Budapest/Warsaw, November 5, 2025: The EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final event is an annual culmination of a pre-acceleration programme that supports European innovators and entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into market-ready start-ups. It focuses on fostering entrepreneurship and developing start-ups scene in Central-Eastern and Southern Europe.
This year the Grand Final will be part of the bigger EIT Community conference “The next decade of innovation for the future of Europe”, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (EIT RIS). This is a key initiative under Horizon Europe aimed at reducing regional disparities in innovation across Europe. The EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final will include a dynamic live pitching session, followed by an awards ceremony to celebrate the top start-ups in each category.
The conference is free of charge, upon registration only.
48 New Start-ups Poised to Enter the Innovation Scene
This year’s EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final will take place in Budapest on November 28th, showcasing 48 start-ups. The top six from each of the eight categories — Food, Health, Manufacturing, Raw Materials, Energy, Urban Mobility, New European Bauhaus, and Rebuild Ukraine — will be awarded up to €10,000. These categories align with the EIT Community’s mission to bring innovative solutions to global challenges. Additionally, in recognition of the EIT’s strong presence in the Western Balkans, the competition will feature a special prize for a high-potential start-up from the region. In total the best teams will receive almost €150,000.
“The pipeline of start-ups established in non-Western countries through programmes like EIT Jumpstarter is growing every year, and many ventures from previous editions have now reached multimillion valuations. This is particularly important for regions in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, where the start-ups create new jobs, bring new skills and stimulate entrepreneurship in the region,” says Marta Kaczmarek, leading the EIT Community Strategic Regional Innovations Cluster, coordinating such activities as the EIT Jumpstarter Programme.
“Considering that every euro invested in the programme generates 30 euros in external funding for newly built start-ups, EIT Jumpstarter truly serves as a springboard for talented founders,” adds Marta Kaczmarek.
EIT Jumpstarter in Numbers
Since 2017, the programme has trained 1,180 participants, leading to the establishment of 124 new start-ups and contributing to the creation of 2,100 new jobs in the countries, which are considered emerging and moderate innovators, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard. These start-ups collectively attracted €150 million in external investment up until now. EIT Jumpstarter is open to more than 22 countries and regions and is led by EIT Health in collaboration with EIT Food, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Manufacturing, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Urban Mobility.
Throughout the seven-month programme, participants identify and validate the best business model for their science-based innovative ideas. Participants learn how to refine their concept, conduct market segmentation, develop a strong customer value proposition, manage financials, understand investment and legal basics, and more. Graduates of the programme possess the skills and knowledge to launch their companies. As part of the alumni community, they receive further support, including various financial options, and dedicated advice from the EIT Communities regarding the next stage of their start-up journey.
(Press release)
W Insight 