Funding and B2B Opportunities
The European Commission has announced the calls for proposals under the Erasmus + program for 2022. Next year’s budget is nearly EUR 3.9 billion. One of the novelties in the published calls is the opportunity to apply for a lump sum for the implementation of a project, which significantly reduces the administrative burden in the application, project management, and reporting documentation.
All public or private bodies with activities in the fields of education, training, youth, and sport can apply for funding with the help of the Erasmus + National Agencies established in all EU Member States, as well as with the assistance of the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture. Prospective projects are in the areas of school, higher and vocational education, youth mobility, and adult education. The nearest submission deadlines are in February 2022, and some procedures are open for submissions until October 2022. The detailed terms of the call for proposals, including its priorities, can be found in the Erasmus + Program Guide for 2022. at the following link http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/programme-guide, and on the its own website here.
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The platform of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce for Open Innovation has published 14 new challenges on topics related to innovation, digitalization, biotechnology, carbon emissions, telemedicine, industrial automation, and response to the Covid-19 pandemic. BCC’s Open Innovation Platform connects companies and institutions with start-ups to solve a specific problem or develop a new solution in a certain field. Register on the platform’s website to view the full description of each challenge and apply.
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The European Commission will fund at least 120 new projects under the LIFE program, the EU’s funding instrument for environmental and climate action, with a budget of € 280 million. Calls for submissions are open on the topics: Nature and Biodiversity, Circular Economy and Quality of Life, Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change, Transition to Clean Energy, and Operational Subsidies for Non-Profit Organizations. Three more invitations will open in mid-December. Information on each of them can be found on the program website here: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/life_en
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SMEs with a Horizon 2020 grant agreement, as well as those expecting such funding, can benefit from the free Horizon Intellectual Property (IP) Scan service to scan intellectual property. The service is provided by the European Commission and aims to assist companies in the effective management of their intellectual property and in protecting and enhancing its value in joint research and innovation. The free consultations are provided in three steps – preliminary interview and analysis, main interview, and final provision of guidelines and recommendations by a qualified intellectual property expert. You can request the service through the website here: https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/horizon-ip-scan_en
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A new fund created by women entrepreneurs – Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund – will invest in at least 25 European start-ups at an early stage of development. The applicant companies should also be owned by women entrepreneurs with at least 20% of the founding shares. Auxxo will invest between EUR 100,000 and EUR 600,000 in the approved companies for a 3-5% stake in the business. Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund is the first women’s venture capital fund in Germany and has already made investments in sectors such as green chemistry, fintech, and others.
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The pilot edition of PARA Robotics Incubator of the Professional Association of Robotics and Automation PARA has started. The initiative is aimed at young people with projects in robotics, drones, IoT, machine vision, and artificial intelligence. The incubator will provide participants with support from experienced engineers, access to laboratories and development centers to reach a complete prototype. Submission of ideas or projects is open until January 30, 2022, through the PARA Robotics Incubator website: https://www.incubator.para.expert/
