Up to €250.000 for cross-border R&D: Crossroads Call 5 now open

04/09/2026
Calls
Is your company developing an innovative solution in sustainability, circularity, digitalisation or healthcare? Are you still looking for French project partners, complementary expertise or financial support to bring your innovation to market? The 5th Crossroads France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen call opens on 10 September 2026, offering SMEs the opportunity to secure up to €250,000 in funding for cross-border innovation projects.
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Crossroads France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen

Accelerating innovation across borders

Crossroads France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen is a European initiative that stimulates cross-border innovation projects within four strategic domains:
  • Circular economy
  • Sustainability
  • Healthcare and wellbeing
  • Digitalisation and Industry 4.0

The programme encourages innovative collaborations between French, Walloon and Flemish SMEs located within the France-Wallonia-Flanders Interreg region.

 

What support is available?

Crossroads supports SMEs by offering:

  • Matchmaking: Crossroads brings together companies from different regions to pool their expertise.
  • Guidance and advisory services: The initiative guides businesses from the initial idea through to commercialisation.
  • Financial support: Through its project fund, Crossroads enables SMEs to apply for a grant to support their cross-border collaborations.

 

Who can apply?

The call is open to SMEs located in the following eligible regions:

  • West Flanders and East Flanders (districts of Ghent and Oudenaarde)
  • The Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg
  • The French regions Hauts-de-France and Grand Est (Marne and Ardennes departments)

 

Project requirements

To qualify for funding, projects should:

  • Involve at least one French SME
  • Focus on the development of an innovative solution with a clear route towards valorisation and commercialisation (TRL 5-8)
  • Have a maximum duration of two years
  • Have a total project budget of up to €500,000, of which €250,000 can be funded. SMEs should contribute at least 50% of their budget.

 

Online information session

Interested organisations are invited to attend VLAIO's online info session on 10 September 2026 at 11:00. Any additional question can be sent to VLAIO business advisor Diederik Blaton (diederik.blatonatvlaio.be (diederik[dot]blaton[at]vlaio[dot]be)) .

Register here

Submit your application

Applications can be submitted from 10 September 2026 (12:00) until 13 November 2026 (12:00). Interested companies should submit their application by email (%20infoatcrossroads-frwvl.eu (info[at]crossroads-frwvl[dot]eu)) and ensure that all required documents are included in their submission.

Full application guidelines are available through the Crossroads France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen website.

 

Source: VLAIO