SEC2SV 2017 SCALEUPS CALL IS NOW OPEN!
The time is now. Today Mind the Bridge, in partnership with the European Commission and Startup Europe, announces the opening of the call for the next generation of EU Unicorns to be selected for the third annual SEC2SV (Startup Europe Comes to Silicon Valley), co-organized with EIT Digital, a weeklong mission that brings together the most promising EU scaleups, corporates, investors, and policy makers in September 2017 in Silicon Valley.
The aim of SEC2SV is to welcome the next class of leading European scaleups, i.e. mature startups ready to take off and exploit the opportunities offered by Silicon Valley and the US market. Interested companies from all over Europe should apply via the f6s scaleup form by June 9th 2017, after which a committee of leading US and European investors will select only 15 companies admitted to participate in SEC2SV 2017.
Interested scaleups must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements:
- be a European Union-based company
- have an average annualized growth in employees or turnover greater than 20% per annum over a three-year period (with more than 10 employees at the beginning of the 3 year period)
- desire to expand to the U.S. market or already have a presence there.
- be innovative
The selection will be curated with the support of several Silicon Valley-based partner organizations.
In 2015 and 2016, 28 European companies representing 23 countries were selected to participate in the SEC2SV mission. Cumulatively, these businesses generated more than $100 million in revenue and had over 2,000 employees. Among them were German high-growth companies Shopgate and Entrade, the UK’s Realeyes and Versarien, Spain’s Job and Talent and Kanteron, Mosaicoon and Shopfully from Italy, France’s TVTY, Belgian Awingu among many more.
“SEC2SV brought together amazing scaleups and gave a unique glimpse into the near future. I was honored to be part of this group and I can’t wait to see the next!” commented Andrea Anderheggen, founder and CEO of Shopgate (after an exit with Sofort to Klarna) who participated in the 2015 cohort.
“A Varied program. Meeting at senior level. And very applicable. Great experience!” commented Walter Van Uytven, Founder/Ceo Awingu who participated in the 2016 cohort.
During SEC2SV 2017, scaleups will have the opportunity to present at European Innovation Day (the opening conference, with 60+ speakers and 800+ attendees) and participate in a tailored program involving mentoring, networking, and meetings with key stakeholders – a dedicated 3-day Scaleup Summit that will involve in-depth roundtables with 30+ Silicon Valley experts on the topics of growth, talent, legal, funding, M&A, policy, and communications. The SEC2SV participants will also be invited to exclusive receptions (EU consulates in San Francisco), and meetings at Silicon Valley institutions (Apple, Airbnb, Andreessen and Horowitz, Facebook, GE Digital, Google Ventures Microsoft, Silicon Valley Bank, K&L Gates, to mention some names from prior editions).
In 2015 and 2016, key SEC2SV participants included Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, European for Budget and Human Resources, Günther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EU commissioner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partner Tim Draper, US Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship Julie Hanna, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Chairman Larry Sonsini, UK Chief Technology Officer Liam Maxwell, Betsy Masiello, Head of public Policy, Uber, Henry Chesbrough, the Father of Open Innovation among others.
To read the original article, please click here
Search begins to find Europe’s 25 Corporate Startup Stars of 2017
Search begins to find Europe’s 25 Corporate Startup Stars of 2017
March, 22nd – The hunt is on to find Europe’s 25 Corporate Startup Stars of 2017 with nominations opening on Wednesday 22nd March. The ranking, run by advisory firm Mind the Bridge and innovation foundation Nesta, will recognise Europe’s top “startup-friendly” corporates. The scheme takes place under the European Commission’s Startup Europe Partnership initiative.
Judges will award companies that have gone the extra mile to establish mutually-beneficial partnerships with startups – whether through favorable procurement terms, partnerships, accelerators, direct investment, mentoring, intrapreneurship schemes, competitions or other dedicated internal programmes. Nominations will be judged by an expert panel that is chaired by Sherry Coutu, author of The Scale-up Report and angel investor.
In 2016 Cisco was crowned as the most startup friendly corporate in Europe at the Startup Europe Summit in Berlin as a result of its unique approach to partnerships and investments through its Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (Cisco EIR) corporate venturing programme. Runners up included Rabobank and Unilever.
Nominations close on Wednesday 12th April 2017 with the 25 stars and final ranking revealed in Autumn. Startups, scale-ups, startup supporting organisations, mentors, and those who have witnessed examples of good corporate-startup collaboration will be asked to nominate the corporates that are offering the most effective support. Self-nominations are not considered, but corporates are encouraged to ask their startup network to nominate them. Last year nominations were crowdsourced in a similar way and over 100 nominations were received.
Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, European Commission, says: “Cooperation between corporates and startups speeds up new business models and innovation. It is a key action to strengthen our ecosystem. Europe’s 25 Corporate Startup Stars is an inspiring European step forward. Celebrate successes, embrace failures; let’s speed up the learning curve on a bigger scale.”
Alberto Onetti, Chairman of Mind the Bridge, comments: “Starting new innovative businesses is not enough. We need European startups that are able to scale up in Europe. Corporations are front and central in this process. They can provide business opportunities as well as capital and exits. SEP 25 Corporate Startup Stars is aimed at showcasing best practices and role model how the corporate-startup collaboration might benefit both sides.”
Chris Haley, Head of Startups and New Technology Research at Nesta, comments: “Collaboration between corporates and startups, if done right, can bring tremendous benefit to both. Startups can access invaluable resources and market insight which can help them scale, whilst for established companies, such collaborations offer an important mode of innovation – as well as subtler benefits like cultural change. However, it is hard to get it right. We believe that the organisations doing this well should be recognised as trailblazers, and hope that they inspire others to follow suit.”
To read the original article, please click here
Madrid Startup House will be at Startup Olé!
Madrid Startup House is going to be at Startup Olé, a great tech event in Salamanca, Spain, on 26th and 27th April!
Madrid Startup House is a pilot initiative which began through Startup Europe. It aims to be a one stop shop where entrepreneurs and startups can find everything they need to startup in Madrid, Spain. It is a neutral space which aims to connect all players of the ecosystem, and facilitate Madrid, and Spain’s, ability to adapt to the Digital Single Market.
Madrid Startup House will be at Startup Olé for both days of the event, to present the Madrid ecosystem and explain more about the initiative.
Madrid Startup House will:
- Be there with its two co-founders Victor Teodosio and Asier Basterretxea
- Have its own stand where you come to visit us and ask all of your questions
- Bring members of the Madrid ecosystem to meet you
- Bring selected top startups from Madrid: more on this very soon!
Keep an eye out for more information, on @MadridSHouse and on the website! We are excited to see you there!
About Startup Olé
Startup Olé emerged in 2015 from a highly successful European project within Startup Europe (WELCOME). The main objective of this project was to connect the startup ecosystems across Europe and advance European tech entrepreneurship. Although this project has now finished, Startup Olé persists as a unique event to drive entrepreneurship through effective collaboration. In fact, because of its origins, Startup Olé has become something that no other event has been able to achieve: A place where meaningful connections can be made with ALL the key players in the tech ecosystem.
Open call for Creative StartUp Europe Awards 2017
Creative StartUp Europe Awards is looking for partners at local, county, regional and national level
Madrid, 27th March. The call for country and local organisers of Creative StartUp Europe Awards 2017 was launched today in Madrid at the European meeting “How to start me up. Building my creative hub” organised and hostedby Factoria Cultural and supported by the European Creative Hubs Network funded under the Creative Europe Cross-sectoral strand. The project set up a Europe-wide network of creative hubs for cultural and creative professionals and entrepreneurs. The ECHN Skills Workshop is the first one in a series of three workshops which aim to build the professional capacity of creative hub leaders by developing tailored support and skills development tools.
Duringthe meeting “How to start me up. Building my creative hub”, the CEO of Finnova Foundation and the StartUp Europe Accelerator, Juan Manuel Revuelta invited the creative community to participate in the Creative StartUp Europe Awards 2017 through the StartUp Europe Awards Alliance. The aim of this award is to recognize the best startups working on cultural and creative projects in its broadest sense (visual arts, architecture, audio-visuals, literature, music, design and fashion), taking into consideration the originality of the project and its subsequent implementation. Moreover, the projects must pursue a transnational geographical dimension, successfully reaching a European or even global dimension.
The open call is to organise an awardat local, county, regional or national level to recognize these creative startups in their countries. The call is also open to Creative Media Partners, who could provide visibility and follow the progress of the participants and for Creative Ambassadors to Members of the European Parliament who could provide institutional support and invite a group of creative startups to visit EU institutions. Regarding this support, European Parliament presented a resolution on coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries on December 2016.
The first edition of StartUp Europe Awards in the Creative category awarded thesestartups at national level: Terrible Creations (Croatia) Truzees (Ireland) Audified Reality (Macedonia), Yeba Essentials (Belgium), Convert Art (Greece), Komilibro (Spain), DIS (Italy), Mozello (Latvia), RoboCamp (Poland) and SprayPrinter (Estonia).
