Innovative SMEs in all participating regions of ACCELERATOR are hindered by access to equity particularly in their early stage development. Thus ACCELERATOR engages in exploring and piloting the innovative path of acceleration programmes (a new type of investment readiness programme) towards improved business support in the Danube region.

The primary target group is SMEs in need of capital but lacking skills to acquire it. Secondly we target business support organisations at which new and improved acceleration services will be bedded and we link these organisations through a Danube-region transnational network.  Third we concentrate on integrating equity financing institutions in regional innovation ecosystems. Last the integration of the public sector is highly relevant for us due to increasing attention to equity programmes from ESIF sources. Our approach has strong transnational dimension: beyond the transnational network mentioned above, regions with well performing innovation systems and partners with successful acceleration schemes will assist weaker regions or partners with limited experience, in addition joint actions will be triggered. ACCELERATOR results in introduced acceleration programmes at less experienced partners and improved acc. programmes at experienced partners. This embodies ACCELERATOR’s expected change defined as higher number and better acc. services. The partnership actively integrates public bodies to channel joint policy recommendations on facilitating the spread of acceleration services and works out a joint strategy on the promotion of acceleration services and on their integration in ESIF measures in the Danube region.