Support to start-ups via excellent incubators, 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2029

Vinnova invites established incubators that do not pay dividends to their owners to seek funding to deliver incubator services that accelerate the development of and value creation in new and knowledge-intensive growth companies.

Background

The national incubator program began as a pilot operation at Vinnova in 2003. After that, Innovationsbron ran the program with funding from Vinnova. From 2013, Almi Företagspartner AB took over the program with funding from Vinnova. With government assignment N2013/3474/FI, in 2015 Vinnova was again assigned to run the national incubator program.

The following two major changes to the program's implementation have been introduced since 2015:

1. As of 2016, the target group for Vinnova's fundingis the start-up companies. The support for the companies is mediated through selected incubators. The design is based on the possibility of mediating the state support to the companies via an incubator through indirect state support (in English - indirect advantage). The incubators thus become beneficiary, but transfer the entire grant received to government support in the companies. They are thus the start-up companies that are recipients of the government support, not the incubators.
2. From 2020, the size of each incubator's funding will be determined in two stages.
   In a first step, which incubators meet Vinnova's eligibility requirements in terms of quality in activities and processes are evaluated. These are awarded a basic amount to deliver incubator services in the formation stage and will be included in the national incubator program.
   During step two, it is evaluated how many companies per incubator meet the program's target group criteria for companies. The size of the funding is then determined by comparing the percentage of approved companies with the applicant to all approved companies evaluated by Vinnova within the call for proposals. The evaluation model has the advantage that incubators are not pitted against each other, but that it is the number of approved target group companies in the company portfolio that determines the size of the funding.

Program logic

The incubator program coordinates and further develops incubation in Sweden, which builds structural capital that increases the country's ability to support and develop companies in the early stages. The program acts as a coordinating node for collaboration between incubators and also contributes to national and international networking.

The reason why Vinnova chooses to support start-up companies' development via quality-assured incubators is that:

• start-up knowledge-intensive companies are often run by inexperienced teams that lack access to the right expertise, networks and capital. The incubators have developed professional structures, networks and business processes that are optimized to drive the development of start-ups. In addition, it is more cost-effective to ensure the quality of a number of incubators that can have national coverage rather than trying to quality-assure the operations of every company that needs incubation support.
• the companies' opportunities and risks in the early stages of development are difficult to assess. The uncertainty is often an obstacle to attracting private funding for business development. In order to make them ready and sufficiently attractive on the capital market, in addition to funding, business development support, networks, experience and support in recruitment are also needed.
• the incubators have a central role in developing business life in regions. Through the national incubator program, the quality development of the regional incubators is driven at the same time that the program, through the channeling of state support, makes the incubators stronger and more attractive for; start-ups, for investors, for expertise in various areas such as IP, law, recruitment as well as potential client companies and partners to the incubator companies.

Vinnova has therefore chosen to design the national incubator program according to the following two basic principles:

1. Promote company development through incubators where the incubators support the companies through coaching, mentoring, as well as access to various types of resources such as capital, competence, customers, partners, infrastructure and more.
2. Support to develop national incubation capacity. This is done by the program supporting the exchange of experience and peer-learning between incubators, as well as support for the development of new tools and methods for incubation.

This call for proposals concerns funding for business development according to principle 1 above.

The call for proposals is based on and builds on the government assignment that Vinnova received in 2014.

In the government assignment, the government gave Vinnova the assignment to:

• "increase the number of new and knowledge-intensive growth companies in Sweden to contribute to sustainable growth, dynamism and innovative power in the business world and to contribute to meeting societal challenges".
• "the efforts must be directed towards the incubators that demonstrate the ability to successfully support the development of business ideas with a high level of knowledge and international market potential for new growth companies."
• "prioritize the program's efforts based on quality and performance in the incubators' activities".

aim of the call is to build on the functions and characteristics that the program has developed over the years and to further develop the national incubation support companies receive through the incubators that are part of the program.

Incubators that through this call for proposals become part of the national incubator program are expected to contribute to and further develop the following development areas within Swedish incubation:

• Continued development of support for sustainable development: Vinnova's funding must be directed towards new and knowledge-intensive growth companies that develop a sustainability-driven business where sustainability and scalability are integrated from the start in the company's value proposition, business model and operating system.
• Within the target group knowledge-intensive companies, companies in hi-tech and deep-tech must be prioritized, see figure 1 below. Hi-tech and especially deep-tech companies often have large technical and commercial risks that justify government incubation support.

