Equity-free startup grants, vouchers, prizes, and funded programmes curated for founders who want capital or support without giving up ownership.
13 current opportunities
Funding guide
Non-dilutive funding can be useful before or alongside venture capital, especially when a startup needs validation, pilots, R&D, visibility, or runway without immediate dilution. This page surfaces open opportunities where the benefit is primarily grant, voucher, prize, funded support, or equity-free programme access.
Current opportunities
13 opportunities shown.
Portugal-based academic founders turning research, theses, R&D projects, or proofs of concept into a startup, especially students, researchers, or faculty connected to a national higher-education institution.
€30,000 non-repayable voucher per project, paid 100% in advance after approval, to fund early business creation and validation steps such as incubation, acceleration, company setup, events, marketing, pitch materials, proof of concept, pilots, IP protection, and regulatory or certification mapping.
For micro, small, and medium-sized companies, including startups. The company must be majority-owned by an individual who is currently, or was in the previous two calendar years, enrolled in a degree programme at a Portuguese higher-education institution or working as a researcher or teacher at one. Applications are submitted through Startup Portugal's official funding platform; ANI and Startup Portugal support the technical review, and FITEC decides within 30 working days after the notice closes.
Technical founders and early-career engineers with up to three years of experience in full-stack, backend, AI, or data engineering who can attend in Lisbon and want to demonstrate their skills through a live build rather than a CV.
RecT gives 40 selected participants a two-day team hackathon at IDEA Spaces Saldanha, a 2,000 cash prize for the winning team, fast-track interviews with RecT partners, and a verified profile shared with RecT's network of tech founders and CTOs.
Applications are open, with no closing date stated on the event page. Applicants must have up to three years of experience in full-stack, backend, AI, or data engineering and be available in Lisbon on 10-11 Oct 2026. Teams of four are formed at the event, and all projects must start from scratch during the weekend.
AI builders, technical founders, operator-founders, and automation-heavy startup teams in Lisbon who want to ship a working AI prototype against a real business brief in one intense day.
Swans gives 80 selected builders a real operational problem from a U.S. personal injury law firm, 12 hours to build with any AI, automation, no-code, agent, or custom-code stack, live judging by Swans engineers and actual buyers, a $2,000 prize pool, and finalist fast-track interviews with Swans.
Applications close 17 Jul 2026. Applicants should be ready to attend in Lisbon on Friday 24 Jul 2026, build from 09:00-21:00, and show what they have built. The event is selective, with 80 places for Lisbon builders and finalists expected to present the prototype clearly to Swans engineering leadership and buyer-side judges.
Early-stage startups and SMEs with health-focused digital solutions that want healthcare stakeholder exposure, pilot or validation opportunities, clinical feedback, and visibility in Portugal's health innovation ecosystem.
Selected teams showcase at the IHT Conference HealthTech Showroom, join guided tours with expert groups, connect with clinicians, healthcare decision-makers and potential partners, get direct feedback, unlock pilot, validation and funding conversations, and receive two free full-access conference tickets.
Applications close 7 Sep 2026. Applicants should be SMEs with health-focused digital solutions and meet the startup criteria stated in the guidelines: established less than five years ago and annual revenue below €1M. Selected teams are expected to confirm participation between 14-21 Sep 2026 and attend the showroom at IHT Conference on 27-28 Oct 2026.
Early-stage startups with outstanding potential that want Web Summit visibility in Lisbon, investor and media exposure, startup activations, and a structured event preparation path with the startup success team.
Selected ALPHA startups receive three Web Summit tickets, a startup profile visible to attendees, investors, media, and partners, a one-day exhibition booth, a printed exhibition board, access to the Web Summit app, Startup Lounge, startup activations, and support from a dedicated startup success manager. Accepted startups can also apply for activations such as PITCH, Startup Showcase, 40 Words, Mentor Hours, masterclasses, roundtables, and investor-to-startup meetings.
Apply through Web Summit's 2026 startup programme page with a business email address. Web Summit assesses applicants for high potential and programme fit. PITCH is open to ALPHA and BETA startups exhibiting at Web Summit that have received less than €5M in funding to date and have not had a discernible change in business model in the last three years.
Startups with traction or fundraising momentum that fit Web Summit's BETA route and want concentrated access to investors, media, startup showcases, mentor sessions, and Web Summit's global founder network in Lisbon.
Accepted BETA startups can use Web Summit to build visibility with attendees, investors, international media, strategic partners, and potential customers. The startup programme highlights access to investor-to-startup meetings, Mentor Hours, Startup Showcase, 40 Words, startup masterclasses, PITCH eligibility, the Web Summit app, and startup success support to prepare for the event.
Apply through Web Summit's 2026 startup programme page with a business email address. Web Summit reviews companies for high potential and fit. BETA startups exhibiting at Web Summit may apply for PITCH if they have raised less than €5M to date and have not had a discernible business-model change in the last three years.
