04 Dec 2025
EIT and EEN sign cooperation agreement
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) have officially signed the EIT-EEN
While the European Enterprise Network (EEN) and the EIT have not previously operated under a formal cooperation framework, their collaboration to date has been pragmatic and project-based, with EEN acting as a broad small and medium sized enterprise (SME) gateway and partner broker, and EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) providing deep, thematic innovation ecosystems. The new guidelines represent the first structured approach to coordinating these complementary services across Europe. This coordination aims to help companies navigate EU support more easily and access the expertise and opportunities they need to grow.
The new guidelines encourage both networks to work together systematically, establishing shared structures and methods to offer complementary and seamless services to their stakeholders. A particular focus will be on strengthening EIT KICs’ connections with EEN services and extending the EIT’s regional and SME reach.
The cooperation pursues several core goals:
- Strengthening innovation and competitiveness of European businesses, especially SMEs, by maximising cooperation and combining resources, networks, and services.
- Promoting knowledge and technology transfer between SMEs, startups, scaleups, and public and private actors.
- Supporting scaleup, technology uptake, and market entry by leveraging both networks’ regional presence.
- Fostering sustainable growth and prosperity across Europe.
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