We make corporate-startup partnerships* build digital solutions that save costs and answer real market needs
*From Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean
Join the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator
Open Call open until 31 October 2025
NEW: Startups and SMEs can receive up to €10,500 in grants. More information below!
68.9% of corporate venturing initiatives FAIL to deliver the expected results*.
*MIT Sloan Management Review, The Three Internal Barriers to Deep-Tech Corporate Venturing.
Our goal is to bring you in the 31.1% batch
Can the startup's prototype pass the customer environment test?
Is the business case sufficiently clear and convincing to get the green light from the corporate?
Do both entities have a common roadmap and governance including IP management and KPIs?
Are the corporate processes flexible enough to integrate the startup's solution?
Can the more risk-averse nature of the corporates cope with the fast-paced culture of the startup?
We are a corporate-startup accelerator
We fast-track market-ready solutions co-developed by corporates and startups.
We connect corporates and startups from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The acceleration programme is 100% financed by the European Union.
30+
Transatlantic partnerships have already joined the accelerator
What makes you an excellent (and essential) fit to enter the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator?
Your application must be a JOINT application involving at least 1 startup or digital SME and 1 corporate*.
Your application must involve partners from 2 DISTINCT REGIONS among the following**:
• The European Union
• Latin America
• The Caribbean
Address a digital transformation challenge through an open innovation process.
*Do NOT apply without a partner. Your application will be immediately discarded.
**Do NOT apply if one of the partners doesn’t belong to one of these regions. Do NOT apply if all partners belong to the SAME region. Your application will be immediately discarded.
What kind of corporate-startup partnership are you?
The “Makers” partnership
A corporate and a startup jointly develop a new product tailored to the corporate’s needs.
The “Plug-in” partnership
A startup integrates its solution to improve a corporate’s process, validating its scalability.
The “Gateway” partnership
One partner helps the other adapt a product and successfully enter and sell in its local market.
Our €30,000-worth acceleration services*
Once selected and based on your goals, we will define together what services can serve you best: internationalisation strategy, proof of concept, investor deck and more.
* €40,000 if a Caribbean partner is involved.
We will sit down together to define what services can best serve your interests as well as milestones and deadlines.
Open innovation bootcamps
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Misalignments of corporate-startup expectations, poor value proposition from the partnership.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: Equip corporate teams to collaborate with startups in scouting optimisation, the selection of corporate venturing mechanisms, and leveraging emerging trends.
Corporate venturing capabilities
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Poor corporate innovation practices such as excessive risk aversion culture, bureaucratic systems, overfocus on tech instead of market needs.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: Good practices to identify precisely the value of the startup and launch successful pilot projects.
PoC design & Prototyping
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: A product or service that is not technologically feasible and doesn't solve a real customer pain point.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: Build a solution that is doable and sellable.
Reliability of AI solutions
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Biased data, incomplete datasets, and insufficient evaluation frameworks leading to AI incorrect predictions.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: High AI effectiveness + Autonomy in managing own AI solutions leading to enhanced team capabilities and data governance.
Discover how the “PoC design & Prototyping” service will help you build a product or service that people crave for (with Jone Retolaza, from Octantis):
Business model design
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Incomplete competitive analysis, unrealistic financial forecasts, weak branding, and ineffective pricing or sales strategies that leads to sluggish revenue.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: A business model that leaves no stone unturned and that generates CASH.nd leveraging emerging trends.
International growth and soft-landing
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Having to go back home after misevaluating the market size, NOT confirming whether there is an actual demand, disregarding cultural differences and ignoring the tax and regulatory environment.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: You secure your first paying customers in a new country within months, proving real market demand and generating immediate revenue from international expansion.
IP Management
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Legal disputes and financial losses.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: Your company secures exclusive rights to its key innovations in target markets, enabling you to block competitors, generate new licensing revenue, and confidently launch products globally with a clear, defensible IP position.
