Latest results: Commission to invest €80 million in 58 innovative companies under the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument

58 small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) from 16 countries have been selected for funding in the latest round of the Horizon2020 SME Instrument Phase 2. In this phase of the instrument, each project will receive up to €2.5 million (€5 million for health projects) to finance innovation activities. The total amount to be distributed between the SMEs working on 51 projects is €80 million.

Spanish SMEs were the most successful with 13 companies selected for funding. They are followed by seven Italian SMEs and five companies from both Germany and Finland. Most projects are in the field of transport with seven projects followed by six in the field of ICT.

The European Commission received 1378 project proposals by 13 October 2016, the fourth and last cut-off date for Phase 2 in 2016. Since the launch of the programme on 1st January 2014, 587 SMEs have been selected for funding under Phase 2.

Funding under Phase 2 of the instrument allows companies to invest in innovation activities such as demonstration, testing, piloting, scaling up and miniaturisation, in addition to developing a mature business plan for their product. The companies will also benefit from 12 days of business coaching. Most projects are proposed by a single SME but some companies team-up to elaborate a project.

The next cut-off for SME Instrument Phase 2 is 18 January 2017.