The EUDIS Business Accelerator and Matchmaking (BAMM) services aim to provide EU innovation support for SMEs and small mid-caps through targeted acceleration, access to finance and matchmaking with end-users, corporates and investors.
EUDIS Business Accelerator
The EUDIS Business Accelerator aims to enhance start-ups' and scale-ups' companies understanding of the defence environment and end-user needs and strengthen their business development, enter the defence market and go-to-market capabilities. It will improve their access to financing, offer a seed-financing voucher of EUR 65,000 per company, and create opportunities for companies to matchmake with corporates, investors and defence end-users. Moreover, the Business Accelerator will support testing and validation of their innovative products and technologies while enhancing the companies’ matchmaking opportunities with corporates and research facilities.
The inaugural EUDIS Business Accelerator batch will support 20 selected start-ups and scale-ups over an 8-month acceleration period. At the end of the program, the companies will demonstrate their achievements to defence end-users from EU Member States and Norway at a prominent tech event or defence exhibition. The initiative is set to scale up in the coming years, expanding its reach to support more companies and foster innovation within the European defence ecosystem.
A call for 20 companies to join the Accelerator programme is scheduled to open in March 2025.
The EUDIS Business Accelerator is open for start-ups' and scale-ups' from EU Member States, and Norway. Entities from Ukraine can take part in the EUDIS Business Accelerator’s matchmaking activities.
EUDIS Matchmaking
The EUDIS Matchmaking services will bridge innovators and investors, enabling SMEs and small mid-caps to attract funding, enter the defence market, and establish partnerships with corporates, investors and defence end-users. This action will also support the implementation of the Defence Equity Facility.
The matchmaking services will include an online platform designed to foster a community of European stakeholders involved in defence innovation, providing a permanent networking tool for participants. EUDIS Matchmaking is open for SMEs and small mid-caps from EU Member States, Norway and Ukraine.
These efforts will be integrated with the matchmaking activities of the EUDIS Business Accelerator.
Rewards & Benefits
- Strengthen the EUDIS Business Accelerator’s start-up and scale-up companies’ knowledge of defence environment and business development.
- Improve their access to financing, making them investment-ready, providing them with seed-financing vouchers of EUR 65,000 per company, training and coaching sessions.
- Provide them with testing opportunities to create in-demand innovative defence solutions.
- Strengthen start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and small mid-caps’ networks and engagement with defence end-users, investors and corporates through EUDIS matchmaking events.
- Facilitate capacity building for investors by offering insights on the defence market and technologies.
Applications start soon
The EUDIS BAMM was launched in February 2025, following the European Commission's signing of the contract with the selected contractor responsible for its implementation.
Applications for start-ups and scale-ups to join the Accelerator will open in March 2025. The same timeframe applies for SMEs and small mid-caps that wants to join the EUDIS Matchmaking scheme.
A Business Accelerator provides innovation and business development support to SMEs for start-up and scale-up companies.
The EUDIS Business Accelerator adds defence training, testing and validation, and interaction with the defence end-users from EU Member States and Norway to this general set-up of a Business Accelerator. These features are highly necessary to be successful on the defence market.
If you are a start-up or scale-up company, for example aiming at entering the defence market or strengthening your existing position in the defence market and defence industrial eco-system, applying for the EUDIS Business Accelerator would be an interesting way forward.
You would meet a programme designed to support you to understand the defence market, receive coaching and training on both defence and business, grow your business, and meet with innovation partners, end-users and investors, which may be hard to accomplish successfully on your own.
After the EU Commission has signed a contract with the awarded contractor, the organisation of the Business Accelerator will start.
We plan for start-ups and scale-ups to be able to start applying to join the Accelerator in early Spring 2025.
Thereafter, a selection of participating companies will be done, selecting 20 companies for the first batch of the EUDIS Business Accelerator.
No, the Commission will not ask for any equity or ownership of IPRs in relation to the start-up and scale-up companies’ participation in the EUDIS Business Accelerator.
EUDIS Matchmaking will facilitate better and faster access to follow-up financing and supply chains of large companies in the defence sector.
Matchmaking with investors is particularly relevant since the EUDIS does not provide for direct equity financing and relies on private investors, supported by the Defence Equity Facility.
Therefore, EUDIS Matchmaking will provide a platform that allows investors and innovative companies to identify each other, meet, exchange ideas and establish business relationships.