Product roadmap & digital skills
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: No technical expertise to identify and implement the right digital technologies, leading to bottlenecks in development, and missed opportunities for innovation and competitiveness.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: You launch a new digital solution on schedule, using the right technologies and partners, resulting in a successful first release that meets customer needs and achieves measurable adoption.
Discover how the “International growth & Soft-landing strategy” service will help you land – and not crash – in a new market (with Rubén Carrandi, from EBN):
Scaling into corporate structures
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Failure to transition from product testing to real-world implementation (lack of operational readiness, financial constraints, and little geographical adaptability).
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: Seamless integration of your innovative solution into the corporate structure, enabling your business to scale rapidly.
Full process digitalisation
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Lack of clarity on technology integration, resistance to change, and concerns over data security.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: You achieve full automation of a previously manual process resorting to technologies such as AI or NLP.
Investment Readiness & Matchmaking
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: High rejection rates from investors, wasted time, and missed funding opportunities.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: You create a compelling, investor-ready pitch deck (shaped by direct professional investor feedback) that clearly demonstrates business’s growth potential, financial health, and scalability.
Access to public funding
WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: Poorly prepared applications that fail to meet - complex - funding requirements.
WHAT YOU WILL REACH: You secure equity-free EU grants (through the EIC Accelerator or other public funding initiatives) that can finance your innovation.
Discover how the “Scaling into corporate structures” service will help you move your product or service from a testing environment to the real world (with Fatima Valer, from Wayra Hispam):
Grants for startups & SMEs
Startups and SMEs can now receive grants to support them with:
Proof-of-concept
development
€ 7,000
100 grants available
Travel
to execute PoC in the corporate’s premises
Up to € 2,000
25 grants available
Equipment transportation
to execute PoC in the corporate’s premises
Up to € 1,500
25 grants available
What makes you eligible to receive these grants? *
| PoC Development | Travel | Equipment transportation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collaboration agreement signed | |||
| PoC acceleration service completed successfully | |||
| Acceleration completed successfully | |||
| Quality assurance form filled | |||
| Travel to execute PoC or test solution in real environment | |||
| Travel proposal approved by the mentor |
* Non-exhaustive list. Check all criteria with your mentor.
Get in touch with your assigned mentor to request the grant
DataFlow and Medlab are combining IoT and AI to create accessible, efficient and high-quality healthcare solutions that impact lives across borders.
Hugo Articardi
With these strategic initiatives, we are positioned to bring our health technologies to the European market, meeting high standards of safety and effectiveness while forging impactful partnerships and investment opportunities.
Fabiana Almeida
We’re expanding our vision to international markets, leveraging the programme’s expertise to navigate this growth strategically. This partnership is a vital step forward to redefining how the construction industry operates globally.
Flavio Terzi
With the fundamental help of the EU-LAC Accelerator, we see the achievement of shared objectives from the very beginning with TechBalance and its innovative technology guaranteed.
Manuel Fernandes
Partnering with EcobonusItalia through the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator has been a game-changer for Jazusoft. This collaboration allows us to showcase our expertise in BIM technology on a global stage while refining our solutions for real-world applications.
José Jaramillo Salazar
We are thrilled to partner with Infotrack, a corporate with over 23 years of experience and presence in Latin America, including Mexico, Colombia, and Panama. This is an opportunity to continue expanding our company internationally together with Infotrack’s specialists.
Félix J. García Clemente
Infotrack is deeply committed to digitalise logistic processes. We've developed SMART STOCK, a real-time inventory and warehouse management solution. Now, by collaborating with Bleecker, we aim to integrate Artificial Vision for an accurate verification of products in transit.
Jorge Alberto Ancines
The high-quality, innovative medical product resulting from this cross-border cooperation and the bundling of the core competencies of both partners will give many people access to high-quality and immediate healthcare, making a significant contribution to digitalisation in the healthcare sector.
Elisabeth Kalt
This collaboration allows us to offer more transparent and accessible solutions, adapted to the changing needs of our customers.
