- EIT Culture & Creativity’s new incubation, acceleration, and post acceleration programmes offer EUR 990K for 20 European creative startups
- The initiative empowers creative industries via funding, knowledge, and connections
- The programmes focus on architecture, gaming, fashion, heritage, and audiovisual media
- The application open until July 11th, 2025, for startups in various growth stages
EIT Culture & Creativity, a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an EU body, launched two new funding opportunities for European cultural and creative startups and scaleups. With a total budget of EUR 990K, these calls will support up to 20 founders and companies through incubation, acceleration, and post-acceleration programs.
EIT Culture & Creativity in a Nutshell
EIT Culture & Creativity was established in 2023 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). It is dedicated to transforming Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI). As part of Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem, it connects research, industry, academia, and cultural institutions to foster systemic innovation.
Its mission is to empower the CCSI and their economic, social, and environmental transformation, driving responsible growth through innovation, education, business creation, and societal impact. The institution offers funding, knowledge, and tailored support with an initial strategic focus on architecture, gaming, fashion, cultural heritage, and audiovisual media with the goal of helping innovators scale ideas, translate innovation into impact, and redefine entrepreneurship for the creative economy.
Headquartered in Cologne with regional hubs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Helsinki, Košice, and Vienna, EIT Culture & Creativity operates in over 30 countries. The institution underscores culture and creativity’s essential part in sustainable innovation and economic growth.
Anette Schaefer, CEO at EIT Culture & Creativity
‘With 40 employees across 13 nations, we are ready to unlock the full potential of Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries in alignment with the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy,’ states EIT Culture & Creativity’s CEO Anette Schaefer.
Everyone passionate about shaping Europe’s future is invited to join EIT Culture & Creativity’s Incubation Programme and Acceleration and Post-Acceleration Programme. Both are open for startups and scaleups based in EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries, operating within the CCSI. Selected ventures can receive between EUR 7.5K and EUR 60K in financial support. The application deadline for both calls is July 11th, 2025.
Shaping Europe’s Creative Future
ITKeyMedia approached EIT Culture & Creativity’s director of business creation Javier Arias to talk about the organization’s uniqueness, procedures and policies, impact, and further ambitions.
What distinguishes EIT Culture & Creativity’s approach to supporting startups from other EU-powered innovation initiatives?
Javier Arias: Unlike other instruments, EIT Culture & Creativity works with the ventures doesn’t stop after the funding is complete. We work with the startups to ensure their sustained success and European expansion.
Early-stage start-ups and scale-ups benefit from our incubation, acceleration, and innovation funding programmes, which serve as starting points for their growth journey. Once selected, start-ups can join programmes that range from three months of coaching, training, and industry connections to financial support of up to EUR 350K to bring their innovations to the market. After the programmes conclude, EIT Culture & Creativity enters in a long-term partnership with the most promising ventures and provides services like access to markets, investors, skills, talent, and a seal-of-excellence: 100-to-Watch.
What role do discussions around policies and procedures play in shaping your funding calls?
JA: Our programmes are funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the EU, through Horizon Europe. As such, our Strategic Agenda and Business Plans are aligned with the strategic goals of the European Parliament for startups and scaleups. Our funding calls and programmes evolve with market and policy developments and aim to contribute to the overarching European goals to drive innovation and venture growth.
Can you share more details about how exactly last year’s pilot participants like Adire Lounge or Reality Telling benefited from their participation and your support? What have been the most surprising or inspiring outcomes from ventures you’ve supported so far? And what insights did you gain from the 2024 pilot training programme that influenced shaping this year’s open calls?
JA: Last year, participants of the first edition of our Acceleration Programme (Shape) benefitted from fine-tuned business plans, revised product-market fit, expansion strategies and events like a Demo Day where ventures have the opportunity to pitch their business in front of investors and potential customers. This time, it was hosted at sTARTUp Day in Tartu, Estonia. The Demo Day also benefitted us, as we got to learn from participants what some of the typical bottlenecks in these sectors are, which helped us shape the programme for the next cohort. These bottlenecks range from solo entrepreneurs in need of complementary skills in their teams to a limited awareness about the public and private funding opportunities available in the market.
The most rewarding aspect of our activities is witnessing the energy and passion of the creative entrepreneurs, who step out of their comfort zone to combine inspiring ideas with business acumen. They learn to speak investors’ language while combining it with their passion to create new products or solutions.
What is the overarching goal behind launching the two current open calls for SMEs in the cultural and creative sectors? How exactly do they align with the EU’s startup and scaleup strategy?
Javier Arias, Director of Business Creation at EIT Culture & Creativity
JA: The EU’s startup and scaleup strategy aims to remove some of the bottlenecks for venture growth, including access to the European single market and increase in capital available. Our programmes contribute directly to these goals. EIT Culture & Creativity operates through six Regional Hubs across Europe, which are directly linked to the programmes we deliver.