• Enable efficient national co-incubation: Regardless of where in the country a company starts its activities, they should be offered cutting-edge expertise, networks and resources from a national perspective. Willingness, ability and in what way different incubators' skills and resources can be used nationally will be tested.

• Continue the development and application of Innovation Readiness Levels (IRL). IRL is introduced more clearly into the incubators' processes to measure progress. Among other things, specific indicators will need to be developed. Read more about IRL
• Increase knowledge about the content of the national business portfolio: An increased understanding of what the national business portfolio looks like makes it possible to partly clarify opportunities for collaboration between companies in the program, and partly to clarify competition, which in itself can stimulate and drive development through competition between companies.
• Increase international connectivity, experience exchange and resource exchange: International connectivity is important for, for example, gaining access to expertise, access to customers and markets. Each individual incubator will not be able to develop the international networks that the companies need. Therefore, national coordination of internationalisation is needed by incubators sharing their networks and contributing to a coordinated national development of networks for access to markets, resources and exchange of experience.
• Cooperation in the national ecosystem for incubation: Strengthen the interaction between incubators, international incubator actors and other private and public actors in the support system for startups such as innovation offices, investors, customers, partners.

Figure 1 below shows how hi-tech and deep-tech are a subset of knowledge-intensive companies.

The call for proposals is aimed at established incubators whose objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of incubator companies by having sustainability and an equality perspective as a clear driving force in the selection and development of business ideas and companies.

Incubator refers to an activities that meets the following definition: "An incubator has processes for developing people and business ideas in the early stages. The incubator assists entrepreneurs and start-ups with active and adapted business development support, networks (financial, technical and commercial) as well as experience and support in recruitment".

The call for proposals is divided into two stages:

1. Step 1: In the first step in the spring of 2024, which incubators meet Vinnova's eligibility requirements in terms of quality in activities and processes are evaluated. The incubators that meet the call's eligibility requirements will be included in Vinnova's national incubator program and will be eligible to apply in step 2 of the call.
2. Step 2: The incubators that reach the quality requirements during step 1 will, in autumn 2024, complete their proposal from step 1 by submitting 15 companies from their business portfolio for assessment. The funds that the incubator can receive within this step are based on the combined score that the incubator's business portfolio generates during the evaluation. More information on how this will be done will be presented later for the incubators that are offered to apply within stage 2.

Maturity of companies during incubation

To define a business idea or a company's maturity and progress during the time that the company is in incubation, the following four "Innovation Readiness Levels (IRL)" from KTH's IRL model are used:

• Customer Readiness Level (CRL)
• Business Readiness Level (BRL)
• Team Readiness Level (TMRL)
• Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL)

Figure 2 shows the description of a company's innovation journey and maturity:
Here the four development phases are described from the point of view of the company's maturity in terms of the selected IRL scales. Formation (blue field), Product market Fit (green field), Problem Solution Fit (red field) and the white field which means that from Vinnova's point of view the company has passed the exit for Vinnova's incubation means.

Se KTH website for detailed information for each box

The journey from early business ideas to near commercialization

The purpose of Vinnova's funding during stage 2 is to:

1. Give the applicant the opportunity to conduct formation of new companies.
2. Give the applicant the opportunity to conduct incubation of inducted companies.

By "formation" Vinnova refers to the incubator's work in moving innovators, entrepreneurs and start-up companies in terms of maturity so that all four IRL characteristics cross the dark blue line as shown in the figure above.

Overall, this means that:

• Guide around relevant sustainability perspectives, including sex and gender perspectives, in business development.
• Support them in the work of forming relevant and equal teams based on representation and influence.
• Help the team determine the appropriate commercialization strategy and next steps. The goal is for them to have done an initial validation of Problem- Solution Fit. That is, assess the conditions for being able to be better than the customers' current alternatives and how that business can be scaled up. Furthermore, determine the conditions for the next step in the chosen strategy.
• Develop and determine the conditions and suitability to later bring the team or business idea into incubation.

