Your SME is preparing a prototype, your startup needs a research partner, or your team wants to digitise a business process. Before work starts, one question takes time to answer: who should you contact? Support exists, but programme names rarely explain which part of your project they can help fund or organise.
The Canton's launch announcement on 2 October 2026 describes over 300 schemes. Announced functions include filters, natural-language search, ranked results and SPEI, Innovaud or regional contacts.
The homepage lists 275 opportunities on 3 October, below the announced count.
Find support for your current stage
The portal covers local, cantonal, federal and international support, LADE funding, loan guarantees, accelerators and investors.
The support directory also covers advice, training, sustainability, market access, premises and incubators. It is available in French, German and English.
Start with the problem you need to solve. Scientific uncertainty calls for a different approach from a cash-flow need. An investor expects growth prospects and terms for taking a stake. A guarantee relates to a loan. Advice can help you structure a decision before committing a development budget.
For a team in Vaud, comparing these possibilities in one place gives you a reason to search early. You may discover that you first need to identify a laboratory, form a consortium or define the technical scope. This step helps you avoid writing an application around a programme whose conditions do not fit your circumstances.
Examples that explain the differences
We checked the following examples on the organisers' websites. They are neither a complete inventory nor confirmation that these programmes appear in the current directory.
SPEI: a product or certification
Product and certification support can cover up to 50% of costs, capped at CHF 30,000. Only external contractor costs qualify. Apply before carrying out the project.
SPEI eligibility concerns industrial or high-tech SMEs and startups established in Vaud, with R&D or production in the canton. SPEI must validate eligibility beforehand.
Building an app or replacing a website therefore does not make a business eligible. Explain the actual innovation and seek confirmation before including this support in your funding plan.
Innosuisse: test an idea with a research partner
The innovation cheque funds up to CHF 15,000 for a preliminary study by a Swiss research partner. Swiss-based organisations with fewer than 250 full-time equivalents can apply, subject to conditions.
This programme is not an app development budget for a private agency. Consider the feasibility question you need to answer before choosing a technical solution.
SyNNergy: develop a shared digital project
SyNNergy supports innovative digital projects involving at least two Vaud entities with shared results. After selection, the programme offers coaching and funding up to CHF 100,000, capped at 50% of the project budget.
If several businesses face the same difficulty, define what they will build together and what each will gain. A shared need warrants a discussion about data, responsibilities and maintenance before anyone writes the application.
Find industrial expertise too
The map provides free access to profiles based on public data.
The tool, developed by Enovating, is announced to cover over 3,000 industrial businesses. Users can search by expertise, markets, products or services and view their geographic locations.
A connected device may need a precision workshop, a sensor specialist and a software team. For an application, an industrial partner can contribute operational constraints and a testing site. Funding alone does not meet these needs.
Explore the industrial map, then speak to the businesses you identify. A skill described online confirms neither their availability nor their ability to manufacture your component. Prepare a description of the expected work and its constraints to make the first discussion useful.
Prepare a search and a first conversation
Here are two imagined requests to start a search for support:
- "We are an industrial SME in Vaud and want to test a prototype before certification."
- "Two businesses in the canton want to build a shared digital tool for tracking service visits."
Add your current stage and the decision you need to make. Then read the conditions for each lead on the organiser's website. A relevant search result is not an eligibility decision.
Before contacting someone, prepare one page covering:
- the problem, its users and what is new;
- the project's current state and expected result;
- the budget, your contribution and the schedule;
- potential partners and their responsibilities;
- a concrete measure of success, such as a feasibility test or a pilot within a business.
Make this page understandable without an accompanying presentation. It will help your contact explain the next step, the documents required and when to submit an application.
From Lausanne, we see this portal as a useful starting point for projects in Vaud. Identifying support and expertise before commissioning development helps define the work. At Appik Studio, we work on technical scope, prototypes and production delivery. Let's discuss this stage of your project.
Swiss Made Software
