The funding is focused on two separate areas – larger-scale collaborative programmes and innovative single projects.

The starting budget allocated to this 2023–2025 funding scheme is €30m.

For Collaborative Missions:

• Up to €1 million per project per year (maximum 2 years initially)

Projects can request funding for various sizes and durations, with some flexibility for smaller or shorter projects to seek other funding routes.

Regarding the selection process, project acceptance is at EIT Food’s discretion following a rigorous evaluation through multiple rounds of submission windows, with ongoing monitoring of budget availability. The document states: “The number of proposals accepted under any single submission window is at the discretion of EIT Food.” This implies no predetermined fixed quota of projects per call.

For Single projects:

• Commercial projects: Up to €1,000,000 grant funding each, with a maximum reimbursement of 70% of eligible costs (minimum 30% co-funding).

• Non-commercial projects: Up to €100,000 grant funding each for up to 18 months, with waiver possibilities on success sharing.

• Responsible for the funding

For Collaborative Missions:

The European Union (EU) primarily supports funding the EIT Food Collaborative Missions Programmes. More specifically, the funding originates from the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), an EU body that underpins the EIT Food initiative.  The funding scheme conforms to EU-wide frameworks like Horizon Europe regulations regarding eligibility of costs and intellectual property policies.

While co-funding is required from applicants or other sources, these can include private entities or other sponsors; however, the primary funding responsibility lies with EIT via EU public funds.

For Single projects:

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) is part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, which means that the ultimate source of funding is EU-supported innovation and research budgets channelled through EIT Food. 

• Time span 

For Collaborative Missions:

The funding timeline for projects under the EIT Food Collaborative Missions Programmes is primarily structured around an initial duration of up to 24 months (two years) for each funded programme. 

Applicants are invited to submit proposals for projects that initially last a minimum of 6 months and up to 24 months.  Notably, the funding scheme also offers an option for a performance-dependent extension of up to 12 months (one year) beyond the initial project end date. 

For Single projects:

The funding timespan outlined in the report spans from the opening of the call on 14th September 2023 through periodic submission windows, concluding with the last submission deadline on 11th December 2025. This means the funding opportunity is available for almost two years and three months. Following project selection, the earliest project start date is 1 January 2026. Individual projects funded under this scheme are expected to have an initial duration of up to 18 months, with an optional performance-dependent extension of up to 6 additional months. This extension requires formal approval by EIT Food and is intended to build upon initial success by, for example, enhancing commercial performance or scaling business activity.

• The financial conditions can be summarised as follows:

For Collaborative Missions:

• Grant-based funding with up to 70% reimbursement of eligible costs.
• A minimum of 30% co-funding is required from applicants or other sources.
• Payments are linked to milestone deliverables and reporting.
• Success Sharing Mechanism applies only on commercial gains from the funded portion, requiring reinvestment rather than repayment.
• Option to request waiver of SSM for non-commercial projects.

For Single projects:

Grant Funding and Co-Funding Ratio:
EIT Food provides grant funding covering up to 70% of eligible project costs, requiring recipients to secure at least 30% of the project budget from other non-EU sources. 

This co-funding can consist of cash or in-kind contributions from consortium members. Other EU funding is not accepted as co-funding under this scheme.

Funding Caps and Duration:

• Commercial projects may receive up to €1,000,000 in grant funding for an initial period of no more than 18 months.

• Non-commercial projects are funded up to €100,000 for the same maximum initial duration.
  An optional follow-on funding extension of up to 6 additional months is possible, contingent on performance and deliverables.

Success Sharing Mechanism:

For commercial projects, recipients agree to participate in a Success Sharing Mechanism, where a proportion of commercial returns generated from the funded project may be returned to EIT Food over time. If commercial success is achieved, this is not a loan repayment but a reinvestment into community projects. Non-commercial projects may apply for a waiver of this mechanism.

Eligibility and Financial Due Diligence:

Participating organisations must meet eligibility criteria, including legally established entities, and undergo possible financial due diligence. Failure to meet the criteria may result in adjusted pre-financing or grant rejection.

Payment Schedule:

Funding is disbursed in instalments related to deliverables and milestones, with a portion pre-financed dependent on the participant’s organisational category. Most funds are paid after verification of eligible costs and contractual compliance.

• Financial entities

For Collaborative Missions:

The European Union (EU) is the ultimate source, whilst the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) is the managing funding agency. EIT Food is the delegated body that coordinates and distributes grants to selected consortia.

For Single projects:

The financial entities in the funding described in the report are primarily EIT Food and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which operates under the  European Union (EU) umbrella and its Horizon Europe programme. Specifically, EIT Food is the managing and distributing body for the funding scheme, providing grants to selected projects aligned with its strategic agenda. The funding allocated to EIT Food comes from the EIT, an EU agency supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and education across Europe. Therefore, the ultimate source of funds is the EU public funds, which are dedicated to research and innovation. Projects must secure at least 30% of their eligible total project costs from non-EU sources, which may include private sector investment, but these are external to the EIT Food funding channel.

Additionally, the EIT Community Onboarding Service and the Research Executive Agency (REA) of the European Commission are involved administratively, managing validation processes such as the Participant Identification Code (PIC) validation to ensure eligibility and compliance.

10^th July 2025

13^th November 2025

According to the timeline found at Impact Funding Framework.