By incubation, Vinnova refers to the incubator's work in green (Problem solution fit) and red (Product market fit) according to Figure 1 above. Incubation formally begins when all the IRL properties have reached the blue line according to Figure 2.

Incubation means that the incubator has the following processes defined and implemented:

• Selection
  That is, how the incubator ensures that the company that is taken into incubation meets Vinnova's target group criteria. See under the heading Target group criteria below.
• Eligible
  To ensure that the company is entitled to support from Vinnova. See under the heading Target group criteria below.
• Business Development
  How does the incubator during the incubation period during the incubation period ensure and quality assurance that a company meets the criteria for Vinnova's target group for stage 1 of the call for proposals. And that the incubator has access to networks that give companies relevant access to capital, customers and skills.
• Exit
  In what way does the incubator decide when and how the incubation support is interrupted.
  Exit can take place either when the incubator judges that the company has successfully reached a state where incubation should end ("positive exit").
  Exit can also take place when the incubator judges that the conditions for commercial success cannot be ensured and the incubation should be discontinued ("negative exit").

At the time the incubator agreement is signed, all 4 IRL characteristics must be within the maturity levels for problem solution fit.

Target group criteria for our funding within step 2

Within the national incubator programme, Vinnova finances business development in new and knowledge-intensive growth companies. The company's business concept must be scalable, sustainability-driven and have potential to solve challenges in society or the economy. The business ideas that are developed need, in order to have a long-term competitive advantage, to have potential to create unique intangible assets.

The funds that Vinnova grants during stage 2 of the call for proposals must be used to support companies that meet or are expected to meet the following target group characteristics:

1. The company admitted to the incubator must be a start-up company, not an established company.
2. The company must be eligible to receive state aid.
3. The company's must be founder-owned and founder-run, where the founding team shows a sufficient level of commitment to ensure the progress of the company's development.
4. The value proposition on which the company's establishment in the market is based is innovative, that is, it offers an innovative customer value that is significantly different from other alternatives in the market being addressed.
5. The company must have a sustainability-driven business that solves a challenge in society or the economy.
6. The value proposition has the potential to be significantly better than competing solutions in the market it addresses.
7. The company has the conditions to develop a scalable and profitable business based on the value proposition.
8. The company has unique intangible assets that give the company the conditions to create a sufficient time lead and attractiveness to reach the market on time.
9. The company is not market-ready, that is, it does not have repeatable sales or an equity that ensures the company's activities for 24 months or more.

Within the target group of knowledge-intensive companies, during the funding period 2025–29, companies in hi-tech and deep-tech must be prioritized. See Figure 1, Chapter 3.

Under the call text's appendix " Special conditions and instructions" there is an in-depth description of target group criteria and rules for how Vinnova's funding is to be used.

Basis for support

Vinnova's funding takes place through funding. Funding for organizations that carry out economic activities is covered by rules on state support. The rules govern, among other things, which types of costs and how much of them may be covered by funding.

Read more about government support
See general terms and conditions for funding and guide for eligible costs

Within the framework of this call for proposals decided funding for the incubator must be translated into services at the companies that the incubator supports during the program period. This means that it is the companies that are the recipient of the state aid, see figure 3.

The companies that are offered the incubator's services must meet the requirements for state support according to one of the two support bases below:

• According to article 22 of Kommissionens EU-förordning no. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014, also known as the general group exemption (GBER), and section 12 of the regulation (2015:208) on state support for research, development and innovation.
• In case the company is not counted as a start-up company according to Article 22, the support is instead given as the minimum to the company according to Kommissionens EU-förordning no. 1407/2013 on support of minor importance.

Description of figure 3 below:
The incubator beneficiary. The companies that receive the incubator's services become state aid recipients.

The services must be offered to the companies according to pre-established criteria in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. Elements of subjective or otherwise improper selection methods must not occur.

The value of the state aid imposed on the company must be based on the market price of the service or on the incubator's own costs to deliver the service plus a reasonable mark-up. The cost price plus the mark-up must then correspond to the market price.

The costs must be made public so that a company, as a user of the incubator's services, knows the size of the support and that it becomes transparent.

