Impact Funding Europe

What Impact Funding Europe does

Impact Funding Europe GmbH is a privately held professional services consultancy headquartered in Kiel, Germany, founded in 2020 by Peter Schottes, Olaf Gerd Gemein, and Alex Chalkley. The firm specializes exclusively in end-to-end EU grant funding advisory for Smart, Digital, and Climate Neutral projects, with services spanning project ideation, proposal writing, consortium building, administration management, fund matching, and project success management. Its primary clients are European public-sector bodies (e.g., City of Kiel, City of Paderborn, City of Flensburg), research institutions (e.g., University of Plymouth in the €3.5m Horizon Europe PLOTEC project), and innovative SMEs (e.g., CLS in a €5m sustainable fishing project, GreenEarthX in hydrogen). The firm's market position rests on a curated Impact Community of SMEs, research institutions, city authorities, and citizen groups, long-term cooperation agreements with 20 European universities and 10+ research institutions, and embedded partnerships with OASC and FIWARE providing access to 500+ EU cities.

IFE does not sell a software product; its revenue model is project-based consulting, with pricing negotiated individually per bid and percentage-of-grant-fee structures typical of the EU grant advisory market. The firm's primary go-to-market is community-led: free Impact Community membership, downloadable templates (Company Profile, EU Project Experience, Impact Questionnaire, Use Case and Work Package tables), How-To guides, and a Welcome Pack act as top-of-funnel content that converts into paid consortium engagements. Distribution leverages the founder's leadership of the OASC Funding Working Group (since 2018), partnerships with Connected Places Catapult (UK), GreenTEC Campus, Bable, and the MaaS ERTICO Alliance architecture working group, as well as content marketing optimized around Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and Green Deal keywords.

Beyond grant writing, IFE has begun to expand into adjacent offerings including financial modelling and loan/equity structuring for renewable energy projects (GreenTEC Campus) and organizational change management through consultants such as Hans-Joachim Schulten. The firm employs 11-50 staff, has no disclosed parent company or venture funding, and has been co-funded by EU/Schleswig-Holstein DigiBonus grants covering 50% of its CRM development costs through partner Dicide.

Name

Impact Funding Europe

Legal name

Impact Funding Europe GmbH

Website

https://impactfundingeurope.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Impact Funding Europe GmbH is a Kiel-based EU grant writing and consortium-building consultancy that helps European cities, SMEs, and research institutions win Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and Climate Neutral funding bids across Smart, Digital, and Climate Neutral verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grant Writing and EU Funding Consultancy

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA), Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH), Climate Finance Funds & Green Investment Facilities (BPADACAH)

Keywords

• EU grant consulting
• Horizon Europe funding
• Consortium building
• Grant writing services
• Climate neutral projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Kiel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. EU Grant Writing Consulting Services: IFE provides professional consulting services for developing successful EU Grant Funding Applications for Consortiums responding to EU Challenges. Services include project ideation, proposal writing, consortium building, fund matching, and administration management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Impact Funding Europe provides end-to-end EU grant writing and consulting services for organizations seeking Horizon Europe and other EU funding for smart, digital, and climate neutral projects. The offering covers project ideation, proposal writing, consortium building across EU countries, fund matching, administration management, and project success management. The firm has secured over €60 million for clients across projects in smart cities, sustainable fisheries, ocean energy, hydrogen, and mobility.

