INNOVATE-EU Matchmaking Day: Strengthening start-up support

Invitation to all clusters that provide start-up support! INNOVATE-EU organizes an online EU-wide matchmaking for start-up support stakeholders on 11 June 2026.

The aim is to connect stakeholders from diverse regional ecosystems to facilitate new cross-border partnerships, cooperations for shared support activities, and knowledge transfer. The matchmaking day will give participants the opportunity to present themselves to colleagues from other countries and regions, share their activities, and explore the potential for cross-regional collaboration to strengthen their offers for start-ups.

The event focuses on one of the key challenges identified through the INNOVATE-EU regional and international workshops: enabling start-ups to access pilot customers, validate solutions, and scale through stronger corporate engagement. In this context, venture clienting and structured corporate–start-up cooperation offer practical pathways to accelerate commercialisation and innovation uptake across regions.

 

By participating, clusters will have the opportunity to:

  • Connect with innovation stakeholders from across Europe
  • Book targeted bilateral meetings through the B2Match platform
  • Explore opportunities for projects and collaboration
  • Exchange on your service offers
  • Build new partnerships for future innovation and business initiatives

📅 Event platform: Register on B2Match

🖥️ Input webinar “The matchmaking warm-up: Input on European start-up support policies and challenges”: 11 June, 9:30 – 10:30

This session sets the scene for the matchmaking event by providing an overview of the European start-up support landscape. Participants will hear about current EU policies and strategic priorities shaping the growth of start-ups across Europe. Beyond the policy framework, the session will explore the key challenges faced by start-ups today and actions to address them.

About the project: INNOVATE-EU is a Horizon Europe project working to strengthen cooperation between European innovation ecosystems and improve support for deep-tech start-ups and scale-ups across regions with different levels of innovation maturity.