VFF Early Stage Financing
Supports early-stage venture financing that helps start-ups turn prototypes into scalable, innovation-driven products.
Vroegefasefinanciering (VFF), also marketed in English as Proof-of-Concept Funding, is a government loan instrument administered by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZK). It provides early-stage repayable loans of up to €450,000 to Dutch startups and SMEs developing technical innovations at the proof-of-concept stage. The 2026 window is open Ja…
Repayable early-stage loans for Dutch startups and SMEs to fund proof-of-concept development of technical innovations, contingent on a committed follow-up investor.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see the timeline
Sign up free to see where teams trip up
Guides for this application
All guides →Grants for Biotech Startups: NIH, NSF, SBIR/STTR, and Non-Dilutive Funding
A practical guide to grants for biotech startups, including NIH SBIR/STTR, NSF, translational funding, evidence, regulatory readiness, and budgets.
BudgetGrant Budget Justification: How to Write the Budget Narrative
Learn how to write a grant budget justification, explain R&D costs, avoid weak budget narratives, and connect each cost to your work plan.
DocumentsLetter of Support for Grant Applications: Template and Examples
Learn how to write and request a letter of support for a grant, with template structure, examples, reviewer logic, and common mistakes.
More from RVO
All grants from this funder →Sustainable Community Real Estate Subsidy (DUMAVA)
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Pays owners of Dutch schools, care homes and other community buildings to cut their energy use.
Testing Circular Biopolyesters (STCB)
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Pays half the cost for Dutch companies testing bio-based polyesters like PLA or bio-PET.
ITEA 4 - 2026 Call
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Funds Dutch companies and knowledge institutions in international software-systems R&D projects up to €4 million.
Maritime Masterplan 2026
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Funds Dutch-led ship consortia developing hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or carbon-capture propulsion.
SME Collectives Sustainable Travel Behaviour (COVER)
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Pays Dutch SME representative bodies to make their members' employee commuting greener.
District Heating Network Investment Subsidy (WIS)
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Pays heat companies and cooperatives up to half the cost of a new gas-free district heat network.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →Take-off Phase 2 — Early-Stage Loan (Vroegefasetraject)
🇳🇱NWO · Netherlands
Invests Netherlands firms in knowledge startups building commercialization-ready products through structured financing and growth-oriented milestones.
Innovation Credit (Innovatiekrediet)
🇳🇱EZK · Netherlands
Funds high-risk Dutch innovation projects through a repayable government credit instrument.
BFTP CNP Early Stage Investment
🇺🇸Ben Franklin Tech Partners · United States
Funds early-stage Pennsylvania technology startups with equity-like investment support to strengthen real-world implementation.
SPRIND Recoding Medicine Challenge — Stage 1
🇩🇪SPRIND · Germany
Funds teams that curate a valuable health dataset and prove its worth with a working AI application.
Space Critical Equipment for EU Independence
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds a €250–300K project that matures critical space equipment and EU-trustworthy supply chains for independent missions.
EIC Accelerator — Short Proposal
🇮🇱ISERD · Israel
Supports small and medium firms in early-stage deep technologies through public proposals and commercialization mentoring.