Product overview

Impact Funding Europe is a consulting services firm (not a SaaS/platform company) offering end-to-end European Grant Writing services for organizations seeking EU funding. The core offering consists of consulting services including Project Ideation, Proposal Writing, Consortium Building, Fund Matching, Administration Management, and Project Success Management. Supporting the core services, they provide downloadable template resources (Company Profile Template, EU Project Experience Template, Impact Questionnaire Template, Use Case Table Template, Work Package Table Template) and guidance resources (How-To Guides, Welcome Pack, Financial Viability & Operational Capacity Guidance). The company focuses exclusively on smart, digital, and climate neutral EU grant projects, primarily under Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EU Grant Writing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over €60m secured for clients through successful EU grant applications
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OASC (Open and Agile Smart Cities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE Founder Olaf-Gerd Gemein initiated and leads the OASC Funding Working Group since 2018. OASC provides access to 500+ EU cities network for smart city projects.
• FIWAREcoreTechnology or IntegrationFIWARE provides technology standards for smart city and data platform implementations. IFE leverages FIWARE technology in EU-funded projects with access to 500+ EU cities.
• GreenTEC CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE advises GreenTEC Campus, Enge-Sande, Germany on structuring project financing including grants, loans, and equity for renewable energy projects including windmills, green data centers, vehicle retrofit, and regenerative agriculture.
• University of PlymouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE supported University of Plymouth in PLOTEC project - €3.5m Horizon Europe funded Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion system project with 6 consortium partners.
• Connected Places CatapultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness Fellows Network organized by Connected Places Catapult includes 13+ UK universities. IFE hosts online sessions to explain Horizon Europe benefits and barriers.
• BableminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE partnered with Bable to build global Agri Community bringing together stakeholders in Agricultural sector through digital platform.
• 20 European Universities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE has long-term cooperation agreements with 20 universities across Europe working on departments ranging from marine pollution and data spaces to agriculture.
• 10+ Research Institutions NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE works with 10+ research institutions with proven track records and shared belief in importance of innovation and collaboration.
• Horizon EuropecoreOthersEU's €95.5 billion research and innovation program (2021-2027) is the primary funding framework IFE supports clients in accessing.
• Smart Cities LabcoreOthersFounding company of IFE - think tank bringing together 50+ experts from all over the world providing knowledge and experience around smart cities and open data platforms.
• Eisenschmidt ConsultingcoreOthersFounding company of IFE - specialist in transformation projects in fields of strategy, culture, and digitalisation. Offers strategy/innovation counselling, culture and personal development, project development and implementation support.
• MaaS (mobility as a service) ERTICO AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFE is a member of the Architecture, Standards and API working group, guiding the group towards interoperability.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ttopstart: European grant and funding consultancy specialised in EU funding applications for life sciences, health, and innovation projects. Closely comparable to IFE in its focus on end-to-end proposal support and consortium formation, though more concentrated in life sciences than IFE's Smart/Digital/Climate focus.
• EurA Consult: Germany-headquartered European funding consultancy supporting SMEs and research organisations in securing EU grants (Horizon Europe, EIC, national programs). Highly comparable service portfolio to IFE — proposal writing, consortium building, project management — with a similar target customer base of innovative SMEs and research institutes.
• PNO Innovation: Large pan-European grant and innovation funding consultancy with deep Horizon Europe practice and consortium-building capability. Highly comparable to IFE: same core service of EU grant writing and consortium management for SMEs, research institutions, and city authorities across multiple EU countries, but operating at significantly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community and accelerator supporting SMEs and city authorities with funding access and consortium building for climate-neutral projects. Comparable to IFE in its climate focus and community-led model, but with non-profit mandate and direct EU backing that IFE does not have.
• Connected Places Catapult: UK innovation catapult supporting transport and place-based innovators, including via the Business Fellows Network of 13+ UK universities that IFE leverages for Horizon Europe bids. Comparable as a partner in IFE's smart-city consortium pipeline rather than a direct competitor, but adjacent in the smart-city funding ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Steinbeis: Large German innovation and consulting network with deep roots in EU-funded R&D project management and applied research. Comparable to IFE through its EU grant and project-management offerings for SMEs and research institutions, but operating as a much broader consulting and technology-transfer group.
• Accenture (EU Funding Advisory): Global consultancy with established EU funding and grants advisory practice serving corporates, governments, and large consortia. Comparable in serving Horizon Europe applicants, but competes from a broad-incumbent position with full-stack strategy-to-implementation capabilities and pricing leverage IFE cannot match.
• Deloitte (EU Funding & Grants Advisory): Big 4 firm with dedicated EU funding, R&I grants, and consortium advisory practices supporting large multinational consortia. Comparable to IFE in grant-advisory scope but operates as a broad incumbent with cross-border scale and ability to bundle grants with strategy, tax, and implementation services.
• RINA Consulting: European engineering and consulting group with an EU funding practice supporting energy, transport, and climate-neutral projects under Horizon Europe. Comparable to IFE in its Smart/Climate Neutral grant focus, but with broader industrial consulting capabilities and larger consortium management footprint.

Others

• Bable: Smart-city innovation platform and ecosystem partner of IFE for the Agri Community. Comparable as a smart-city data and ecosystem enabler that overlaps with IFE's open-data and smart-city project themes, but is primarily a digital platform rather than a grant-writing competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/impact-funding-europe

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Impact Funding Europe