The new list beneficiaries under Seeds of Bravery, a €20 million project to support Ukrainian tech startups and bring them closer to the EU, was announced on 30 October 2024. Funded by the European Union (EU) under the European Innovation Council (EIC), the Seeds of Bravery project is led by 19 organisations and startup associations across 12 countries, including the Luxembourg innovation agency, Luxinnovation.
The funding allocated, totalling €1,250,000, will support innovation and growth through four key programmes: Innovative Entrepreneurship, Deep Tech Incubators, Rebuild Ukraine, and Deep Tech Scale-up and Acceleration. The 38 startups selected are located in Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Netherlands and Luxembourg. They will receive grants ranging from €25,000 to €50,000.
We look forward to supporting these grantees with the resources available in the Luxembourg ecosystem and beyond.
Inna Perepelytsya, Luxinnovation
The funding aims to help entrepreneurs accelerate the launch of their projects, attract further resources, expand into new markets, create new jobs and increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian startup ecosystem.
“We are pleased to announce the new grantees of the Seeds of Bravery (UASEEDs) project, particularly the deep tech innovators who continue to pursue innovation despite the challenging conditions of war. We look forward to supporting these grantees with the resources available in the Luxembourg ecosystem and beyond,” says Inna Perepelytsya, Senior Advisor for Startup Acceleration at Luxinnovation.
Myroslav Gebura, Founder of Luxembourg-based startup Poly Diagnostics, and a recipient of the DeepTech Scale-Up & Acceleration programme, explains that this new milestone was well worth the effort invested in the application process. “Apart from the financial support and visibility, we will have the opportunity to interact with subject matter experts on business development, financial statements, market access, implementation of new IT tools and more. There will be multiple one on one meetings and seminars. These events and trainings and interpersonal connections are perhaps even the most important part of the programme,” he points out.
We are very thankful for Luxinnovation’s support and specialists responsible for making companies aware of national and international programmes.
Myroslav Gebura, Poly Diagnostics
Luxinnovation reached out to the company earlier this year, introducing them to the Seeds of Bravery programme. “There would have been no Seeds of Bravery for us without Luxinnovation. We simply did not even know that such a programme was just launched as most of startups and small businesses are preoccupied with the operational day-to-day activities and have limited time to research suitable programmes. We are very thankful for Luxinnovation’s support and specialists responsible for making companies aware of national and international programmes,” he adds.
Some of the 38 selected startups have been previous recipients of other funding schemes under Seeds of Bravery. A new set of applications for these four programmes is currently open until 25 November at 17:00 (CET).
“We encourage Ukrainian founders to follow Seeds of Bravery (UASEEDs) on its various communication channels to stay updated on upcoming calls for applications,” mentions Olena Malchyk, EIC Project Manager at Luxinnovation.
Innovative Entrepreneurship programme (to support business continuity and promote women-led companies): 16 startups will receive grants of up to €25,000.
Deep Tech Incubators programme (early-stage startups involved in pre-MVP activities): 8 startups will receive grants of up to €25,000.
Rebuild Ukraine programme (for innovative companies to quickly rebuild post-war Ukraine): 2 Ukrainian innovators will receive grants of up to €25,000.
DeepTech Scale-Up & Acceleration programme (for companies seeking to scale prototypes and expand their market reach): 12 startups will receive grants of up to €50,000.
Seeds of Bravery is funded by the European Union, under the European Innovation Council (EIC). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them. The UASEEDs project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme under grant agreement No 101104445.
