The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator for a startup from outside the EU: established in the Netherlands by step 2
The Accelerator of the European Innovation Council (EIC) gives startups and small companies a grant and an equity investment. A company from outside the EU can apply once it has relocated to an EU country, provided it is established there by the time it submits the full proposal. A Dutch private limited company (BV) can be that company. We help you choose between a new Dutch company, a flip, in which the Dutch company becomes the parent of your group, and a Dutch subsidiary. We set up the company you choose, and the notary incorporates it once all documents are complete.
Ask about your situationA startup from the United States can file the short application, step 1, from the United States. By the time it submits the full proposal in step 2, the company must prove its effective establishment in an EU member state. That means a registered company with management, staff or operations in that country. A country associated to Horizon Europe, the EU programme for research and innovation, also counts (EIC Work Programme 2026, topic HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01).
The applicant must be a single small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Under the EU definition that means fewer than 250 staff and either a turnover of up to €50 million or a balance sheet total of up to €43 million. Companies that control the applicant or that it controls count in full, and partner companies count in proportion to the stake. A Dutch company that belongs to a large group therefore counts as large.
The Accelerator offers a grant of less than €2.5 million and an equity investment of €1 million to €10 million through the EIC Fund. The EIC invests in the company that applies, so a Dutch BV at the top of the group that owns the intellectual property and the contracts receives the investment directly.
The next deadline for full proposals, and the last one in 2026, is 4 November 2026. The EIC will publish the dates for 2027 in its Work Programme 2027.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
Who does what
You keep one contact for the company, because we set up and manage the Dutch company that applies, while grant writers and lawyers from our network handle the specialist work.
Your company
- The innovation, the team and the application
- The choice between a flip and a subsidiary for the group
- The grant writer for the proposal
The Dutch company
- Set up the Dutch BV by power of attorney, with the notary
- Making the Dutch company the new parent (the flip), with the notary and tax advice
- Registration with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), VAT number, bank account and payroll
- Bookkeeping and annual accounts that the EIC can audit
Grant, law, residence
- Grant writer for the EIC application
- US counsel for the share exchange
- Immigration adviser for the residence permits of the founders
Step by step
From a startup abroad to an EIC applicant established in the Netherlands.
- The plan. You share your product, your team and your funding plan, and we advise which set-up suits you best, whether a new Dutch company, a flip or a subsidiary.
- Step 1 of the EIC. You file the short application from abroad.
- The company. The notary sets up the Dutch BV by power of attorney and signs the deed once all documents are complete.
- The establishment. The Dutch company brings management, staff or operations to the Netherlands and takes the intellectual property and the contracts in its own name.
- Step 2 of the EIC. You submit the full proposal by a cut-off date, with proof of the effective establishment.
- After the award. Once the agreements and the due diligence are complete, we keep the books and handle the reporting of the Dutch company.
Who can apply
The EIC Work Programme 2026 (topic HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01) admits the following applicants to the Accelerator.
- a single company classified as an SME, established in an EU member state or an associated country;
- a small mid-cap company with up to 499 employees, in exceptional cases for rapid scale-up, for the investment only;
- founders from a member state or an associated country who will establish an SME by the time of signing the grant agreement;
- investors that apply on behalf of a company, with its agreement;
- applicants from a country outside the EU and outside the associated countries (a third country) that intend to establish an SME or to relocate an existing SME. They must prove the effective establishment of the company in a member state or an associated country when they submit the full proposal.
The EIC adds on its Accelerator page that applicants from third countries may relocate their company to qualify, provided the relocation is complete before the full application in step 2.
The associated countries
According to the European Commission’s list of 16 September 2026, the countries associated to Horizon Europe are Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Morocco is treated as associated under transitional arrangements. Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Korea are associated only for the second part of Horizon Europe (Pillar II), while the EIC belongs to the third part (Pillar III). For the United Kingdom, transitional arrangements apply from the 2026 budget, under which UK companies are treated as associated for the EIC Fund. Investment decisions depend on the amendment of the UK association agreement. The United States is outside the list.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
The steps and the dates
The process starts with a short application, consisting of a form, a pitch deck and a video, which you can submit at any time. You then submit a full proposal by one of the fixed deadlines, known as cut-off dates, and present the plan to a jury in an interview. Finally you sign the agreements after due diligence, the investor’s check of the company.
In 2026 the deadlines for full proposals fall on 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September and 4 November. The dates for 2027 will appear in the EIC Work Programme 2027.
The funding and its conditions
The grant is less than €2.5 million, while the EIC Fund invests €1 million to €10 million in equity. For fast-growing companies that need more, the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) invests €10 million to €30 million through STEP Scale Up. The 2026 budget is €414 million for the open call and €220 million for the challenges, the calls aimed at specific technologies.
Some parts of the programme set conditions on who owns and controls the company. In the challenge on critical raw materials, only companies controlled from eligible countries may apply for a grant alone, and every applicant signs a declaration on ownership and control. EIC Fund investments in STEP Scale Up, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology and biotech come with economic security safeguards. You must inform the EIC when you transfer funded intellectual property to a country outside the associated countries.
Effective establishment in practice
The work programme requires effective establishment, and the evaluators check the details. The safest plan is a company that is registered in the Netherlands and has its management, staff or operations here. It also owns the intellectual property and the contracts in its own name.
Which company receives the investment depends on the structure, because the EIC invests in the company that applies. In a flip, the shareholders exchange their shares for shares in the Dutch company, which becomes the parent of the group, so the EIC invests at the top. When a Dutch subsidiary of a US parent applies, the EIC invests in the subsidiary.
The EIC’s own FAQ states that it can end the grant agreement after a later change of ownership that calls the award decision into question. The ownership of the group is therefore best settled before the full proposal.
Relocating the founders
American founders can live in the Netherlands under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) if they invest at least €4,500 in their own company. Our overview of the DAFT requirements for 2026 explains the details. Founders from other countries can use other Dutch residence permits, such as the permit for highly skilled migrants or the permit for startups.
Sources: European Innovation Council, EIC Work Programme 2026 (amended on 17 June 2026), EIC Accelerator and the FAQ on the Accelerator; Funding and Tenders Portal, topic HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01; European Commission, list of countries associated to Horizon Europe (16 September 2026); Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC on the definition of SMEs. Checked on 25 September 2026.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us about your startup, your team and your funding plan, and our team will advise on the structure that suits your application.
Related guides
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