Attracting investment and promoting innovation projects is not always easy for start-ups and SMEs. Companies must overcome barriers such as lack of knowledge and experience in negotiating with investors; they also have limited access to investors and projects are often considered too risky investments.
The InvestEU programme aims to promote relevant projects across Europe and facilitate access to finance. In particular, one of its operational tools is the InvestEU portal: a platform for entrepreneurs and investors that enables European project promoters to reach investors that would otherwise be out of reach. As the InvestEU portal provides a list of projects that have passed an eligibility filter, (qualified) investors can easily screen several projects before deciding which ones to invest in.
How can I participate?
To be admitted for publication on the Portal, projects (or, where appropriate, the programme made up of smaller projects) must:
- Have a minimum total cost of 500,000 euros.
- Belong to one of the pre-determined sectors with high economic added value.
- Be implemented on the territory of the European Union. Cross-border projects with non-EU countries can also be accepted, if part of the total investment takes place in at least one of the EU countries.
- Have started implementation, or expect it to start, within three years from the date of submission to the InvestEU Portal.
The information required to publish your project on the portal is a brief description of your project (general description, business model, expected job creation, potential risks), its financial situation, and the possibility to add url links and additional information.
What happens next?
The InvestEU Portal will forward projects to the implementing partners of the InvestEU programme, who will examine projects related to their geographical or activity area. In addition, you can refer relevant projects to the InvestEU Advisory Hub. The ultimate goal is to obtain favourable funding conditions, one of the main objectives of the InvestEU programme.
What are the advantages for me?
The InvestEU portal is a great opportunity for promising companies to quickly access a large pool of potential investors. Moreover, it is very easy to access: the application process takes less than an hour, the project can be published for 3 years, it is completely free of charge and can have a great positive impact on projects that, for example, cannot wait for the resolution of a call for proposals.
At Zabala Innovation we have extensive experience accompanying and advising on the management of European projects, increasing their success rate. Don’t miss the opportunity to present your project on the InvestEU portal, we can help you!
