European funding can create real opportunities for startups and SMEs. But there is often a gap between the funding available at European level and the organisations that could actually benefit from it.
For smaller companies, accessing large EU programmes directly can mean navigating complex calls, consortium requirements and application processes that are not always designed around the speed and resources of a startup.
Cascade Funding offers a different route.
Also known as Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), Cascade Funding allows EU-funded projects to redistribute part of their budget through open calls aimed at startups, SMEs and other innovators.
The principle is relatively simple: instead of every organisation having to access European funding directly through a major programme, funding can reach smaller players through intermediaries that launch more targeted opportunities.
Why does that matter for startups?
For startups, access to funding is not only about how much money is available. It is also about how accessible that opportunity is in practice.
Cascade Funding calls can create a more direct entry point into the European innovation ecosystem, often targeting specific technologies, sectors or challenges and giving smaller organisations the opportunity to test, validate or scale their solutions.
That makes Cascade Funding particularly relevant in the space between European policy priorities and the startups building solutions on the ground.
But creating an open call does not automatically mean the right startups will find it, understand it or apply.
The way opportunities are communicated, how clearly eligibility and application requirements are presented, and how easily startups can identify the calls that fit them all play a role in whether funding actually reaches its intended audience.
And that leads to an important question:
How does Cascade Funding actually reach startups?
Bringing the question to Startup OLÉ 2026
This will be the focus of one of the sessions at the Sploro Summit, taking place during Startup OLÉ 2026 in Salamanca.
Beyond the Accelerator Assembly: How Cascade Funding actually reaches startups
The Access to Finance & Cascade Funding panel will bring together different perspectives from across the innovation ecosystem.
Moderator
Timi Graubina, Startup Portfolio and Partnership Manager, Sploro
Speakers
Mikel Apesteguía, Team Leader, Sploro
Jorge Castillo, DM Rural
Joana Figueiredo, EDynamics, part of Empowomen
📅 13 October | 16:00–16:30
📍 Autoridades Room, Congress Palace Halls, Salamanca
The session is part of the wider Sploro Summit, which will also cover women-led innovation, tech transfer and GrantTech across four sessions on 13 and 14 October.
See you at Startup OLÉ
Making funding easier to access also means understanding how startups actually discover and navigate those opportunities.
That’s one of the ideas behind the Access to Finance & Cascade Funding panel at Startup OLÉ 2026.
And if you’re around Salamanca on 13–14 October, you’ll also find the Sploro team at the booth throughout the event. If Cascade Funding, open calls or EU funding are part of what you’re working on, come by and say hello.
See you there!
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Startup Olé 2026: How does European funding actually reach startups?
