Made Global by the EIC: How European innovators are scaling across borders — programmes, results and caveats

Brussels, June 30th 2026

Summary

›The EIC Business Acceleration Services support international expansion through two main programmes: the Global Business Expansion Programme and the International Trade Fairs Programme.
›Recent missions placed EIC awardees across Asia, North America and Europe with deals already reported from GITEX and MWC.
›Two detailed success cases show concrete commercial outcomes but also illustrate the limits of anecdotal evidence for programme impact.
›Applications are open for the EIC Pavilion at CES 2027 with funded space, coaching and investor matchmaking for selected EIC-backed companies.
›The EIC BAS offers contracts, contacts and skills support but measuring net additionality and long term impact requires caution.

Made Global by the EIC: how two EIC programmes are helping European deep tech scale internationally

Over recent months EIC-backed companies have been visible on multiple continents. From San Diego to Seoul to Berlin they have taken part in business missions, trade fair pavilions and targeted commercial meetings. The European Innovation Council's Business Acceleration Services aim to turn those encounters into contracts, partnerships and scale ups. The two services most directly responsible for the summer activity are the Global Business Expansion Programme and the International Trade Fairs Programme. Below I explain how each works, what they have delivered so far, and what to watch for when assessing their longer term value.

Two programmes, one aim: structured market expansion support

EIC Global Business Expansion Programme:Aimed at EIC-backed start ups, scale ups and SMEs that are ready to push into specific overseas markets, this programme provides custom market reconnaissance, local expertise, curated missions and follow-up support. The intent is to let innovators explore market entry without diverting excessive management attention from home operations. Past missions have targeted Silicon Valley, Singapore, Texas, Boston and, most recently, South Korea. The programme is adaptive and expands its geographic reach via new missions opened periodically.

EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0 (ITF):The ITF Programme focuses on commercialisation through presence at major international trade fairs across sectors such as biotech and pharma, health, cleantech and industrial technologies. Selected EIC awardees receive end to end support including market briefings, tailored coaching with IP and cultural training, B2B matchmaking, visibility at the EIC or EU pavilion, and follow up to convert meetings into deals. Open calls for each trade fair are published on the EIC Community Platform roughly six months before the event.

Feature	Global Business Expansion Programme	International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0
Primary objective	Market entry missions and local market intelligence	Commercial visibility, matchmaking, and lead generation at fairs
Typical activities	Targeted business missions, local partner scouting, follow-up support	Pre-briefings, IP and cultural coaching, EIC/EU pavilion exhibit, B2B matchmaking
Sectors	Cross-sectoral; mission-dependent	Biotech, health, cleantech, industrial and new technologies
Geographic focus	Global hubs (US, Singapore, Korea, etc.)	EU, US, MENA and other international trade fair locations
Who can apply	EIC-backed start ups, scale ups and SMEs	EIC-backed start ups, scale ups and SMEs from EU Member States and Associated Countries

A busy season on the world stage and immediate outputs

Both programmes were active this summer. Under the Global Business Expansion Programme a cohort completed a business mission to South Korea to explore collaboration and market entry. On the trade fair side, EIC-backed life sciences companies were present at the BIO International Convention in San Diego. At the same time EIC-backed deep tech awardees appeared at GITEX AI Europe in Berlin on 30 June and 1 July engaging across quantum computing, AI, cyber resilience and robotics. The EIC Community Platform will publish full wrap ups in the coming weeks.

What success looks like in practice: two case studies

AGRIVI — six figure commercial contract and a technology partnership after GITEX

AGRIVI is a Croatian agritech company and an EIC Accelerator awardee. The company exhibited in the EIC Pavilion at GITEX Global 2025 and GITEX Africa 2026. Participation and EIC support contributed to a signed six figure annual commercial contract with an Emirati agrifood company and a technology partnership with Moroccan start up DeepLeaf. AGRIVI’s product portfolio includes a farm management platform and an EIC co funded AI advisory product called AI Engage that delivers conversational advisory services over popular messaging channels.

What AGRIVI sold and why it mattered:The Emirati client needed a centralised farm management platform capable of supporting multi country operations and export compliance to the EU. AGRIVI’s platform met those requirements. The DeepLeaf agreement pairs AGRIVI’s chat based AI advisor with image based pest and disease identification. The partnership uses a consumption model so costs scale with adoption.

A balanced reading of this case is important. AGRIVI’s deal was facilitated by visibility and matchmaking but discussions pre dated the trade fairs in some cases. The presence of the EU brand and the logistical support that comes with the EIC Pavilion appear to have accelerated closing. That pattern is common: trade fairs provide a compact environment to de risk parts of the sales process but they rarely create demand out of nothing. Selection bias also matters because the programme works with companies that have already secured EIC backing and therefore have more mature propositions.

Dimetor — EUR 1.5 million in revenue from MWC and a pipeline to watch

Dimetor is an Austrian company that turns telecom network data into operational intelligence for aviation, defence and cyber applications. With EIC ITF support the company exhibited at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2025 and 2026. The company reports more than €1.5 million in revenue from deals initiated at MWC 2025 and contracts with large telecom operators. Following MWC 2026 Dimetor says its pipeline could exceed €10 million with opportunities emerging in defence and dual use applications.

