Join EIT Jumpstarter 2025! Apply by 2nd April.
Benefits you will receive during the programme:
Compete to win €2,500, €5,000, or €10,000 to use to jumpstart your start-up.
Receive €2,000 + €1,000 in Travel Budget.
Receive training on Business Basics and Pitching Practice.
Develop your Business Plan and receive Soft Skills training.
Access a European-wide network of entrepreneurs and partners.
Work with experienced mentors and industry-leading investors.
Pitch your project to real investors and compete for the final price.
The EIT Jumpstarter 2025 offers additional cash prizes for teams from specific regions, regardless of the thematic category:
For the best team from the Western Balkans regions.
For the best team from the EU Outermost Regions.
For the best team from the Mediterranean regions.
Teams must have a team member who has citizenship from one of the following regions to qualify for these additional prizes:
Countries eligible under the EIT Jumpstarter programme and bordering the Mediterranean Sea:
March 15, 2025
The investment follows a pre-seed funding of €230K received from the SabancıARF programme in May 2024, bringing the company’s total funding in 2024 to €630K. Discover more about this company that started with the EIT Jumpstarter programme.
March 7, 2025
How Women Are Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurship.
We spoke with three female-led startups from the EIT Jumpstarter programme to hear about their journeys, challenges, and successes. Their inspiring stories show that the future of entrepreneurship is diverse, inclusive, and full of opportunity.
February 22, 2025
Find out how EIT Jumpstarter can help bring your innovation to life thanks to our Online Webinar. When? Monday, 10 March 2025. Time? 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CET.
You are eligible for the programme if…
You want to apply alone or in a team (no limit of team members)!
However please note that max. 2 team members can actively participate in the programme and receive travel grants.
Make sure that at least 1 of these 2 members has citizenship in a RIS eligible country, see below.
You had not incorporated your startup before 2025.
And you are planning to incorporate the startup in 2025, no later – in one of the eligible countries. This is an important criteria for you to receive your prize at the end of the competition.
You…
You want to…
Applicants (at least 1 participating team member) must hold citizenship from one of the following countries or regions:
EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia
Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine
Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain)
Additional regions: Moldova, Albania, and Kosovo* (*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.)
If your idea or start-up aligns with one of these key sectors, you’re in the right place:
Co-Founder & CTO @LUMA
“We learned how to highlight the most important aspects of our business in the pitch deck and […] now understand the main value proposition of our service and what is the essential aspects that juries or investors want to see when they listen to our presentations.”
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.”
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.
Apply now to turn your innovative ideas into successful businesses with our expert guidance.