Marc Vallhonesta
This partnership with Nuda and Ventia represents a pivotal step in integrating cutting-edge technology to optimise our services.
Marc Cucala Puig
Our collaboration with Vittalias and Nuda allows us to apply our expertise in digital transformation to a high-impact sector.
Federico Barboni
Together with the EU-LAC accelerator and our partner Genba, we will achieve sales objectives to provide quality robotic solutions that the entire industry will see.
Agustin Ciccioli
Apply will only take you 10 minutes
Verify basic eligibility requirements:
You have to belong to one of these regions: European Union, Latin America, Caribbean.
You have to be at least 2 partners for 1 application.
Read carefully the Guidelines for Applicants.
Doubts? Get in touch through the contact form.
Submit your application before 31 October 2025.
N.B. We will review applications on a first-come first-served basis.
No partner, No problem
Corporate without any startup partner? Startup without a corporate partner?
Discover the Matching Platform:
• 60+ active corporate challenges
• 1,400+ startups
• A team of Key Account Managers ready to assist you in your partner quest.
FAQ
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator is a 6-month acceleration programme to help corporate-startup and corporate-SME partnerships – from the European Union (EU), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) – reach their digital innovation goals. The acceleration programme includes:
- Acceleration services valued up to €30,000 (or €40,000 if a Caribbean partner is involved).
- Grants for startups and SMEs of up to €10,500 to cover development, travel expenses, and equipment transportation related to proof of concept.
We organise an open call to select the most promising corporate-startup partnerships to enter the acceleration programme.
There are 3 crucial eligibility criteria:
- Both partners have to belong to one of these regions: European Union, Latin America, Caribbean.
N.B. Partnership members should be from different regions. For instance, a Peruvian startup or SME would only be able to apply with a European or Caribbean corporate. - You have to be 2 partners for 1 application: at least 1 corporate and 1 startup or SME.
- The applying corporate-startup partnership should address a digital transformation challenge.
This is not an exhaustive list. Check out all eligibility requirements in our Guide for Applicants.
You will first and firemost benefit from services to accelerate your corporate-startup partnership:
- Roadmapping: definition of the plan and services to achieve your partnership goals.
- Proof of concept: risk mitigation before scaling up your digital solutions by running PoCs and testing prototypes.
- Business case: definition of your business model and IP policy, as well as market analysis to enter a new continent or region.
- Investment & Scaling: assessment and improvement of your scaling capacity in a corporate structure and your investment readiness.
The programme also provides grants for startups and SMEs of up to €10,500 to cover development, travel expenses, and equipment transportation related to proof of concept.
For more information about the acceleration services and grants, access the acceleration services section.
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator provides various grants to selected startups and SMEs:
- PoC development grant (€7,000): adaptation, integration, and testing of the digital solution.
- Travel grant (max. €2,000): transport and accommodation costs for PoC execution at the corporate’s premises.
- Equipment transportation grant (max. €1,500): equipment transportation needed for real-environment testing.
N.B. Only startups and SMEs can receive this support, provided they meet the grants’ eligibility criteria.
For more information about grants, access the acceleration services section.
Open call #4 will close on 31 October 2025.
We process applications processed on a first come, first served basis.
- Read the Guide for Applicants to make sure you comply with the eligibility criteria.
- Apply through this form (it should take you around 10 minutes).
We encourage both existing and new partnerships that meet the eligibility criteria to apply.
The key requirement is a formal agreement outlining the scope of collaboration once you have been selected and prior to the acceleration programme.
For open call #4, we more specifically invite corporate-startup partnerships in the e-services industry.
HOWEVER, partnerships from ALL industries are welcome to apply and we won’t be preferring any application to another based on the industry.
No. You pay €0.
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator is an equity-free programme financed by the European Union.
Contact our team at opencall@eulacdigitalaccelerator.com or fill out the contact form.