Eligible costs

Under section Basis for support it is described that the companies that receive the incubator's services are the recipients of the state support, not the incubator.

For the support that Vinnova decides on during step 2 eligible costs are defined as the costs the incubator has to deliver services to the companies within the incubator. The costs can be incurred through internally generated services or externally procured services.

The costs of services that can be reimbursed are:

• Develop the company and its business through:
  Business coaching, recruitment and team building, access to networks and capital, law, communication, IP strategies, design, expert services in connection with verifying business ideas, purchasing market studies, trainings that strengthen operational implementation such as sales, board work and business development.
• Support for marketing activities:
  Travel expenses and participation fees to fairs, customer and partner meetings, capital provision.
• Use of infrastructure:
  Costs for using investments in infrastructure such as office space, access to a test or lab environment, IT or infrastructure.

The costs that the incubator reports to Vinnova must be real and auditable.

Only those incubators that meet Vinnova's quality requirements for processes and activities within attraction, formation and incubation will be able to apply for funding during stage 2 to deliver services to the companies within the incubator. The lowest level of annual funding will be SEK 300,000.

The quality seal, which is a results of step 1 of the assessment, is valid for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2029, provided that nothing else is stated in the decision. See section 8.

Conditions for us to assess proposal

We will only assess applications that meet the following formal eligibility requirements:

• Proposal must be completely completed and include all mandatory attachments. It must contain enough information to enable assessment against the call's assessment criteria.
• The incubator must have at least two years of documented activities.
• The incubator must demonstrate a public mission that fully or partially involves business development of early ideas and companies. By public assignment we mean an assignment from a public actor in Sweden, for example region, municipality, university college or university.
• The incubator ensures that the people who deliver incubator services do not have a direct business connection or relationship with the incubator companies that take part in Vinnova's state support. This applies to both employees and consultants.
• The incubator must report that they have not distributed profits to owners in the past 4 years and have no intention of doing so in the next four-year period.
• Vinnova's funding during stage 2 may constitute no more than one third of the incubator's operating budget in each year.
• Through proposal the incubator gives Vinnova permission to share in-depth data in the IncubatorRapport (InkRapp) system from recent years' activities. Incubators that have not reported in InkRapp must, on request, be able to provide information for the last two years regarding: the incubator's operating budget, flow of ideas and the portfolio companies' funding, number of employees and turnover.

This is how the assessment takes place

The call for proposals is carried out in two stages where stage 1 is carried out during the first half of 2024 and stage 2 during the second half of 2024.

1. Step 1 - assessment of quality in processes and operations.
   The incubators that meet the call's eligibility requirements will be included in Vinnova's national incubator program.
2. Step 2 - how do we assess the business portfolio.
   The incubators that reach the quality requirements during stage 1 will be allowed to supplement their proposal from stage 1 by submitting 15 companies from their company portfolio for assessment. The company portfolio must consist of knowledge-intensive growth companies that were under Problem Solution-Fit when the incubator agreement was signed. The funds that the incubator can receive within this step are based on the combined score that the incubator's business portfolio generates during the evaluation. More information on how this will be done will be presented later to the incubators that intend to apply for stage 2.

Decisions for funding the incubator are made by Vinnova based on recommendations from an assessment group consisting of representatives from Vinnova and specially appointed experts who work under confidentiality and confidentiality.

Step 1 - How is the quality assessed in processes and activities?

The assessment is based on submitted documentation and the results from the digital site visit that Vinnova plans to carry out with all applicant who meet the formal requirements according to section 7.

Figure 4 below provides an overview of how it is assessed.

The basis to be assessed is based on the incubator's processes and working methods, as well as the extent of the resources that the incubator uses for attraction, formation and incubation according to the figure above. For processes and working methods, the application of Vinnova's target group criteria and IRL must be described.

When assessing the respective processes for attraction, formation and incubation, Vinnova will use the following rating scale for each approach, implementation and follow-up and improvement:

Approach: is there a well-defined process that meets the call's eligibility requirements in terms of scope and content?

• Leads to Pass: Persuasive or systematic information. Facts can be given.
• Leads to rejection: Anecdotal information. Not convincing, crucial flaws in the presentation.

Implementation: is the approach implemented in all relevant parts of the business?

