Project approach

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Why InnoRate?

Innovation is key for the competitiveness of the European economy, creating jobs and driving economic growth. Nonetheless, when it comes to innovative SMEs with high-growth potential, access to finance can be a bit of a challenge. At the same time, the current state of play in assessment methodologies does not appear to mitigate the risk aversion of investors, who often end up passing up on very promising opportunities.

InnoRate aims to reverse this trend. The project is set to contribute towards developing the EU financial ecosystem and placing Europe at the forefront of the global innovation game. To this end, its underlying concept is straightforward: InnoRate aims to develop a service platform across Europe and Associated Countries that can support investors and lenders for vetting, prioritising and financing innovative SMEs. After piloting this platform with real-case scenarios, the project will elaborate policy recommendations that can help stakeholders adopt the InnoRate’s results.

Our approach in a single graph

InnoRate embraces a new approach to support the decision-making process of investors who often have to assess complex, tech-driven projects. This approach has the following three pillars:

InnoRate Technology Rating System (ITRS)

InnoRate’s platform builds on the premise of the Technology Rating System of the Republic of Korea (KOTEC Technology Rating System – KTRS) that has assessed over 200,000 SMEs and assisted them in getting more than EUR 75 billion. This rating system is reinforced by customised rating methodologies which go beyond the traditional credit-focused approaches in evaluating the potential and risks of innovations. To learn more about ITRS works, check out our platform.

Combination of ICT and human expert knowledge

InnoRate acknowledges the importance of ICT in accelerating and scaling assessment processes, thus offering part of the InnoRate Technology Rating System as a digital, self-administered pre-screening service, by which SMEs can easily access to rate their innovation. At the same time, however, InnoRate blends ICT with human expertise through deep-assessment services where experts bring in the market and technology expertise required to evaluate more hard-to-grasp aspects of business prospects and risks.

InnoRate Service platform

InnoRate’s innovation assessment and rating services are offered under the umbrella of a pan-European service platform, together with a series of tailored investment readiness, matchmaking and data analytics services. The digital InnoRate Service Platform enhances the accessibility and reach of our solutions, makes it easier for SMEs to assess their innovations, minimises investors’ administrative and transaction costs and offers the necessary efficiency for a large-scale, international operationalisation.