The INNOWWIDE second call for projects closed on April 7th with a total of 597 proposals submitted by SMEs and startups from 36 European Union (EU) and associated states countries.

For the second call, INNOWWIDE had a budget of 4.2 million euros to finance viability assesment projects (VAPS) for the internationalisation of innovative SMEs beyond the European Union.

The selected projects for INNOWWIDE funding will be announced in late June 2020, after a strict evaluation process by independent experts.

The submitted VAPS targeted 61 countries outside the EU. The most popular market has been the United States, monopolizing 19% of the projects presented, followed by India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Canada, Colombia, Chile and Japan.

This second and last call of the INNOWWIDE project has received great interest and attention, which came to be reflected on the impressive amount of applications received, near 600. In this way, it is evident that there is a clear need and demand in Europe for such an instrument for innovative SMEs to pursue their path on internationalisation and that taking their endeavours abroad is clearly viewed by European SMEs as a strategic driver. Time has come to vouch for a reinforced mechanism as a follow up of the INNOWWIDE pilot phase.

The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (@CDTIoficial) leads this project in which 10 other European partners participate, including Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA).

This EU Horizon 2020 pilot programme is bringing innovative European SMEs to the forefront of international markets, providing financial support for viability assessments in cooperation with stakeholders outside of Europe.

INNOWWIDE creates the conditions to increase uptake of European innovative solutions outside of Europe. The two INNOWWIDE calls have a combined budget of 7.2 million euros, which translates into 120 viability assessments at 60,000 euros each.