European SMEs, startups, and research organisations building defence or dual-use technologies, especially teams with AI, cyber, quantum, energy, surveillance, digital, hardware, advanced materials, or other deep tech that can be adapted to defence applications.
The EDF 2026 work programme allocates about €1B to collaborative defence R&D, including dedicated EUDIS non-thematic SME calls. SME-led research actions can fund projects up to €4M and SME development actions up to €6M, with business coaching support to help move R&D results toward defence products and market entry.
Applications close 29 Sep 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. EDF projects generally require cross-border consortia from EU Member States or Norway; the SME research call requires an SME coordinator, at least TRL 4, disruptive defence impact, and limits research organisations to 40% of the requested grant budget.
Portuguese founders, startups, companies, research centres, universities, associations, cooperatives, NGOs, public bodies, and other teams with innovative products, services, organisational methods, or marketing approaches for agriculture, agri-food, forestry, rural development, local value chains, or climate adaptation.
The 13th edition awards €35,000 in total prizes: €10,000 for each of the three main categories, plus promotional video support for winning projects, and a €5,000 Prémio Revelação for an early-stage project with high development and scalability potential.
Applications are open until 9 Aug 2026 through the official form. Each promoter may submit one original project in one category: Investigação e Inovação, Desenvolvimento Local, or Impacto Climático e Adaptação. Projects must be directly or indirectly related to the agricultural, agri-food, or forestry sectors. An optional 1-2 minute Portuguese video pitch and supporting files can strengthen the application.
Medical device, in vitro diagnostic, and digital health startups, professionals, organizations, and stakeholders who need practical regulatory strategy, health technology assessment, reimbursement, or European market-access guidance.
Structured 13-week training programme with practical tools and strategic guidance for regulatory compliance and market access in Europe. Previous editions have supported 100+ participants from 50 companies, including companies that later attracted more than €4M in investment.
Applications are open until 14 Aug 2026 and places are limited. Participants should be working on or supporting medical device, IVD, digital health, regulatory affairs, technology assessment, or market-access strategies in Europe.
Early-stage AI startups building the next generation of communications, customer engagement, developer tools, automation, or AI-enabled business workflows, especially teams already using or able to use Twilio.
Recognition as one of 30 honorees, potential co-marketing opportunities with Twilio, additional marketing/prize opportunities for strong demos, possible showcase in TwilioWorld, and consideration for invite-only Founders Connect Fellowship opportunities.
Applicants must have a Twilio account. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and close Friday, 11 Sep 2026, with final honoree selection in late September to late October and honorees announced in mid to late November.
Women-founded or women-co-founded early-stage deep tech startups in EU Member States or eligible Horizon Europe Pillar III Associated Countries, especially teams preparing to move from validated technology toward market readiness.
€75,000 equity-free grant funding plus personalised business development support, mentoring, training, expert guidance, matchmaking, networking, and help bridging toward other EIC funding and support schemes.
Woman founder or co-founder in a top management role such as CEO or CTO, with at least 25% of company shares at submission. Company must be a commercial SME registered for at least six months and no more than five years, be before high-fidelity MVP stage (TRL4-TRL6), have raised less than €1M in equity, and must not have already benefitted from Women TechEU or EIC Accelerator. The eligibility strand has weekly Tuesday cut-offs at 17:00 Brussels time until 13 Jul 2027; the next near-term cut-off is 14 Jul 2026.
Early-stage and growth-stage founders, startup teams, operators, investors, and ecosystem builders who want a Lisbon-based event for practical learning, founder networking, startup visibility, and investor conversations.
Two days of talks across three stages, workshops and panels, startup showcase access, summit community access, and pass options that can include founder-only meetups, investor networking sessions, pitch competition eligibility, startup directory listing, or a startup booth.
Choose the pass that fits the goal: General for talks and expo, Founder for stronger networking and pitch eligibility, Startup Booth for exhibiting with two summit passes, Investor for curated deal flow, or VIP for premium access. Payment / Cost: early prices listed from €49 General, €99 Founder, €199 Startup Booth, €199 Investor, and €249 VIP; Build Up Labs partner link gives 50% discount.
Portuguese startups, SMEs, and eligible national entities needing advanced compute resources.; best for AI, simulation, scientific-computing, and compute-heavy startups.
CPU / GPU hours and storage on advanced computing infrastructure.
Eligible Portuguese entities with pre-commercial innovation projects.
Founder guidance
Non-dilutive funding is money or funded support that does not require founders to sell equity. Grants, vouchers, prizes, and some funded accelerators are common examples.
Usually not for high-growth startups, but it can fund validation, pilots, R&D, regulatory work, or market access before a priced round or alongside investor capital.
Prizes are included when the practical founder benefit is cash, funded services, investor access, or meaningful visibility without an immediate equity exchange.
