Conference participation Mobile World Congress 2027

With this the call for proposals Vinnova wants to strengthen Sweden's participation in the Mobile World Congress 2027 conference. The aim is to strengthen Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and stimulate business and innovation collaboration within a number of strategic technology areas.

The call for proposals focuses on enabling SMEs to travel, participate in the conference and also contribute to an exhibition space. This is to find or strengthen partners, broaden the world coverage and strengthen expertise in the technical areas:

• Mobile connectivity (5G, 6G)
• AI, Edge AI
• Fysisk AI, robotics
• Resilience, cybersecurity

The call for proposals targets actors within the aforementioned technology areas, and finances two types of project, either:

• only funding for travel and entry with a funding maximum of 40,000 SEK.

or

• funding for travel and entry and exhibition space, maximum 100,000 SEK

The call for proposals is open to Swedish small or medium-sized companies. The total budget of the call is 1 million SEK.

The effort helps to position Swedish actors in emerging 6G value chains, increases access to partners, investors and customers, and strengthens international collaborations. It also provides early knowledge about technology development, standardization and policy. Overall, this increases the ability of SMEs to contribute to innovation, commercialization and Sweden's long-term competitiveness.

We expect a clear plan for participation in proposal; which parts of the program you plan to participate in, what you are expected to get out of it, and the number and which meetings you plan to book in advance.

We prioritize actors who participate and present at events and panels.

Mobile World Congress, MWC, is the world's largest trade fair for mobile communications with nine halls and over 110,000 visitors. It is important to increase Swedish representation at MWC. The reason is that the conference is a central arena for international business and innovation collaborations within digital infrastructure and mobile communications.

Participation involves relatively high costs. Through targeted support more Swedish SMEs from strategically important technology areas for Sweden can participate. They can then benefit from meeting booking, networking, monitoring the world and skills development. The rapid development in the call for proposals relevant areas of technology areas brings with it increasingly high eligibility requirements on individuals and organisations to continuously renew their skills.

Vinnova's vision is for Sweden to be an innovative force in a sustainable world. According to our mandate from the government, we will contribute to a sustainable transition where different actors work together to promote innovation and increase Sweden's competitiveness.

An innovative force in a sustainable world

Equalized funding by innovations

Your project should decide whether aspects of sex and gender are relevant to the design of the project, and if so, in what way.

By integrating different perspectives, more inclusive and relevant solutions are developed. This strengthens both the innovative capacity and the project's results.

Gender equality as a tool for innovative social development

The applicant the organisation must be a Swedish small or medium-sized enterprise, SME.

The project party applying for funding must be a Swedish legal entity. In this respect, a foreign organisation that has a branch or establishment in Sweden is considered a Swedish legal entity. The costs in the project must be attributable to the branch or establishment's activities.

The funding only applies to costs related to MWC 2027.

Our funding is subject to rules about state aid. The rules govern what types of costs we can finance. These are called eligible costs.

In this the call for proposals, these types of costs are eligible:

• Travel and accommodation expenses for the employee. The travel allowance may only be used for economy class airfare or equivalent, local transportation to and from the airport, and accommodation. The allowance does not cover salary or salary-related expenses.
• Vinnova does not reimburse any costs incurred in the event of a cancelled or delayed trip, such as cancellation fees for hotels or flights. Applicant is responsible for cancelling the trip if necessary.
• Direct costs for registration and exhibition space.

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, see Instructions for eligible costs

Which eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

In order for your costs to be eligible for support, the following applies:

• They must be factual, reasonable and necessary for the activities in the project.
• They must be booked correctly and under a separate project code in the accounting. You may not cover project costs with other public funding or own funds intended for other project.
• You may not claim someone else's expenses as your own.

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, see our general terms and conditions.

The rules about state aid govern how large a proportion of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organisation. We therefore differentiate between how large a funding project can get, and how much a participant organisation can get.

How big funding can the project get?

Maximum funding per project is SEK 100,000. Budget for the call for proposals is SEK 1 million.

How much funding can a participant organisation get?

How much funding a participant organisation can receive depends mainly on:

• the organisation's size and activities
• which activities the organisation will carry out in the project.

Descriptions in the following sections about what support we can provide are simplified. For complete information, see Support bases and levels for funding.

Support of minor importance to businesses

In this the call for proposals we use the de minimis basis of support-support, also known as support of minor importance. We can finance up to 100 percent of an organization's costs.

A organisation can receive a maximum of 300,000 euros over a three-year period in this form of support, regardless of the funder and project. This means that if the same organisation has received support of lesser importance in other project from other funders before, it affects how large the support can be in this the call for proposals.

Therefore, submit a certificate of de minimis support when you submit proposal. This is required for us to be able to grant this support. Use Vinnova's template.

