A major shortcoming in the Western Balkan region is the lack of sufficient support to very early-stage technologies spun off universities and to start-ups. To fill this gap, a dedicated programme for Proof of Concept was launched with the support of the IPA funding in collaboration with DG NEAR. In the period 2020-2021 EU4TECH Proof of Concept is providing support to up to 50 selected projects from across the region to help increase their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and bring these technologies closer to the market. 

EU4TECH Proof of Concept helps build expertise and the practical skills to manage early stage Proof of Concept (PoC) activities and projects: from the technical feasibility & demonstration to market research and analysis and the attraction of business combined with an entrepreneurial mind-set. In particular, the projects receive support in six components :

• Technology development and prototyping for commercial demonstration
• Entrepreneurship support and mentoring
• Intellectual property management
• Market analysis
• Business plan and business model
• Follow-on funding support

Among the supported projects are:

• An affordable mechanical ventilator developed by a team from the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” as well as
• Specialised legal advice on IPR issues to a project from Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences 

JRC, in collaboration with the European Training Foundation, is also preparing an exploratory study that aims at proposing novel modalities of impact investment linked to creation of stronger skills base (including up-skilling and re-skilling) for innovation (also targeting the green transformation) in SouthEast Europe, including the Western Balkans.