For example, the kick-off of the first cohort will take place in our North-West Hub in Amsterdam, while the Demo Day for participants is planned to take place in cooperation with our South-East/Alps Hub in Vienna. This exposure provides start-ups with the know-how to navigate the complexities of the different regional European markets. It also opens doors to new potential markets or the development of Proof of Concepts (PoCs) – prototypes to validate the feasibility of an innovation – with partners in regions they have not considered so far.
Additionally, EIT Culture & Creativity is committed to boosting awareness of investment opportunities in creative tech ventures amongst investors, including VCs, Impact Investors, Angel Investors, Family Offices, and more. Startups in our programmes benefit from access to this network through pitching sessions, Demo Days, investment roundtables, and our Annual Investment Forum taking place on November 17th, 2025 in Helsinki, Finland.
How do EIT Culture & Creativity regional hubs in several cities across the EU contribute to startup creation and scaling efforts?
JA: Our Regional Hubs play a crucial role in disseminating the opportunities we offer. They represent us at key industry events and are connected to the most important regional networks in these sectors. In addition, they actively take part in our programmes through hosting sessions, training participants on regional opportunities, and facilitating access to those same industry events. Finally, they are essential in supporting the market expansion of startups beyond the programmes, as they have access to our partners and their networks across the different regions.
Why did EIT Culture & Creativity select fashion, architecture, cultural heritage, audiovisual media, and gaming as priority sectors for 2025? Are there specific barriers you’ve identified that SMEs in the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries face when trying to scale internationally and how do EIT C&C’s programmes address them?
JA: These value chains have been defined as part of the Strategic Agenda we have in place for the first few years of operation, until 2027. It constitutes our mandate for deploying funding through programmes, grants, and other instruments. These were selected through a combination of potential for growth, impact, and the need for new structures to support venture growth in the sectors. As EIT Culture & Creativity and the investment market evolve, the sectors supported may change over time. Some of the barriers that we have identified include fragmentation in the investment market towards these sectors, a gap in understanding between creative entrepreneurs and investors, regulatory and market access complexities, amongst others. We tackle this by de-risking the innovation and business cases of these ventures through our programmes and funding. In addition, we provide pan-European support through our Regional Hubs and mobilise investors towards these sectors through our Investment Network activities.
What advice would you offer to entrepreneurs who consider applying for your programmes?
JA: Explore all your options! There are many brilliant creative ideas which can become scalable businesses. Programmes like ours can be a great starting point to explore the potential of these ideas. They serve as a launchpad to increase your impact and find the right path for your venture; whether that is through raising funds from the private capital market, engaging with Angel Investors, or expanding organically through sales.
What criteria or metrics will be used to determine the funding range offered to startups in these new calls and to measure the success of the programmes afterward?
JA: The criteria depend on the programme and the maturity of the start-up.
Our Incubation Programme (Spark) supports aspiring entrepreneurs in assessing the potential of their idea and establishing a new company. Here, we consider the potential strategic fit of the idea with our portfolio and impact metrics. We also look at the track record of the potential founder and their awareness of the market they aim to enter.
Our Acceleration and Post-Acceleration Programmes (Shape and Scale) look at more mature ventures aiming to expand across Europe or raise funds to grow. As such, we consider the maturity of the business model, the product-market fit, the target audiences identified, the value proposition, and – naturally – the skills of the team. The success of our programmes is defined by the number of new ventures created, the innovations brought to market, and the investment raised by start-ups supported.
How do the offered programmes differ in terms of structure and objectives? What kind of tailored support can participating startups expect beyond the financial grant?
JA: As a pan-European institution, our programmes offer access to an unparalleled network of experts, coaches, research, academia, and industry. This is intrinsically embedded in the design of our programmes, with face-to-face activities taking place across our Regional Hubs in combination with online formats. Each programme offers a journey tailored to the maturity of the ventures. In addition, we cooperate with over 100 experts from across Europe and from across the different sectors that we support. The start-ups get access to these experts for tailored support that ranges from preparing their pitch to investors to understanding the regulations of certain key markets.
What are your plans or expectations for the impact of these programmes by the end of 2025?
JA: By the end of 2025, we plan to launch our 100-To-Watch list which will present the most promising ventures in culture and creativity from across Europe. This list will include the beneficiaries of our funding and training programmes and will constitute the first of its kind for these sectors. This will be our tool to further engage with investors, corporates, and public funding mechanisms to ensure the sustained growth of the ventures that graduate from our programmes, reflecting our commitment to backing innovation that delivers both value and lasting, sustainable impact.
Strengthening Europe’s creative economy, EIT Culture & Creativity’s initiatives offer vital support to startups and scaleups in often overlooked sectors. By providing targeted funding, mentorship, and a vast network, the organization actively addresses key barriers to growth, aligning directly with the EU’s vision for a more innovative and competitive single market. These open calls represent a significant opportunity for cultural and creative ventures to gain the resources and exposure needed to thrive and make a lasting impact.
Startups are wel;come to apply before July 11th, 2025:
Kostiantyn is a freelance writer from Crimea but based in Lviv. He loves writing about IT and high tech because those topics are always upbeat and he’s an inherent optimist!
