EIT Jumpstarter: Fuelling Innovation to Tackle Society’s Most Pressing Challenges

On 28 November, Budapest, Hungary, hosted the EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final, the culmination of this year's edition of the pre-acceleration programme EIT Jumpstarter – an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, which aims to train and convert innovative ideas into budding businesses. 

The event showcased 49 teams from 21 countries, competing across nine categories for prizes worth a total of EUR 150 000. The competition highlighted science-based innovations designed to address urgent societal challenges across sectors such as food, energy, and health. 

This year's final coincided with the EIT Community conference “The next decade of innovation for the future of Europe: Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme”—a significant milestone in fostering innovation across Europe’s emerging regions 

A Proven Track Record of Start-Up Success

Since its inception in 2017, the EIT Jumpstarter programme has trained 1 180 participants, leading to the creation of 124 start-ups and contributing to 2 100 new jobs in emerging regions of Europe. These start-ups have collectively attracted EUR 150 million in external investment. EIT Jumpstarter is open to innovators from over 22 countries and regions. The programme is led by EIT Health, with support from EIT Food, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Manufacturing, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Urban Mobility, and EIT Culture & Creativity. Its mission is to convert high-potential ideas into viable businesses, thereby strengthening Europe’s capacity to tackle global challenges and create sustainable growth. 

This Year’s Winners

Throughout the seven-month programme, participants developed and validated business models for their innovative ideas, transforming them into market-ready start-ups. Of 600 initial applicants, 180 were selected for training, with the top 49 competing in Budapest. Each category awarded prizes to three winners. In addition, a special award category allowed top alumni from previous cohorts to present their growth since graduating. 

The winning teams ranked first in their categories were: 

• NEAMO from Latvia (EIT Food) 

• BIOCHIP-PATHFINDER from Portugal (EIT Health) 

• StoreNow from Portugal (EIT InnoEnergy) 

• Yapar3D from Türkiye (EIT Manufacturing) 

• Total Energy from Croatia (EIT RawMaterials) 

• Urbix Hub from Bulgaria (EIT Urban Mobility) 

• POWAR STEAM from Spain (New European Bauhaus) 

• Drone NonDestructiveTesting from Ukraine (Rebuild Ukraine) 

• WellscanPro from Kosovo (Western Balkans Special Award) 

• The Most Outstanding EIT Jumpstarter Alumni statuette went to Lightly from Czechia