Meet Esprit: A small Slovak company with over 30 years of expertise in hydrology, landscape ecology, and geospatial analysis. Quietly, consistently, they’ve been supporting ministries, municipalities, and communities in managing land and water more sustainably.
But the climate crisis doesn’t wait.
As floods, droughts, and extreme weather hit Europe harder every year, Esprit knew something had to change. Water management solutions — the very tools they’d worked on for years – needed to go bigger. International. Smarter. AI-powered.
So, they made a decision: Let’s take what we know and make it useful beyond our borders.
From deep expertise to global impact
Esprit had the science. The experience. The trust of public authorities. What they didn’t have?
A roadmap for scaling their solutions internationally — or the funding to do it.
Enter FLOPRES: a modular early-warning system for floods, designed to combine real-time meteorological and hydrological data, geospatial analysis, and AI-supported modelling. Not just for government use, but for landowners, farmers, and emergency responders.
Esprit believed FLOPRES could make a difference. They just needed help to bring it to life on a European scale.
Asking the right questions
When Esprit approached Civitta, they weren’t looking for magic. They were looking for a strategy.
- How do we find the right programme for FLOPRES?
- What makes an idea like this stand out in the eyes of EU funders?
- Could we, a small Slovak company, really run a project across borders?
The answer was yes — with the right approach.
Together, we got clear on Esprit’s goals:
- Expand FLOPRES across Europe
- Build a credible consortium of public and private partners
- Connect with the EU’s climate adaptation mission — and be seen
The breakthrough
LIFE was the obvious fit — a programme focused on funding close-to-market solutions that bring real environmental impact. With a well-defined product, a strong technological foundation, and a clear value proposition, Esprit didn’t just apply for funding — they stepped into a new role. They weren’t just a Slovak consultancy anymore. They were becoming a European actor in flood risk management.
The LIFE proposal was successful: €2M grant funding for a €3.2M project budget for pilot deployments in Slovakia and Poland. But the impact didn’t stop there.
What happens next?
FLOPRES is now more than a tool — it’s becoming a system others want to adopt. The project was showcased by CINEA at European Info Days, and new partnerships are emerging. NGOs, municipalities, and even international clients are reaching out.
At the same time, Esprit founded Envirocentrum, a nonprofit that helps educate and mobilize the next generation around climate resilience. From youth outreach to stakeholder engagement, they’re ensuring their impact goes beyond tech.
Takeaways for other small but expert players
- You don’t need to be big, you need to be focused.
- Long-term expertise is a strength — funders want credible teams.
- Going international is not about ambition — it’s about partnerships.
- If your product addresses EU priorities (like climate adaptation), the door is open.
Why Esprit is our funding champion
Because they prove that legacy can evolve. That deep, local expertise — when paired with a bold new vision — can scale to international impact. Because they didn’t settle for staying local. They committed to growth, impact, and learning how to use EU funding as a real driver of change.
Esprit is a reminder: if you’ve been building quietly, steadily, for years… now might be the time to go bigger.
