Proof-of-Concept Co-Financing Instrument

The Proof-of-Concept Co-Financing Instrument sits under EIT Food as a cash co-financing route for agrifood startups running small pilot projects or proofs of concept with corporate clients. It is designed for practical work such as sample creation, field trials, functionality tests, and efficiency assessments, and it keeps the project scope intentionally small. The budget ceiling is under €60,000, which keeps the route focused on short, testable collaborations. The instrument has two fixed annual cutoffs, on July 31 and November 30, and it is disbursed through a Lump Sum Subgrant Agreement. Applications go through MyEITFood and require a Letter of Intent plus the supporting call documents and budget template. The geography is pan-EU across EIT Food regions, the instrument is grant-based, and the program operates on a multiple-times-per-year cadence. This route suits companies that already have a corporate partner and a clear pilot question to answer. Applicants do best when they can show a contained use case, a realistic budget, and a direct line from the pilot to commercial learning. It is less useful for open-ended research and more useful for teams that need a fast, structured proof point they can take into the next stage of development.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.