WARSAW – In a strategic move to secure the continent’s technological future, a high-level summit concluded in Warsaw this Mid-March, successfully bridging the gap between emergency wartime support and long-term integration

The Accelerating Autonomy with European Frontiers Summit was not your typical tech conference. Orchestrated by FundingBox in partnership with German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and European Commission (EC) through Seeds of Bravery and DeepSAFE projects, it served as a high-stakes diplomatic mission to integrate the European “Frontier” – Ukraine and the Western Balkans – into the heart of the EU Single Market.

The Blueprint for Integration 

For decades, Europe has struggled with a “fragmentation tax.” With 27 disparate legal and tax systems, roughly 42% of European unicorns eventually flee to the United States to seek simpler capital (Dealroom). In Warsaw, FundingBox acted as the premier Ecosystem Orchestrator, gathering 130 power players from 85 unique organisations to prove that the frontier is the continent’s most undervalued asset.

The room reflected a rare convergence of worlds: high-level policymakers from Brussels such as Michiel Schaffer, President of EIC’s Board, Ministries and Governmental Donors, venture capitalists from the Nordics, and seasoned deep-tech founders from Kyiv. By bringing together international financial institutions like the World Bank (IFC) alongside agile startup accelerators, the summit created a unique bridge between old-world stability and frontier agility.

The summit moved beyond talk, converging on four strategic pillars:

1. Seeds of Bravery:As the lead coordinator of this €20M EU project, FundingBox showcased the transformative impact of the initiative, which awarded 451 grants to more than 320 Ukrainian deep-tech firms. These are no longer just ‘battle-tested’ innovators surviving a conflict; they are a vital pipeline of 80 documented success stories defining the future of European resilience. Beyond the funding, FundingBox provided the structural growth necessary for market readiness: 65 startups completed the Deep Tech Incubators, while 63 graduated from the Deep Tech Accelerator programs. During the event, these founders took center stage to discuss how Dual-Use technology has become their ‘new normal’ and pitched their solutions during a high-stakes Demo Day.

    

2. EU SCALE:
   The summit’s primary “bureaucracy killer” was the official unveiling of EU SCALE (Simple Convertible Agreement for Loan to Equity). Developed under the FundingBox-coordinated DeepSAFE project, this mechanism is the engine for Financial Continuity. It is specifically designed to transition Ukrainian and European beneficiaries from non-dilutive public grants to private venture capital pipelines in a single afternoon. By removing the “fragmentation tax” of 27 different legal systems, FundingBox is ensuring that frontier innovation remains in Europe rather than fleeing to the US.
   
   
3. Regional Cooperation (GIZ):
   Through its role as an expert consultant for GIZ’s “Regional Cooperation for EU Integration”, FundingBox is driving Institutional Resilience across the Western Balkans and Ukraine supporting the integration of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) ensuring that they are fully interoperable with EU standards. This “plug-and-play” infrastructure prepares frontier economies for full integration into the Single Market ensuring that when these nations eventually join the EU, their digital infrastructure will be ready for Brussels requirements.
   
   

    

4. Strategic Autonomy Investor Network:
   The summit marked the launch of this permanent network by Accelerace, Kibo Ventures, and FundingBox. It signals that the private sector is finally ready to join institutional donors like the World Bank in de-risking the frontier.

A Mission at the Edge of Europe

Thibaut Kleiner emphasised during his speech at the NGI Forum 2025: “This is the world’s largest public investment in open-source internet technologies.

While the panels buzzed with talk of funding and infrastructure, the event was underpinned by a profound sense of responsibility. Anna Dymowska, COO of FundingBox and and the primary architect behind both the Seeds of Bravery and DeepSAFE initiatives, set the tone by highlighting the company’s unique position as both a gateway and a mentor for those seeking EU integration.

Addressing the delegates from across the Western Balkans and Ukraine, she positioned FundingBox’s Polish roots as the engine behind its European mission, thanks to the duality of more than two decades of Polish membership in the EU & benefit of geographical access to frontiers and tight business & cultural relationships:

“Currently, we sit at the Eastern border of the EU, but we hope that changes soon. FundingBox is an organisation that is European at its core, but equally, it is proudly Polish. For us, this dual identity is not just a matter of registration; it is our heartbeat. We are committed to leading the support for our Frontier partners and DeepTech Ecosystem Players in their pursuit of integration.” – Anna Dymowska

The Verdict: A New Tech Corridor

As the summit ended with 36 actionable proposals for joint service delivery among regional hubs, the message to Brussels was clear. Strategic autonomy is not found in policy papers; it is built on the ground by connecting local talent with European capital that needs speed and volume second-to-none.

Michiel Scheffer, President of the EIC Board, reinforced this commitment: “We will continue the support! It is vital that Central and Eastern European countries and Ukraine create a startup ecosystem that provides firms with the tools to start and gives them access to common facilities to test innovations.”

FundingBox has positioned itself as the indispensable bridge. By aligning GIZ’s policy goals with EU SCALE’s market speed, they have proved that when the frontier rises, the whole of Europe rises with it.

About Seeds of Bravery 

Seeds of Bravery is a €20 million project funded by the European Union under the European Innovation Council (EIC) to support Ukrainian technology startups.

The project’s mission is to develop and scale the Ukrainian deep tech industry, bring together corporations and governments for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises, and stimulate innovations that benefit users in Ukraine, Europe and beyond.

Seeds of Bravery’s work is based on the cooperation of 17 partners and 2 associate partners who integrate Ukrainian innovators into European markets.

About DeepSAFE

DeepSAFE is a European Commission-funded project that aims to create a simplified investment tool that reduces legal and administrative barriers for European startups in securing investment by creating the EU SCALE framework. The project is being implemented by a specialized consortium of European partners: FundingBox (Poland), Accelerace (Denmark), Techosystem (Ukraine), JIC (Czech Republic), and BWCon (Germany). 

Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission are responsible for them.