Ukrainian dual-use companies to receive up to €500,000 under new EU program

A new €20 million EU initiative will launch in July, providing direct funding to Ukrainian companies working in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, and space technologies. The programme will be part of the Horizon Europe framework initiative. This was previously announced by Martin Joesaar from the EU Defence Innovation Office in Kyiv during the BRAVE1 event dedicated to EU and Ukrainian support for defence technologies.

Ukrainian companies will be able to receive grants ranging from €300,000 to €500,000. Applications will be accepted from mid-July and will close in September. You can follow project updates via this link.

While preparations for the programme are underway, early-stage startups can apply to participate in the EIC Pre-Accelerator. This support mechanism is focused on deep-tech companies from developing countries, including Ukraine, and helps them increase their investment attractiveness. You can apply here.

Although Ukrainian companies currently do not have access to direct grants from the European Defence Fund (EDF), other opportunities remain:

• participation as service providers in EDF projects
• full participation in projects through Ukrainian-owned companies in the EU

The event also highlighted two platforms for finding partners and attracting investments:

• ASD Connect — the largest defence cluster in Europe with over 4,500 participants;
• EUDIS Matchmaking — a platform for establishing connections between developers, investors, and industry.

We would like to remind you that Ukrainian arms manufacturers can also receive up to UAH 8 million under co-financing through the Diia under the “Made for Victory” programme.