Certificate of de minimis-support

In order for us to assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirementsrequirements. If the requirements are not met, we will reject your proposal immediately.

Eligibility requirements on participants

• Participation organisation must be a legal entity. Natural persons or sole proprietorships cannot participate. Foreign legal entities can participate if they have a branch or establishment in Sweden and the costs arise at the branch or establishment.
• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.
• Applicant must meet the EU definition of an SME, which means, among other things, that the company must have fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or a balance sheet not exceeding EUR 43 million. Read more: EU definition of an SME

Eligibility requirements on the project

• The project may apply for either only funding for travel and entry with a funding of a maximum of 40,000 SEK or funding for travel and entry and exhibition space for a maximum of 100,000 SEK.
• Only one participant per proposal. A maximum of 2 people can participate from the same organisation and share a funding.
• The project may start no earlier than November 2, 2026 and no later than November 16, 2026, and be completed no later than March 30, 2027.
• The project must not have started before you submit your proposal.
• Only costs related to MWC 2027 are eligible.
• Start report must be approved by Vinnova before December 1, 2026, otherwise payment will not be made.
• Applicant can only receive funding for the cost type "Other direct costs incl. travel". If applicant adds budget within other cost types, proposal can be rejected.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal should be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal should follow the instructions under the heading “ How to apply”.
• Proposal should contain all requested attachments.

Applications that meet our eligibility requirements will be forwarded to assessment. In the assessment, we look at how big potential your activities are, how realistic they are and who will implement the project.

We also look at how well your project integrates gender equality, both in how your project group is composed and how you implement the project. By integrating sex and gender perspectives, more inclusive and relevant solutions are developed. This strengthens both the innovation capacity and the project's results.

Gender equality as a tool for innovative social development

What do we assess?

When assessing applications, we look at three main criteria:

• Potential: We analyze what effects and what value we can expect from planned activities and, if relevant, what products and solutions the company wants to highlight at the conference.
• Actors: We assess the participants' competence and ability to implement the project and achieve the desired results and effects.
• Feasibility:We assess which activities are planned during the conference. This could include participation in events, panels, exhibitions, scheduled meetings, activities for monitoring the world around us and skills development, etc.

We also assess how realistic and credible the project plan is, both for implementing the project and for achieving the desired results.

How do we assess?

Once we receive the applications, we review them. We screen out any applications that are incomplete or do not meet our eligibility requirements.

The applications that are correct and complete are distributed among different evaluator and assessed in competition with each other. The evaluators are appointed by us based on their expertise in the field. Each proposal is assessed by at least three evaluator.

How does it affect an organization's financial status?

Before we decide on funding we also make a comprehensive assessment of the organizational and financial status of those who receive funding.

We use information we receive from credit reports, currently from Dun & Bradstreet.

In our assessment we check this:

• Organisations who are granted funding for salary costs must be registered as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency. If such registration does not exist when we make a decision, you must be able to show that a notification has been made. We do not approve retroactive registration.
• Organisations must not be insolvent, or undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring. They must also not have any significant unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
• The project manager should be employed by a participant, preferably the coordinating party.
• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.

We can also ask small and medium-sized companies to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to carry out the project.

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision either granting or rejecting your proposal. Since applications are assessed competitively, you may be rejected even though you meet all eligibility requirements and criteria.

In the decision, we state how much of the costs we cover for each organisation.

You cannot appeal our decision, but you are welcome to apply to us again at another time.

What happens if you are granted funding?

If we grant you proposal you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms include, among other things:

• That you will sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project.
• That you report how things are going, your costs and achievements to us during the project period.
• How the result will be used.

See our general terms and conditions

You also need to follow the special conditions that apply to this the call for proposals:

• Participants will, at Vinnova's request, participate in joint activities within Team Sweden, a collaborative initiative and coordination platform run by the Swedish government to strengthen Sweden's exports, investment promotion and international business opportunities. This may involve participating in networking activities and panel discussions.
• Participants will also need to answer questions afterwards to evaluate the effects of participation.

We may also decide to add additional special conditions for individual project. In that case, they will be stated in the decision.

Could you have to pay back funding?

If you have received more money than you are entitled to or if you do not follow our term, you may be liable for repayment.

When the call for proposals closes, your proposal will be registered as. We will then send an email confirmation to the person responsible for the user account, as well as to the project manager and the signatory. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us.

When the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. Then you can only supplement if we ask you to.

Who can read you proposal?

Your proposal will be read by employees at Vinnova and those evaluator who participate in this the call for proposals. Everyone works under a duty of confidentiality.

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if requested. However, we keep certain types of information confidential if disclosure could be expected to cause financial harm to the individual. This applies to information about business and operational conditions, inventions or research results.

General documents and confidentiality