xBUILD-EU, a project funded by the European Union under the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME), has opened a call for funding that aims to support SMEs in their efforts to innovate by creating new products or services, improve their sustainability through digital technologies and to increase their reach in the global market.

The 1st xBUILD-EU call for proposals aims to fund 3 different grants schemes:

Innovate grant

• Objective: to identify and bring to market new-to-firm products and/or services to make SMEs more resilient against value chain disruptions.
• Beneficiaries: 8 SMEs
• Funding: €20.000
• Fix and exhaustive list of activities eligible for funding: Technical assessment and viability, technical requirements for different target markets, compliance studies, prototype development including materials/services, technical prototyping, technical testing and market testing, prototype/system integration design and development, including materials, technical testing and market testing, dissemination actions to promote market launch.

Green and digital grant

• Objective: to assess technologies and adopt business processes to enable the green and digital transition to make SMEs more competitive, ready for a resilient future and for global growth.
• Beneficiaries: 10 SMEs in 5 projects,
• Consortia: 2 SMEs from different eligible sectors
• Funding: €35.000 (per consortia maximum: €50.000)
• Fix and exhaustive list of activities eligible for funding: Digital and green assessments, viability studies, technical feasibility, prototype development including materials/services, technical prototyping, technical testing and market testing, prototype/system integration design and development, including materials, technical testing and market testing, digital training.

Global grant

• Objective: facilitate internationalization of SMEs in selected target countries.
• Eligible target country: Middle east selected countries: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
• Beneficiaries: 6 SMEs,
• Funding: €25.000
• Fix and exhaustive list of activities eligible for funding: Internationalization strategy review, assessment of market opportunities, compliance studies, technical assessment and viability, technical requirements for different target markets, internationalization custom agendas for B2B meetings, export assessment, training and capacity building.

For more information on the scope of the calls, the procedural requirements for the applications and the details of the different individual grant schemes, please follow this link.