Over its 30-month duration, Connect2Scale has significantly exceeded its core objectives to strengthen the EU’s scale-up landscape. The project successfully transitioned from ecosystem mapping to the operational validation of practical instruments, specifically targeting moderate and modest innovation ecosystems in Latvia, Slovenia, and Lithuania.
Key Achievement Highlights:
- Investor Engagement: Mobilized 1,492 investors through Pitching Days, reaching 298% of the project target.
- Accelerated Deal Flow: Introduced 197 portfolio startups to international investors (131% of target) from a pool of 746 applicants (249% of target).
- Rapid Capacity Building: Trained 166 Next Generation Angels in the first round alone, achieving 276% of the baseline goal.
- Digital Reach: Established a network of Investment Lighthouses with the central EBAN platform attracting over 2,500 visitors, facilitating cross-border transparency.
- Structural Legacy: The project triggered permanent organizational changes, such as the creation of a Syndicate Manager role within FiBAN and the establishment of a European Task Force of 25 experts to provide ongoing policy recommendations.
The project implemented and tested a set of practical instruments designed to accelerate startup internationalisation and cross-border investment flows. These included the establishment of Investment Lighthouses, structured expeditions and matchmaking activities, Investment Academy rounds, ecosystem roundtables, pitching days, and targeted dissemination and awareness-raising actions. In the final phase, the project concentrated on consolidating results, capturing lessons learned, engaging policy stakeholders, and ensuring sustainability and transferability beyond the funding period. This included the formulation of recommendations for activating investment ecosystems and embedding project results into longer-term regional and cross-border collaboration frameworks.
