All SME beneficiaries in the EDF calls can benefit from business coaching for free.
Coaches will guide SMEs in their business challenges to ensure the SME can accelerate growth and transition quicker from the research to the development phase or from the development phase to the market
Rewards and Benefits
SME beneficiaries in EDF calls are invited to take advantage of coaching services.
In the first year of the project, SMEs can receive guidance from experienced entrepreneurs and experts in the defence sector to boost growth.
These services are offered for free and focus on specific business challenges SMEs face, such as commercialisation, legal and financial challenges, strategy for defence market, and strategic partnerships.
How does it work?
- Each year, SME beneficiaries will be invited to participate in the business coaching services.
- SME beneficiaries in those calls can register to the EUDIS coaching platform and submit a coaching services request (this process takes around 30min).
- The SMEs will be provided with a needs analysis report, recommended assistance packages and the best matching coach to support them. The SME and the coach initially define a coaching plan to guide their collaboration the goals of the partnership and decide how often they meet. The coaching takes place over a period of 6 months.
SME Testimonials
“All of Vocapia's team coming from a very technical background, it was very enriching and eye opening to discuss the defense market and business development strategies.”
Jodie Lechapelain, Director, Vocapia Research (France)
“Our coach had great experience and could provide useful feedback and input for strategic questions regarding e.g. product-market fit, sales, marketing and internalization strategy.”
André Beyer, MD & CTO, Crowdee GmbH (Germany)
“The coach demonstrated interest and provided great support to the EDF project we are working on. In addition, the EUDIS platform is user-friendly and effective for the delivery of the service.”
Marcio Pinto, Project Manager, La Palma Research Centre (Spain)
“Extensive knowledge and experience in the ecosystem and accurate analysis of every key aspect of the company.”
Nuno Almeida, Founding partner, Porvalor (Portugal)
“Good feedback and possibility to give an advice from an external person who can be neutral to our problems.”
Agnieszka Sybilska, Head of project management office, Sybilla Technologies (Poland)
“The coach you selected for us is amazing and provided valuable input for the company.”
Natália Susana de Almeida e Silva, Trisolaris Advanced Technologies (Portugal)
Coach Testimonials
“EUDIS coaching is an excellent opportunity to boost EU Defence SMEs into EU Defence market preparing them for possible cross-national cooperation and bringing to the market some niche technological advanced solutions. The overall market is benefitting of this EU approach improving competitiveness, reducing monopolistic positions and facilitating cross-national cooperation.”
Michele Florini, coached Beyond Semiconductor (Slovenia)
“EUDIS Coaching has been an excellent professional and knowledge-sharing experience. Despite being the first time, the result has been very satisfactory for both parties.”
Efrén Diaz Diaz, coached TTI Norte (Spain)
“I appreciated the company and coachee that I had the opportunity to support. I believe I played a role in their development, and we plan to stay in touch moving forward. The program is clearly structured, guided by the coaching plan. The web platform has proven to be dependable, and communication with the EUDIS Coaching support team has been efficient. The EUDIS Coaching support team oversees progress in a subtle and respectful manner, which is ideal.”
Pedro Branco, coached Porvalor (Portugal)
Business coaching adds additional support and empowerment to all SME beneficiaries in all the EDF calls.
The following eligibility criteria apply to business coaches:
- Able to coach in a personal capacity;
- Possessing EU or Norwegian nationality and residence of at least 5 years;
- PSC or confirmation of absence of criminal record;
- At least 3 years’ experience as a coach;
- At least 5 years demonstrated experience in one of the following areas: defence technology, defence industry, EU procurement of defence products in the EU;
- Experience in at least one of the sectors covered by the EDF Calls (list of sectors);
- Fluency in English (level C1 or C2);
- Fluency in an EU MS language or Norwegian (level C1 or C2).
The Commission started recruiting coaches in July 2023, interested coach candidates may apply on an ongoing basis via the EUDIS coaching platform.
SMEs will receive recommendations for the best suited coach after applying for the services. However, in the application form they can express one or more preferences.
Topics covered via the coaching services include commercialisation, corporate strategy, business development and strategic partnerships, investment readiness and access to finance, scaling up and internationalisation, improving operations and execution capacity, sales and marketing, or legal and regulatory advice. For more information on the assistance packages, please click here.
Coaching will be provided in the first year of the EDF project. The coach is assigned to the SME, addressing business challenges. The services are provided for free and can last up to 15 days over a period of up to 6 months.
SMEs will receive coaching after the grant agreement has been signed, and the coaching services itself will be available during the first year of the project.