European Partnership on Innovative SMEs: mid-term impact analysis confirms strong results

Launched in 2021, the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs has mobilised over €1.2 billion in public and private funding, supporting 1,000+ projects across 37 Partnership countries. Its Mid-Term Impact Analysis shows an initiative delivering strong results at the halfway mark.

The Partnership’s flagship programmes, Eurostars-3 and Innowwide, and its accompanying measures, the Fast Track to the EIC Accelerator and the Investment Readiness Programme, have together invested €600+ million in public funding and €650+ million in private investment, with strong representation of Widening Countries.

Key findings include:

• Eurostars-3: 851 collaborative research and development (R&D) projects have been funded, with SMEs making up 73% of participants, and 58% being startups. Projects strongly support EU’s priorities: 37% contribute to the green transition and 52% to digital innovation.
• Innowwide: 190 SMEs were able to explore markets outside Europe, fostering global partnerships in 48 countries and validating innovations internationally.
• High performance: 87% of Eurostars-3 and 98% of Innowwide SMEs achieved their project goals and93% plan to continue collaborating, demonstrating the high effectiveness of the programmes.
• Excellent value: a 1:7 ratio on EU funds and administrative costs are just 2.2% of the public budget, well below the averages for Horizon Europe. SMEs go on to leverage high amounts of further private and public funding.

The Mid-Term Impact Analysis confirms that the Partnership is firmly on track: boosting SME innovation, fostering internationalisation, and strengthening the European Research Area.

Looking ahead, recommendations for the next half of the programme include tackling funding disparities, boosting investment readiness, and accelerating impact through more streamlined processes.

You can read the full Mid-Term Impact Analysis in our Resource Library.