Seeds of Bravery Closes with €12M in Grants and 300+ Ukrainian Startups Integrated into the EU
While the world's headlines focused on the front lines, a different kind of resistance was being built in the cloud. Today, the Seeds of Bravery (UASEEDs) project concludes its 2,5-year mission, marking a historic win for the European Innovation Council (EIC). Since December 2023, the project has funneled over €12? in direct funding to 318 Ukrainian startups, ensuring that the country's brightest minds didn't just survive the war – they scaled through it.
Seeds of Bravery, €12M in Grants
From water sanitation systems to AI-driven MedTech, these "Seeds" have grown into a forest of innovation. With 80 documented success stories and thousands of connections made across the continent, the project proves that even under fire, Ukraine's greatest export remains its ingenuity. This isn't just a closing report; it's a blueprint for how a nation stays digitally sovereign during the darkest of times.
Project results and achievements
The project was created and launched as a response to the request of the Ukrainian startup ecosystem: to develop innovations, scale technologies and products, enter new markets and build a successful business despite difficult circumstances. And now we see the incredible impact of the project – its educational and mentoring programs and grant support – on the community of innovators in Ukraine. Hundreds of startups supported by Seeds of Bravery have already found new partners, signed cooperation agreements with European stakeholders, attracted external investments and moved to higher stages of development.
In two years, the project has become a catalyst for growth for hundreds of teams: it helped them go from idea to first customers, from MVP to scaling, opened doors to European markets, partnerships and investments, strengthening the position of Ukrainian startups as full-fledged players in the international innovation ecosystem.
Within 7 work packages in partnership with FundingBox, Ukrainian Startup Fund, CyberInnovate, AxisBIC, INNOV8, Institute of Physics, Accelerace, EIT Health, Luxinnovation, YEP Accelerator, Techosystem, Sunrise Tech Park, Da Vinci Labs, Impact Hub Stockholm, Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration, Plug and Play, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, Aalto University, the following results were achieved:
Financial Support
318 startups were supported with grant funding for a total amount of €12,2M
163 startups applied for EIC – European Innovation Council grant programs, with 2 winners Women TechEU (HYDRATICO, S-Lab)
2 Investor Literacy Programmes with 6 workshops engaging 300+ Business Angels
Market Integration
20 Market discovery programmes – 37 ?ountries covered
2870 startups participated in Market Discovery Workshops
23 Market fast-track programmes helped 183 Startups build Go-To-Market Strategies
25 Demo days – 290 startups pitched in 24 countries
308 start-ups participated in 10 industry specific Soft Landing Workshops
2430 European investors and corporations reached – it's a win-win situation: it increases the investment attractiveness of Ukraine and gives the investors an opportunity to gain because Ukrainian Startups are worth investing in.
Cross-border scaling
97 pro bono legal advice, consultations & Legal Lab Webinars with 438 attendees
Matchmaking activities with corporates, investors, partners, potential customers – 619
265 UASEEDs beneficiaries participated matchmaking service
UA Tech Ticket programme USF – 541 UA tech tickets issued
UASEEDs Delegation showcasing at major tech events: 34 major tech conferences visited of UA Startups.
61 co-working Spaces in Europe
60 EU investors and accelerators joining UASEEDs
6 online onboarding and matchmaking workshops delivered for startups, each with 35+ participants
580+ investor–startup connections facilitated through Demo Days and matchmaking activities
Results of educational programmes
5 Investment Readiness Programmes – 60 Startups complet...