What is the typical investment duration and exit approach for the EIC Fund?
Related FAQ
What is the EIC Fund and its main objective?
The EIC Fund is an initiative of the European Commission with support from the EIB Group that provides patient capital (equity or quasi-equity blended with gran...
What types of financing does the EIC Fund provide?
The EIC Fund provides equity or quasi-equity investments blended with a grant component; the grant is managed by the EC and the equity component is operated by...
Who manages the grant and who manages the equity component of the EIC Accelerator pilot?
The grant component is managed by the European Commission; the equity component is operated by the EIC Fund and advised by the EIB Group, under the EIC governin...
What was the initial pilot budget of the EIC Fund?
In its pilot phase (until 2020) the EIC Fund had an initial budget of EUR 100 million.
Which entities are eligible for EIC Fund investment?
Eligible applicants are for-profit SMEs, including start-ups and early-stage companies organized as single economic entities; consortia, universities and non-SM...
What company development stages does the EIC Fund target?
The EIC Fund targets Pre-Seed, Seed and Early-stage SMEs; growth-stage companies are not within the focus of the pilot phase.
What geographic scope applies to eligible companies?
Companies must be established and operating in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon 2020.
Which sectors are policy priorities for the pilot?
The pilot focuses on capital-intensive policy-priority sectors including clean energy, advanced engineering, life sciences, digital, space, climate action, futu...
What is the maximum total funding a recipient company can receive under these guidelines?
The EC will allocate a maximum total funding (grants and equity) of EUR 17.5 million to recipient companies to bring their innovations to market.
What are the typical EIC Fund investment sizes and grant amounts?
EIC Fund equity investments will range between EUR 0.5 million and EUR 15 million per company, blended with a grant component between EUR 0.5 million and EUR 2....
What equity stakes does the EIC Fund typically target?
The EIC Fund will generally target minority ownership stakes from 10% to 25%, and up to a blocking minority for cases identified by the EC as of strategic inter...
What are the EIC Fund's co-investment scenarios (buckets) in brief?
Bucket 1: market shows no interest—EIC Fund may invest alone after due diligence; Bucket 2: no immediate but potential interest—similar, with possible future co...