• Leads to Pass: Persuasive or systematic information. Facts can be given
• Leads to rejection: Anecdotal information. Not convincing, crucial flaws in the presentation*.

Follow-up and improvement: how do you follow up the process, identify deficiencies and implement improvements?

• Leads to Pass: Persuasive or systematic information. Facts can be given
• Leads to rejection: Anecdotal information. Not convincing, crucial flaws in the petition *.

By facts, we primarily mean documents, protocols or data that concretely show how the assessment criterion has been applied and how the results or deliveries from the company have been quality assured.

* In cases where systematics and facts cannot be given but a credible explanation can be presented, for example that processes have been further developed but have not had time to be fully applied, then Vinnova can choose to approve the report. But also give a time-limited grant with special conditions linked to the decision. For example, that the applicant is re-evaluated after a certain period of time, after which a new funding decision is made by Vinnova based on the evaluation.

What should be included in the process description

The assessment of attraction and formation is based on the working methods and processes that the incubator has, that is to say that there is a clear and documented approach. The incubator must also show how the approach is implemented and how follow-up and improvement of the processes and own work takes place.

Within attraction and formation, the following must appear in the process description:

• The incubator's processes to attract people, ideas and companies to create a relevant inflow. Both through own work and partners.
• How the incubator's processes corresponding to the formation phase are carried out. Also what resources are available to develop and test business ideas and entrepreneurs for a possible next step.
• How and at what intervals the incubator follows up the companies in formation. In terms of input values or output values and milestone assessments. Also how Vinnova's target group criteria and IRL are applied.
• How the incubator follows up, evaluates and improves the attraction and formation work.

When assessment incubation, the review will be based on the incubator's existing processes to see that there is a clear and documented approach.

The incubator must also demonstrate how the approach is implemented and how follow-up and improvement of the processes and own work takes place.

It must be stated how the incubator works with intake to the incubator, what happens during incubation and what resources are then available, what support initiatives the incubator offers, as well as when and how exit takes place.

The following must be included in the description:

• The incubator's eligibility requirements for entering into an incubator agreement, as well as how the intake process works.
• The incubator's incubation process with defined program steps, as well as which resources enter each program step. What and in what way the resources are used in the process must be stated. For example, individual coaching, group coaching, workshops, via own resource, consultant, former alumni.
• How and at what intervals the incubator follows up the companies in incubation. This in terms of input values or output values for different program steps or milestone assessments. Also how Vinnova's target group criteria and IRL are applied.
• The incubator's exit process - both for positive and negative exits.
• How the incubator follows up and evaluates its own work and results.

In order to assess the above processes, the incubator must present two companies in its proposal for stage 1 according to the mandatory template in Appendix 3. Reported companies will be used as example companies during the digital site visit that is planned to be carried out in the spring of 2024.

How do we assess the company portfolio?

In proposal for step 2, the incubator must indicate the companies that meet the call's criteria and indicate the basis on which the incubator bases its assessment that each criterion is met. More information about the target group criteria for the companies in stage 2 and how they will be assessed will be presented later to the incubators that intend to apply to stage 2.

Then you apply

To apply for funding, you fill in a web-based form on Vinnova's e-services. There you also upload the following mandatory attachments.

The attachments must be in pdf format and can be written in Swedish or English:

• Appendix 1: Information about the incubator.
• Appendix 1.1: Latest strategic plan or directive and, if necessary, documents on public mandate.
• Appendix 2: Description of the incubator's processes and activities within attraction, formation and incubation.
• Appendix 3: Present the two incubator companies that will be used to exemplify the application of your processes and work methods.

See downloadable attachments below.

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal. You can start filling in information, save and continue at a later time.

When proposal is ready, you mark it as done. You can fully unlock proposal and make changes at any time, right up until the last application date.

Please mark proposal well in advance before the call for proposals closes.

When the call for proposals has closed and proposal has been registered with Vinnova, a confirmation will be sent out by e-mail to you who are responsible for the user account, project manager and company signatory or head of department. It may take a few hours before you receive the email.

If you have not received a confirmation by e-mail within 24 hours after the call for proposals has closed, please contact us.

When the application period has expired, proposal can only be completed upon request from us.