Unlocking EU Funding for Business Growth in Malta

Every year, the headlines are the same: billions of euros available in EU research and innovation funding. Horizon Europe alone — the EU’s flagship programme for science, innovation, and competitiveness — is worth around €93.5 billion for the 2021–2027 period. For ambitious companies, this can sound like a golden opportunity. But behind the headlines lies a key question: how accessible is this funding, really?

The short answer: yes, it is accessible — but only if you understand how the system works, what type of company qualifies, and how to build your pathway step by step. In this post, I will cut through the jargon, demystify the process, and explain how to use both local and EU schemes to secure funding, scale your business, and grow internationally.

What Funding Are We Talking About?

The EU offers a broad range of funding opportunities, each with a different focus, audience, and level of competitiveness:

• Horizon Europe – the EU’s €93.5 billion research and innovation programme for 2021–2027, funding collaborative projects across priority sectors like energy, health, mobility, AI, defence, and space.

• EIC (European Innovation Council) – supporting high-risk, high-impact innovations through grants and blended finance (grant + equity). Tailored for breakthrough technologies and globally ambitious startups/SMEs.

• EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) – a network of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) across themes like Climate, Health, Energy, and Digital, providing support, partnerships, and acceleration.

• Eurostars – designed for R&D-performing SMEs working in cross-border collaborations, often with quicker access and smaller projects than Horizon Europe.

  
  

The Reality Behind EU Funding Headlines

When newspapers or policy announcements highlight “billions available,” it’s easy to think any promising startup or SME can just apply and secure millions. The reality is more nuanced:

• EU funds are highly competitive: Proposals are peer-reviewed by experts across Europe. Only the strongest proposals score high enough to be funded.

• The process is complex: Understanding eligible costs, reimbursement rates, and the structure of calls (Research & Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, etc.) takes experience.

• Funding targets specific priorities: It’s not about “any innovation.” Calls are highly targeted — around themes like energy, health, mobility, defence, AI, or space — and projects must align closely with EU policy objectives.

  
  

This doesn’t mean the money isn’t accessible. It means you need the right profile, preparation, and roadmap.

Who Qualifies: Traits of a Competitive Company

Companies that succeed in Horizon Europe or other EU R&I programmes usually share these characteristics:

• Active in R&D: They conduct real research and development, with R&D costs forming a large share of their expenditure. This means they are spending more than half their annual budget on R&D.

• Top innovators among SMEs: They belong to the most innovative slice of the SME community — strong technical capacity, ambitious growth, and high innovation intensity.

• Evidence of traction: They already have revenue, investor backing, or pilot customers — showing they can turn innovation into real market outcomes.

• Global ambition: Their projects aim for EU-wide deployment, sectoral change, or solutions that scale across borders.

• Balanced leadership: Technical leadership (e.g. a Chief Scientific Officer) is complemented by business development expertise and international networks.

• Prior public funding experience: Having already won national or regional funding strengthens credibility and shows the company can deliver on grants.

  
  

Priority Sectors for EU Funding

If your innovation sits in one of the EU’s strategic focus areas, your chances increase. These include:

• Energy generation & efficiency — renewables, storage, smart grids, decarbonisation.

• Health — digital health, diagnostics, personalised medicine, therapeutics.

• Mobility — electrification, sustainable and smart transport, logistics.

• Space technologies — satellites, payloads, Earth observation.

• Defence & security — resilience, capabilities, new technologies.

• Artificial intelligence & digital solutions — cross-cutting applications across all sectors.

  
  

These are not just sectors of interest; they’re policy priorities, backed by specific Horizon Europe clusters and partnerships.

Start Small: Why Local Schemes Are Your First Port of Call

One of the biggest myths is that a company’s first step should be straight into Horizon Europe. In practice, the smartest path is usually:

• Begin with local or nationally managed schemes. These are easier to access, often less competitive, and help you build early traction: pilot projects, prototypes, or proof-of-concept work. They also give you experience with public funding processes (applications, audits, reporting).

