Objective  ICT-2013.11.5  Cross  border  services,  investment  readiness  and  legal  advice for ICT SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs
 
Target outcomes
(a)  Support  to  groups  of  leading  ICT  clusters/incubators/accelerators  for  delivering  cross border services to highly innovative SMEs and entrepreneurs, in view of accelerating their growth.
The aim is to:  
-  Provide improved facilities and services – e.g. leading edge experience sharing, high quality  networking,  training  and  mentoring  activities,  markets  information  -  to selected highly innovative ICT start-up’s and SME and entrepreneurs;
-  Facilitate  concrete  ways  of  cooperation  to  stimulate  cross  borders  development  and early European and international exposure of selected highly innovative ICT start-up’s and SME and entrepreneurs;
-  Put in place operational schemes encouraging more and better cross border venturing in Europe.
(b) Support to a platform to develop investment readiness for participants in ICT projects in EU Framework Programmes; to facilitate interactions with investors and access to finance, for innovative  SME's  or  entrepreneurs  in  ICT  participating  in  EU  programmes  or  targeted  by actions of the Digital Agenda for Europe.  
This  will  build  on,  continue  and  rationalise  the  ICT  Finance  Marketplace  initiative (http://www.ict-finance-marketplace.com/site/). Support will go to a single coordination and Support  Action  animated  by  a  well  focused  consortium  which  members  should  have demonstrated capacity in mobilising Venture Capital firms, Business Angels and other actors investing in high growth SME's in the ICT Field.
(c) Develop bridges between ICT entrepreneurs and start-ups and law students through "law incubators".  The aim is that law students give legal advice under the strict supervision of their university teacher, to ICT start-ups and entrepreneurs – in particular web entrepreneurs.
Support will go to a Coordination and Support Action involving in a platform a critical mass of law universities, covering specificities of different national legal systems in Europe, and developing links with communities of ICT start-ups and entrepreneurs.   
Activities  would  combine:  networking  and  coordination  activities  with  the  European  Law Universities of the consortia; definition of the legal expertise to be provided to ICT start-ups and entrepreneurs; elaboration of guidelines tailored to non-legal experts about the specific legal issues related to the ICT sector; dissemination activities about the services offered to the targeted audience.  
(d) Develop bridges, networks, contacts between researchers, (PhD) students in ICT projects in  EU  Framework  Programmes  on  one  hand  and  high  potential  SMEs,  entrepreneurs  and business  school  students  on  the  other  hand  in  order  to  develop  experience  sharing  on entrepreneurship and to create opportunities for exploiting results and ideas. Support will go to  stakeholders  having  demonstrated  capacity  in  mobilizing  ICT  entrepreneurs  and
organisations  being  in  contact  with  large  communities  of  researchers  and  students participating in EU R&D project.   
The  overall  objective  is  to  drive  innovation,  facilitate  technology  transfer,  support entrepreneurship and the creation of start-ups and spinoffs etc, contributing to the exploitation of  more  innovative  products  and  services  out  of  EU  R&D  projects.  This  should  be  done through  actions  and  events  organised  in  thematic  domains  as  well  as  the  use  of  existing electronic platforms and networking tools.  
 
Expected impact

•  More intense cross border cooperation for improved support to highly innovative SME and entrepreneurs
•  Higher  investment  readiness  and  better  access  to  investors  for  innovative  SMEs  and entrepreneurs  
•  Improved access to legal advice for innovative SMEs and entrepreneurs  
•  Experience  sharing  on  entrepreneurship  and  innovation,  creation  of  opportunities  for exploiting R&I ideas and results.    
   
Funding schemes
CSA (Support Actions)
 
Indicative budget distribution
EUR 5.7 million (4 M€ for (a); 700 k€ for (b); 500 k€ for (c); 500 k€ for (d))
Call
FP7-ICT-2013-10