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Innovation kitchen - Horizon 2020 SME Instrument Impact Report

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  • Posted on: Jun 4, 2018
  • Other

Year of publication: 2018

Website: Link

Tags: Capacity building, Horizon 2020, SME, SME Instrument

With 8 companies floating on the stock market, 18 acquisitions and a total of €1.3 billion of extra private investment leveraged, the SME Instrument has established itself as an essential player on the European innovation scene. Since its start in 2014, the SME Instrument has invested in a unique selection of 3 200 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to get their breakthrough innovations faster on the market. With a network of 750 international business coaches and a growing community of global business and finance partners from the corporate and VC world, the SME Instrument gives the right business support and coaching to get companies ready to scale up and go global. Thanks to its focus on “smart money”, the SME Instrument bridges the critical investment gap in early stage innovation and makes market-creating innovation easier in Europe.

In 2017 SME Instrument-funded companies accounted for 10% of all tech IPOs in Europe and the follow up equity investments into companies funded by the SME Instrument doubled within one year only. Each €1 invested by the SME Instrument generated €1.6 of private investment and the companies funded under Phase 2 of the programme have experienced a 118% increase in turnover and a 158% increase in employment, only two years down the line.

Looking ahead, in 2018 the SME Instrument becomes a central pillar of the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot that focuses even more on market-creating innovation. The SME Instrument brings forward a new evaluation process involving a Jury of investment experts responsible for selecting the most innovative small businesses for funding.

This report offers first hand insights into growth trends and profiles of the companies funded under the SME Instrument. The report presents cumulative data from 2014 to end of 2017.

Type: Report | Source: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/sites/easme-site/files/smei_2018_impact_report_final_may_2018.pdf

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