Apply for EU’s 2025 Jumpstarter programme for innovators by April 2

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), an independent body of the European Union, has published the final registration call for the 2025 EIT Jumpstarter. Applicants from Western Balkans are also eligible to apply and the best team from the region is eligible for an additional cash prize.

EIT Jumpstarter offers a seven-month pre-acceleration programme for early-stage innovators. Participants can compete to win EUR 2,500, EUR 5,000, or EUR 10,000 across eight categories.

They are Food & Agritech, Healthcare, Advanced and Green Manufacturing, Energy & Renewables, Smart Cities & Urban Mobility, New European Bauhaus (NEB), Rebuild Ukraine, and Metals, Minerals and Industrial Side Streams.

The deadline is April 2 and the applications are sent via the EIT Jumpstarter page. So far, the programme has trained 1,180 new talents and created 124 new startups, which attracted EUR 150 million.

Jumpstarter offers access to individual coaching and in-person training

Apart from the money prize, Jumpstarter offers access to individual coaching and in-person training, connection with vital industry partners and engagement with major innovation hubs across Europe.

This year, the programme places special emphasis on innovators from the Mediterranean and the EU Outermost Regions such as Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain), offering their residents the chance for additional awards.

Moreover, talented individuals from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo*, and Serbia are also encouraged to apply, with specific opportunities available, EIT said. The best team from the Western Balkans gets an additional cash prize of EUR 5,000.

48 teams will enter the final pitch

Organizers said they would select 190 teams for online boot camps and Pitch Days. Eighty teams then advance to receive local training, develop their business plans and register their start-ups.

In November 2025, 48 teams will enter the final pitch competition, vying for cash prizes and the opportunity to gain exposure within the EIT.

Eligible countries are also Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova.