rather than as full funding for procurement and scaling.