HEPA MAGYAR EXPORTFEJLESZTESI UGYNOKSEG NONPROFIT ZARTKORUEN MUKODO RESZVENYTARSASAG

Their core work

HEPA is Hungary's national export development agency, operating as a nonprofit organization that supports Hungarian SMEs in accessing EU innovation funding and building international competitiveness. Within the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), they provide innovation management services — helping SMEs navigate Horizon 2020 instruments like the SME Instrument and EIC Pilot, improve their innovation capacity, and connect with European markets. Their role is essentially a national gateway: they assess SME readiness, deliver key account management, and guide companies through the process of applying for and benefiting from EU research and innovation programs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2014-2016), HEPA focused narrowly on core EEN services — SME Instrument coaching and basic innovation management support for Hungarian companies. From 2017 onward, their scope expanded significantly to cover a broader portfolio of EU instruments including FET, FTI, IHC, IMP3ROVE assessments, and the EIC Pilot, reflecting the evolution of EU innovation policy itself. Their growing budgets (from EUR 4,326 to EUR 115,131) suggest they earned increasing trust from the Commission and scaled their service delivery capacity substantially.

HEPA is expanding from narrow SME Instrument support toward comprehensive EIC ecosystem services including structured innovation assessments (IMP3ROVE), positioning them as a full-service national EIC access point.

How they like to work

HEPA exclusively coordinates its projects — all five H2020 grants were led by them, which is consistent with their role as a national agency running a domestic support program. Their consortia are small and domestically focused (8 unique partners, all within one country), suggesting they work with a stable set of Hungarian partner organizations to deliver EEN services regionally. This is a hub-and-spoke model: HEPA leads, local partners deliver on the ground.

HEPA works with a tight network of 8 Hungarian partner organizations, all domestic. This reflects their mandate as a national service provider rather than a cross-border research collaborator.

What sets them apart

HEPA is Hungary's official export and investment agency, giving it institutional authority and direct access to the national SME ecosystem that few other organizations can match. For EU project coordinators seeking a Hungarian partner for dissemination, SME outreach, or market access activities, HEPA offers a ready-made pipeline to Hungarian businesses. Their track record of five consecutive EEN grants demonstrates sustained Commission trust and operational reliability in delivering SME support services.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INNO-HUN 2020-21
  Largest grant (EUR 115,131) and most mature iteration, incorporating EIC Pilot and IMP3ROVE assessment tools — represents the full evolution of their service model.
• INNO-HUN2014
  The founding project (EUR 4,326) that established HEPA's EEN role; the 27x budget growth to the final project shows how the program scaled from pilot to full operation.