Innowwide Call Now Open: €60,000 for SMEs to Test Innovative Solutions in International Markets

The 5th Innowwide Call for Market Feasibility Projects is now open, offering innovative SMEs €60,000 in funding to assess the potential of their products, services or technologies in markets outside Europe.

Applications opened on 1 October 2026 and can be submitted until 1 December 2026 at 14:00 CET.

With a total budget of €4.2 million, the call is expected to support 70 market feasibility projects, helping European SMEs explore opportunities in countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

€60,000 to Explore a New International Market

Innowwide is designed for SMEs that have an innovative solution and want to understand whether it can successfully enter or develop within a specific international market.

Each selected SME will receive a fixed grant of €60,000 for a six-month market feasibility project.

The maximum funding rate is 70%, meaning that the project must have at least €86,000 in total eligible costs, with the beneficiary covering costs beyond the €60,000 grant.

Funding is paid in two stages:

• €42,000 (70%) as pre-financing at the beginning of the project;

• €18,000 (30%) following completion of the six-month project and acceptance of the final report.

What Can SMEs Use the Funding For?

The programme goes beyond a traditional market study. Projects can combine technical, market, legal and socioeconomic assessments to determine whether an innovative product, process or service can be successfully deployed in the selected country.

Eligible costs can include personnel, subcontracting, travel and subsistence, equipment depreciation, other goods and services, as well as indirect costs.

Activities can help companies assess issues such as local market conditions, technical requirements, customer needs, competition, regulatory barriers and the adaptations needed to introduce their innovation successfully.

The call is bottom-up, meaning there is no prescribed technological or sectoral topic. SMEs decide which innovation and international market they want to explore.

A Local Partner Is Required

An important feature of Innowwide is collaboration with an organisation in the target market.

Applicants must identify at least one independent local counterpart in their chosen country. This organisation can be, for example, a customer, supplier, end user, research organisation or complementary technology provider.

The local counterpart participates as the project's main subcontractor, rather than as a beneficiary of the grant.

This structure is intended to help SMEs validate their international business opportunity with organisations that understand the local market and can contribute directly to the feasibility assessment.

Who Can Apply?

Applicants must be innovative SMEs legally established in an EU Member State, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Switzerland, Türkiye or the United Kingdom.

This means that Bulgarian SMEs are eligible to apply.

Companies must also have been legally established for at least two years by the call deadline. For this round, that means establishment on or before 1 December 2024.

Another important eligibility condition is that the SME must not have received funding under a previous Innowwide call in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025.

Projects must:

• Last six months;

• Target a country in Africa, the Americas, Asia or Oceania;

• Include an independent local counterpart as the main subcontractor;

• Focus exclusively on civil applications;

• Have minimum total eligible costs of €86,000;

• Include an innovation at a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4.

The innovation must not exceed TRL 8 in the target country. Where further R&D activities are envisaged, TRL 7 is indicated as the upper reference point.

Why Innowwide Can Be Relevant for Agri-Food Innovators

For agri-food and agri-tech SMEs, entering a new international market often requires more than identifying potential customers.

Differences in agricultural conditions, regulation, infrastructure, supply chains, production practices and user requirements can determine whether a technology that works in Europe can be successfully transferred elsewhere.

Innowwide can therefore provide an interesting route for companies developing solutions in areas such as agri-tech, food technologies, precision agriculture, biotechnology, circular bioeconomy, digital agriculture, sustainable inputs, processing technologies and other innovative products or services.

Because the programme is bottom-up, there is no dedicated agri-food topic. What matters is the quality of the innovation, the international market opportunity and the proposed feasibility project.

Key Call Information

Call: 5th Innowwide Call for Market Feasibility Projects – Autumn 2026

Status: Open

Application deadline: 1 December 2026, 14:00 CET

Total call budget: €4.2 million

Funding per project: €60,000

Funding rate: Up to 70%

Minimum eligible project costs: €86,000

Projects expected to be funded: 70

Project duration: 6 months

Target markets: Countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia or Oceania

Applicant: One eligible innovative SME

Local collaboration: At least one independent counterpart in the target country, participating as the main subcontractor

Applications Are Now Open

Applications must be prepared in English and submitted electronically through Eureka's SmartSimple platform.

Companies can submit only one application under the call. Applicants should also allow sufficient time for their selected local counterpart to complete the required commitment through the application platform before submission.

The call closes on 1 December 2026 at 14:00 CET.

You can explore this opportunity through our platform: https://agriventures.co/funding/b9874e1c-8261-421f-9e91-2a6f56aa0164?search=innow&page=1

Check out our guides for funding opportunities

https://projects.agriventures.co/resources

Agriventures Connect 3.0 is coming on 20th of April 2027 in Sofia, Bulgaria

https://connect.agriventures.co/

The role of Agriventures in supporting agrifood innovation

As the agritech startup ecosystem grows across Europe, initiatives such as Agriventures are helping connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers working in agriculture and food innovation.

Agriventures focuses on supporting agrifood startups, biotechnology innovation, and access to European funding for agriculture, while also helping entrepreneurs navigate the complex landscape of startup financing, venture capital, and research commercialization.

By strengthening connections between startups, research institutions, investors, and farmers, Agriventures contributes to building a stronger agricultural innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the transition toward sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.

Through knowledge sharing, events, and ecosystem building, Agriventures helps ensure that promising agritech innovations can scale and reach farmers, food producers, and global markets.