Deadline: 26 August 2025
Submissions are now open for the Innovative Startups Funding Programme aimed at knowledge-intensive, newly started limited companies with innovative business ideas that build on the founders’ unique knowledge and experience.
The purpose of the call for proposals is to create better conditions for start-up knowledge-intensive companies to take the next step in their business development – especially when they face uncertainties or risks that need to be managed to reach the market.
Funding Information
- Vinnova can grant a maximum of SEK 500,000 in funding to project in this call for proposals.
Eligible Costs
- Personnel costs: Salaries, social security contributions and other personnel costs.
- Equipment, land and buildings: Instruments, equipment and rent for premises other than regular business premises.
- Consulting and licensing costs: Consulting services, knowledge and patents purchased or used under license from a third party.
Consulting costs may not exceed 20 percent of the budget. In special cases, a higher percentage may be accepted, but you must justify this in proposal. The justification is included in the assessment. - Other direct costs: For example, materials, supplies and travel necessary to carry out the project.
- Indirect costs: Costs that are not incurred as a direct result of, but can be related to, the project, such as rent and cleaning. Indirect costs may not exceed 30 percent of personnel costs.
What can you apply for?
- Funding for activities to ensure that an innovative idea has a market, as well as to test and confirm its potential.
Target Audiences
- The call for proposals is aimed at newly started knowledge-intensive limited liability companies that are in a phase with the following characteristics:
- Innovation: The deal should be based on an innovation. This means that it should have a novelty value in the market that the company is targeting, and be based on unique characteristics that give the deal unique customer benefits and sustainable competitive advantages.
- Value proposition: The value proposition should be clearly formulated and validated against at least some potential customers within the market segment that the company is targeting.
- Sustainability-driven business: The intended business should have potential to drive sustainability in society – ecologically, economically, socially and culturally. The business should contribute to people creating, producing and consuming in an ecologically, socially, economically and culturally more sustainable way.
- Team and skills: The founders should have control over the limited liability company and be the driving force in the development of the limited liability company. They should have identified the skills and networks needed, and have begun to form a team with clear roles and responsibilities.
- Awareness of the company’s intangible assets: The company should have made an initial inventory indicating which unique intangible assets the company’s business is based on.
Who can apply?
- Limited liability companies, maximum 10 years old, with a maximum of 10 employees. Net turnover or balance sheet may not exceed SEK 10 million and the company may not have distributed profits.
For more information, visit Vinnova.