Why MWC was decisive for Dimetor:MWC aggregates telecom and defence procurement attention in one place. Being in the EIC Pavilion amplified Dimetor’s access to senior decision makers and to defence related units inside telecom operators. This led to high level meetings which then converted into contracts and a larger pipeline.

A note of caution is necessary. Reported pipeline valuations are forward looking and contingent on procurement cycles, security clearances and integration trials. Defence and dual use projects can lengthen sales cycles and raise regulatory and export control issues that start ups must manage. Dimetor’s trajectory shows how trade fair visibility can create large opportunities but it also illustrates the additional operational risks and compliance work that follow.

Open call: join the EIC Pavilion at CES 2027

Applications are open for EIC-backed companies to join a fully funded EIC Pavilion at CES 2027 in Las Vegas on 6 to 9 January 2027. CES is a major global technology event. The EIC offering includes funded exhibition space, investor matchmaking, expert coaching and visibility at the Pavilion. The call targets EIC-backed SMEs, start ups and scale ups in sectors such as AI, digital health, mobility, smart cities, space tech, fintech, IoT and consumer electronics. The application deadline is 31 August 2026.

Why apply and what to expect:Participation offers high visibility and access to investors and corporates at scale. But applicants should be prepared to convert leads into pilots and contracts. Logistics, travel and on the ground sales follow up require resources. Selection is competitive and the EIC funds space and services for a subset of applicants only.

The EIC Business Acceleration Services in context: contracts, contacts, skills

Contracts pillar:This pillar aims to convert exposure into commercial deals. The EIC runs programmes for corporate partnerships, innovation procurement, global expansion and trade fairs. The logic is to create matchmaking and pilot opportunities where corporates and procurers can test EIC technologies.

Contacts pillar:The EIC Community platform, the EIC Service Catalogue and the Ecosystem Partnership Programme build a searchable network of partners, accelerators, RTOs and regional organisations. This is meant to shorten sourcing time for specific capabilities and to grant access to vetted service providers.

Skills pillar:Coaching, investor readiness, leadership and venture building programmes are delivered under this pillar. These activities aim to increase commercial readiness and to address common capability gaps among deep tech teams.

Metric or result (since 2021 unless noted)	Published figure or claim
One-on-one meetings brokered	+20,000
Deals reported	595
Investor outreach funds raised	EUR 350 million
EIC Scaling Club member fundraising since joining	EUR 1.2 billion
Turnover generated at trade fairs	EUR 42 million
Innovation procurement value raised	EUR 7.7 million supported; EUR 28.4 million in tenders submitted
Pilots following matches since March 2024	22 ongoing and 16 completed; supported with EUR 1.93 million
EIC ACCESS+ co funding available per beneficiary	Up to EUR 60,000 to cover up to 50% of service costs

Those numbers represent aggregate outputs across many activities. They are useful as indicators of scale but they do not automatically prove net additionality. Many participants are already EIC awardees which makes them a pre selected, higher probability group for commercialisation. Net impact assessment would require counterfactual analysis and follow up on long term commercial survival and growth.

Governance, platform rules and privacy — practical notes for participants

The EIC Business Acceleration Services are implemented by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA, under the Horizon Europe framework. The EIC Community platform is the gateway for applications, events and the Service Catalogue. Participants should be aware of the platform terms and conditions, data protection notices and rules of conduct. The EIC collects personal data for programme delivery and stores it under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. For events on EC premises, additional identity information may be required for security checks.

Practical compliance note:Companies targeting defence or dual use contracts should factor in export control, security vetting and procurement transparency obligations. The EIC can facilitate introductions. It does not remove the regulatory and contractual requirements that follow.

Critical takeaways and advice for founders

The EIC Business Acceleration Services clearly lower transactional barriers to market entry. They provide curated introductions, funded visibility and coaching that many early scale ups need. At the same time readers should be mindful of three common pitfalls.

1. Attribution and selection bias:Success stories are often drawn from the set of companies that already passed EIC selection gates. That group is not representative of all start ups. Positive outcomes reflect programme design and a pre existing maturity stage.

2. Pipeline versus realised revenue:Reported pipelines are helpful signals. They are not guaranteed revenue. Long sales cycles, regulatory approvals and integration trials commonly delay or reduce expected bookings.

3. Prepare for the hard work after the fair:Visibility is only the first step. Convert leads by having clear pilot offers, pricing models and local partners who can deliver. Factor travel, legal, IP and commercialisation budgets into your expansion plan and use EIC coaching to sharpen those assets.

How to engage and next steps

If you are an EIC awardee interested in international missions or trade fair participation register on the EIC Community Platform and watch open calls published ahead of events. Consider applying to the CES 2027 Pavilion if your technology aligns with the sectors listed and you can commit resources to follow up. Use the Service Catalogue and EIC ACCESS+ where co funding can reduce the cost of specialised services.

The EIC ecosystem offers a credible route to global exposure for European deep tech. The programmes described here produce measurable outputs and repeatable processes. But policy makers, investors and founders should continue to press for rigorous impact evaluation and transparency on conversion rates, follow on funding and long term company outcomes so that aggregate claims about scaling can be validated over time.

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