For European and national initiatives that support innovative startups through modern financial instruments, the One Stop Liaison Office of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Mechanism of the Central Macedonia Region provides information.
As noted in a related announcement, from their early steps, technology startups face the so-called funding gap, meaning the difficulty in securing investment capital due to high risk, large demands for financial resources, and the need for specialized knowledge from investors. To address this issue, the European Union supports innovative startups through financial instruments that reduce financial risk, attract private capital, and facilitate access to investments. These schemes include direct investments, guarantees, and support services for business development.
In this context, the EIC Fund, providing significant tools such as the EIC Accelerator program, represents an important step by the European Commission to support startups, offering not only grants but also direct investments through equity in high-risk startups, with an emphasis on companies that have significant growth prospects in the deep tech space. At the same time, the EIC Fund provides guidance, mentoring, and business development acceleration services. Additionally, through the EIC Transition funding scheme, technologies that have already progressed beyond the initial proof-of-concept are supported to move into the phase of technological maturity and commercial exploitation.
Complementarily, the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) promote collaboration between companies, research organizations, and universities, enhance skill development, and support startups in entering the European market, as well as accessing new customers and investors. At the same time, they offer innovative forms of financing by announcing open calls to accelerate the development and implementation of innovative solutions.
At a more institutional level, the European Investment Fund (EIF) is one of the key bodies of the European Union for supporting innovation through venture capital. It primarily operates through the fund of funds model, investing in collaborating investment funds that support innovative, technology-based companies. Additionally, it participates in European initiatives such as the InvestEU Fund, ESCALAR, COSME-Equity Facility for Growth, and the European Tech Champions Initiative, providing capital and supporting the development of innovative businesses. Meanwhile, the InvestEU funding program, having already recorded significant investments, strengthens new initiatives through a guarantee from the European Union amounting to approximately €26.2 billion. In Greece, the EquiFund program is a characteristic example of a successful financial intervention, as it has contributed to mobilizing significant capital to support innovative Greek businesses. At the same time, the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI) offers investment tools that enhance the innovation ecosystem, such as the InnovateNow tool, which aims to establish investment funds to cover investments across the entire funding chain of Greek startups with outward-looking characteristics and significant scaling prospects.
At the same time, the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) offers financial schemes such as the Innovation Guarantee Fund, which pertains to loans with guarantees and subsidies for high-innovation projects, facilitating access to capital and enhancing the development and scaling of businesses in the Greek and international markets. (14/11/25)