More than 20 local events and 14 national awards have been celebrated under the frame of StartUp Europe Awards in 2016 with 91 startups awarded. 18 media partners from all over Europe have been making more visible the progress of the initiative as The Independent Ireland or Emprende TVE for Spain.
If you are interested in become a partner for Creative SEUA17 please contact us:
About StartUp Europe Awards
StartUp Europe Awards is promoted by the European Commission and supported by the President of the Committee of the Regions, several members of the European Parliament as Ambassadors and it is implemented by Finnova Foundation in collaboration with Startup Europe. Its aim is to identify local models that serve as an example to new entrepreneurs and for public institutions to develop programs to promote them.
StartUp Europe Awards works as well as a methodology of open innovation through public-private partnerships that allow public entities to find a solution for their local challenges and startupsto prove their innovations in pilots supported by European funding.
StartUp Europe Awards recognizes the effort of the European startups in five levels (local, county, regional, national and European) in fourteen categories for 2017: Creative, Energy, Fintech, Green, Health, IoT, Smart Cities, Social, Tourism, Water, Agritech, Legal, Space and Cibersecurity. A last category is for recognizing the effort of the public administrations in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation: Best Public Administration Award.
StartUp Europe Awards is creating as well an Alliance gathering the organizers of startup awards (accelerators, universities, consultors, businesses angels) all around Europe and beyond, being a forum for the interchange of best practices and networking amongst all the players involved in the European ecosystem.
The winners of the European final of StartUp Europe Awards will gain huge visibility across Europe and access to a mentoring programme (on European funds as SME Instrument from 50000 € to 2.5 M €, communication, lobbying, etc.), through Finnova Foundation and the partners of the StartUp Europe Awards, allowing them to develop their projects and make them more viable at a European level.
About Creative StartUp Europe Accelerator
Creative StartUp Europe is an international programme that connects key Belgian stakeholders with Spanish young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in the creative and cultural industries. To know more about this initiative please visit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSuNuVoasdo
About Creative Hubs
A creative hub is an infrastructure or venue that uses a part of its leasable or available space for networking, organisational and business development to the cultural and creative sectors. Many co-working spaces in the creative sector refer to themselves as “creative hubs”.
By facilitating co-creation, Creative hubs can help to make out the most of the sharing economy. In some countries, creative hubs also provide valuable solutions to the high rates of youth unemployment by providing not only an inspiring working environment and useful contacts but also to provide an innovative business environment for cultural and creative start-ups. The increasing attractiveness of the concept of creative hubs in the EU can help breathe new life into declined industrial areas, enhance tourism and investment, provide educational opportunities as well as cultural and creative spaces. The project also set up some business support measures as well as a peer-to-peer hubs exchange programme to enhance concrete project development and cross-country learning.
Interview with Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House, a Startup Europe initiative, in El Economista
Victor Teodosio, Co-founder and Director of Madrid Startup House, was recently interviewed by the Spanish magazine El Economista for their SME magazine.
Madrid Startup House is an initiative of Startup Europe which aims to bring a homogenous structure to the Madrid startup ecosystem and help it become an internationally recognised digi-tech and startup-friendly city. It is a pilot project which will soon be developed in other cities in Europe, to create homogenous structures in each hub so that they may work, collaborate and easily share information. The initiative aims to help cities adapt further to the Digital Single Market, one of the main priorities of the European Commission.
The interview with Victor Teodosio can be found on pages 4-6.
The magazine also features an interview with Isidro Laso, Head of the Startup Europe initiative, pages 8-10.
You can read the interview in Spanish here.
Take part in the Correos open call!
Correos is launching the first call of the CorreosLabs with the “Lehnica Challenge” aimed to develop professional projects which contribute to innovative products or services within a framework.
Correos is implementing several initiatives aimed at exploring new business lines while at the same time modernizing and improving the services it already provides.
One of these initiatives is CorreosLabs, a space created to develop entrepreneurial talent and establish a co‐working environment, where knowledge can be exchanged and ideas, concerns and opinions shared with like-minded entrepreneurs and professionals from different industries to build new, long-lasting business connections.
In its initial stage of new business, there is a greater willingness to adopt and develop new ideas that in turn, encourage collaboration among different players, thus allowing outcomes with a greater degree of innovation to be obtained.
Correos is launching the first call of the CorreosLabs “Lehnica Challenge” with these rules in mind.
Candidates:
The “Lehnica Challenge” is aimed at entrepreneurs: incorporated companies and self‐employed professionals which have been in business for three years at most.
Both companies and self‐employed professionals shall have their registered or professional office in Spain.