• Use these successes as stepping stones. With local funding in place, you can show evaluators in Brussels that you have a proven track record. Reviewers favour companies that have already demonstrated they can deliver on funded projects.

• Build your credibility with investors. Public funding at the national level signals quality, lowers risk, and can attract private co-funding. EU grants are not intended to replace private investment, but to multiply it.

  
  

Scaling Up: When to Aim for Horizon Europe

Once you have early traction, Horizon Europe becomes the natural next step. At this stage, you are ready to:

• Position your innovation for EU-wide deployment. Show that your project has relevance beyond one country and can generate cross-border impact.

• Align with EU missions and clusters. Horizon Europe is organised around themes like “Health,” “Climate, Energy & Mobility,” and “Digital, Industry & Space.” Calls are highly specific — proposals need to match objectives exactly.

• Form or join international consortia. Many Horizon projects are collaborative by design, requiring partners from multiple member states. Existing international links make you a stronger candidate.

• Demonstrate market readiness. Horizon evaluators want to see not just research excellence, but also clear pathways to market adoption and scaling.

  
  

Demystifying the Evaluation Process

EU proposals are scored across three broad criteria:

• Excellence: Is the project scientifically or technically groundbreaking? Does it advance the state of the art?

• Impact: Will the innovation make a real difference — to industry, society, or EU policy objectives? Is there a route to market?

• Implementation: Is the project plan clear, feasible, and well-resourced? Does the team have the right expertise?

  
  

Understanding how to write convincingly for each section is an art. This is where expertise matters — companies that have guidance on structuring proposals and aligning with evaluator expectations consistently score higher.

Why Public Funding + Private Investment Is a Winning Combination

One of the smartest ways to grow is to combine public funding with private capital:

• Public funding de-risks the technology. By covering a large share of R&D costs, grants allow you to experiment, prototype, and validate.

• Private funding accelerates scaling. Once your innovation is de-risked, investors are more comfortable coming in with growth capital.

• Together they create leverage. Every euro of public funding can unlock several euros of private investment.

  
  

This is why many Horizon Europe winners are already investor-backed startups or SMEs: they can show both ambition and financial resilience.

The Right Path: From Local Success to International Scale

To summarise:

• Don’t be blinded by the big headlines. Billions are available — but you need the right profile.

• Start locally. Access nationally managed funding first: easier, quicker, and a perfect training ground.

• Build evidence. Deliver on small grants, show traction, strengthen your team and networks.

• Scale with EU funds. Use Horizon Europe to internationalise, expand across Europe, and attract further investment.

• Leverage public + private finance. Combine both to multiply your resources and grow sustainably.

  
  

Eurostars and Widening Countries: An Easier Entry Point

While Horizon Europe and the EIC often capture the spotlight, Eurostars and Widening participation instruments are especially valuable for companies in countries with below-average R&D spending — like Malta.

• Eurostars is co-funded by the EU and national agencies. It supports innovative SMEs working in international collaborations, with projects typically smaller, faster, and more accessible than the large Horizon Europe calls. It’s a strong first step for early-stage R&D companies aiming to prove concepts and build credibility.

• Widening Countries schemes (such as Teaming, Twinning, and ERA Chairs) are designed to address the R&D investment gap across Europe. They make it easier for companies and institutions in countries with historically lower R&D intensity to access EU funds, form international partnerships, and strengthen research capacity.

  
  

Final Word

EU funding is accessible — but not to everyone, and not without preparation. The companies that succeed are those that understand the system, align with EU priorities, and take a step-by-step approach: starting locally, building credibility, then moving up to the European stage.

If you’re innovating in energy, health, mobility, space, defence, or AI, and you have the ambition to scale internationally, now is the time to act. By navigating the funding landscape strategically, you can turn the EU’s billions from headlines into tangible growth for your company. If you would like to learn more, please contact us here.