Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund concludes with summit in Brussels
Pepijn Stribos attended the 2.5-day Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund final summit in Brussels, marking the conclusion of the 2.5-year programme that supported It Goes Forward and 12 other European innovators.
By Pepijn Stribos
The Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund concluded with a final summit in Brussels, bringing together all 13 innovators supported through the 2.5-year programme. I attended the full programme of nine sessions across 2.5 days, including events at the European Parliament, the SME Connect lunch forum, the European Business Summits Digital Summit 2026, the Mastercard Strive EU Summit, and the European Sustainable Energy Week.
It Goes Forward was selected for the Mastercard Strive EU Innovation Fund in October 2024, joining a cohort of 13 European innovators receiving combined funding, mentorship, and ecosystem access over the 2.5-year programme. The fund supports early-stage businesses with potential to drive long-term change across European SME competitiveness and digitalisation.
The Brussels summit functioned as both celebration and policy convening. Several recurring themes emerged from the policy sessions:
Simplification remains a top priority. Many participants pointed to excessive regulatory complexity as a continuing barrier to innovation and scaling.
Scaling existing SMEs is receiving increasing attention alongside new business creation. Programmes specifically designed for the scale-up phase are now multiplying across Europe.
AI adoption by SMEs is moving higher on the policy agenda, with multiple initiatives focused on accessible tooling and support.
New EU-level initiatives including the EU Business Wallet, the 28th Regime, the EU Competitiveness Fund, scale-up financing instruments, experimentation hubs, and the forthcoming EU Innovation Act all aim to make it easier for innovative companies to grow across Europe.
For It Goes Forward specifically, the programme provided 2.5 years of structured support during the company's foundational period — from initial selection in 2024 through first live client deployment with Kuyichi in February 2025 through current commercial expansion. The cohort connections, both with other innovators and with EU institutional networks, continue to provide ongoing value beyond the formal programme.
Congratulations to all 13 innovators in the cohort, and to Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Caribou for designing and running a programme that genuinely supported transformation rather than just funding it.