European Pre-Acceleration Programme
EIT Jumpstarter offers a 7-month pre-acceleration programme for early-stage innovators from over 28 countries and territories. Participants can compete for a first prize of up to €10,000 across 7 categories.
The EIT Jumpstarter offers additional cash prizes for teams from specific regions, regardless of the thematic category and the type of solution.
For the best team from the Western Balkans regions.
For the best team from the EU Outermost Regions.
For the best team from Ukraine.
For the best team with ideas in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative.
(more details in Terms and Conditions)
Our programme equips early-stage innovators with the essential skills and knowledge to launch their businesses. Alumni benefit from ongoing support and advice from the EIT Communities for the next stage of their start-up journey.
Five key areas to refine before filling out your application.
Participants can submit their ideas in the following categories, powered and mentored by different EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (EIT KICs):
Optimising resource efficiency and sustainability in agriculture, food production, and supply chains. Key areas: nutritionally customised food, digital traceability, food safety, and authenticity.
New models to deliver healthcare; Facilitating the uptake of digital medical devices in Europe; Harnessing the full potential of health data for innovation.
Energy cost reduction, system performance improvement, and lowering GHG emissions. Key areas: circular economy in energy, green hydrogen, energy management, and storage solutions.
The main focus areas are active mobility, sustainable city logistics, future mobility, mobility and energy, and public realm.
Flexible Production Systems for Competitive Manufacturing, Low Environmental Footprint Systems and Circular Economy for Green Manufacturing, Digital and Collaborative Solutions for Innovative Manufacturing Ecosystems, and Human–Machine Co-working for Socially Sustainable Manufacturing.
Innovative technologies to improve mineral exploration, mining, and materials processing through digital solutions and smart targeting. Key areas: Circular economy practices, recycling, and sustainable material design, reduce emissions, or promote transparency across value chains.
All solutions addressing the challenges described above in dedicated thematic cohorts powered by EIT KICs, or within the scope of the activities of 28Digital, Climate-KIC, EIT Culture & Creativity and EIT Water. Supported jointly by the EIT Communities and Xjenza Malta.
Applicants (at least 1 participating team member) must hold citizenship from one of the following countries or regions:
EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain.
EU Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France); the Azores and Madeira (Portugal); and the Canary Islands (Spain).
Horizon Europe Associated Countries and Territories: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, *Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Türkiye.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
EIT Jumpstarter promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. By addressing the unique needs of these regions, we aim to create a lasting economic impact.
To drive innovation and market access, tackling global challenges through collaborative efforts.
Join the EIT Jumpstarter programme and develop your idea into a start-up. Apply by 8 May 2026.
The EIT Jumpstarter is powered by 7 EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). Each KIC focuses on a key sector, offering expertise and resources during the EIT Jumpstarter Program to help early-stage innovators turn ideas into successful ventures.
Discover last editions of EIT Jumpstarter Finals in Budapest.
Discover how our alumni have transformed their groundbreaking ideas into successful ventures, securing significant funding and making a global impact.
Portugal
iLoF is a digital health company revolutionizing personalized drug discovery and development with its innovative AI-powered platform.
Slovenia
ReCatalyst develops, produces, and supplies customizable next-generation platinum-alloy catalyst solutions to optimize your usage of your precious metals.
Türkiye
RumiTech develops smart energy solutions that efficiently store renewable energy from the sun and wind.
CEO & Co-Founder at Lightly Technologies
“The programme helped us sharpen our value proposition, improve communication with stakeholders, and develop a clear go-to-market strategy. It also guided us in identifying the most promising markets and refining our commercialisation approach.”
Founder and CEO @Energy Shift
“[EIT Jumpstarter] connected us with an amazing mentor from the relevant VC firm, that helped us improve our pitch deck and attractively frame our ideas from the investor’s perspective, which proved to be successful so far.”
CEO & Founder @Alghètica
“The main thing EIT Jumpstarter taught us is that often start-ups are formed by technical people who speak the same “language”. Still, in some cases, that’s not the case, and in a varied team, it helps to understand better how to communicate appropriately to maximize efficiency.”
CEO & Co-Founder @NeWay
“EIT Jumpstarter had a great impact on our understanding of building a startup company, what are our future tasks, the risks to have in mind, etc. We consider it as a fantastic mentorship programme and during this period, we were exceptionally motivated to continuously work on developing our platform.”
Next
After the EIT Jumpstarter programme, participants can apply to EIT Jumpstarter Next.
Continue your journey, scale your start-up. Pre-register to secure your spot in the programme!
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European Pre-Acceleration Programme
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