EIT Community Hub Budapest — multi-sector innovation accelerator for Central and Eastern Europe

The EIT Community Hub Budapest, opened on 15 September 2021 at Budapest's Infopark science and technology park, is the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's (EIT) multi-sector innovation facility for Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.

What it does: The hub co-ordinates four EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) — EIT Health, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Raw Materials and EIT Urban Mobility — providing startups and SMEs with business acceleration, mentorship, pricing-strategy coaching, international networking and access to EU innovation programmes. Flagship activities include EIT Jumpstarter (start-up competition) and InnoStars Awards. The hub is staffed by 50 innovation specialists on-site and counts 40 partner organisations.

Results (2021–2024): 183 Hungarian startups received EIT support; €24 million+ in investment attracted; 23 innovations brought to market; 43 Hungarians completed EIT-labelled MSc or PhD programmes; 3,400+ participants enrolled in non-labelled EIT education and training; 36 women entrepreneurs received dedicated programming. Partners include Semmelweis University, University of Debrecen, MOL, GE Healthcare, Ericsson and Nokia.

Why it is a good practice: the hub proves that a single, co-located facility connecting multiple EU Innovation Communities can deliver structured, cross-sector acceleration in a capital city that previously lacked a strong public innovation broker. Hungary is now connected to EU-wide entrepreneurship pipelines that were previously inaccessible to most local founders. Read more: https://eit-ris.eu/hungary-2/

Read the full analysis: https://www.eit.europa.eu/news-events/news/new-eit-community-hub-budapest-support-more-innovators-across-central-and-eastern