The solutions we are looking for:
Five innovative business projects will be selected from the following themes:
Logistics – projects that improve environmental logistics such as, traceability, new delivery models, urban logistics, circular economy, energy efficiency, new route models, dynamic deliveries, drones, autonomous vehicles.
Society – projects that improve the quality of life for people in cities and rural areas, for example, e-health, smarter cities, collaborative economy, new production models.
Digitization – digital projects that are based on emerging technologies that allow the transformation of traditional businesses, such as: payments, blockchain, digital identity, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and virtual reality.
Correos’ Contribution per Project:
- A contribution of up to €30,000 will be given to each project selected.
- A one year acceleration programme will be offered to the selected projects and entrepreneurs to drive forward and validate their proposed business models.
- Access to the following resources during the acceleration programme:
- Space in a Correos building in Madrid (CorreosLabs) with the facilities and technology to develop projects in a co‐working environment.
- Coaching and mentoring opportunities for the projects selected.
To apply, visit this website: http://bit.ly/2mpjjqt
Apply to IMPACT GROWTH: new accelerator with €3.6 million for European super startups
European accelerator IMPACT is launching IMPACT GROWTH, a new acceleration program with a fund of €3.6 million and the final aim of identifying four European super startups.
In the first stage of the program, IMPACT Growth will finance 28 startups with €100,000, equity free, with the best receiving up to €250,000 equity free.
Led by ISDI, the acceleration program has the support of FundingBox, the FIWARE Foundation, Accelerace, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Kibo Ventures, Invesdor, Danone, Ferrovial Servicios, DOCOMO Digital and MADE, among others.
The program is aimed at startups from all over the world in the growth phase, with products that are already in the market. Furthermore, startups should have the potential to achieve Seed and Series A round financing at the end of the acceleration program, to access capital already focused on scalability and international growth.
An important aspect of this new program is the creation of four acceleration verticals. Each vertical is supported by a large international organization that will act as a mentor to selected projects, offering focused expertise and the possibility of future partnerships. The areas are:
- Smart Infrastructure & Cities, supported by Ferrovial Servicios;
- Smart Content, with DOCOMO Digital as leader;
- Smart AgriFood, led by Danone;
- Smart Manufacturing, partnered with MADE (Lego).
As in IMPACT’s previous programs, funding will go hand in hand with a high-performance startup training program, led by ISDI and Accelerace, in which renowned experts and international entrepreneurs will deliver practical classes in Madrid, Copenhagen, and Barcelona. In addition, entrepreneurs will have access to an international network of more than one hundred recognized mentors, founders, and investors who are experts in different key areas of knowledge, both in the digital sector and in the accelerator’s four verticals.
Mentors will help startups solve complex issues related to business, technology, and scalability. Following the acceleration phase of the program, two startups selected from the batch of 28 will also receive an additional €150,000 equity free, and the best four will have the opportunity to get up to €1.5 million in private investment from Kibo Ventures and Accelerace.
Startups will receive support from the FIWARE Foundation in incorporating FIWARE technologies into their software architecture. FIWARE is an innovative, open source, and cloud-based technology stack that eases the creation and global deployment of smart
IMPACT Growth is accepting applications on their website until May 9th, 2017.
6.4 million in two years
The goal of IMPACT Growth is to become the reference point for European accelerators in Future Internet trends, to expand Old World innovation practices to the rest of the planet (USA, Latam and Asia), through the values of growth of high performance and transparency. These values are what led IMPACT’s previous acceleration program to be one of the highest-evaluated within the European digital ecosystem and inspired the creation of Open Acceleration. This methodology is detailed in a whitepaper, created by ISDI, which provides open data on the growth of the accelerator and its 63 startups.
Since its creation, two years ago, IMPACT has invested 6.4 million euros over three open calls. Numbers to highlight include:
- Applications from more than 2,600 startups in 42 countries;
- 63 projects accelerated and financed with €100,000 equity free;
- Job creation: accelerated startups went from an average of 4.3 to 6.4 employees;
- In addition, the average outside funding obtained grew from €188,000 per startup before the program to €360,000 after IMPACT’s acceleration.
- In aggregate, the group of startups that has gone through IMPACT doubled funding achieved.
To apply on the website: http://impact-accelerator.com
Armenian startups invited to apply for Startup Olé, April 26-27, Spain, by 15th March
Calling Armenian startups! Apply by 15 March to go to Startup Olé in Spain
The Armenian tech and startup ecosystem made a thriving development during the last years. In IT sphere alone, more than 12,000 people work in 450 companies and in relevant support structures. Traditionally, there are strong ties between Armenian startups and the US and Silicon Valley. Now the Armenia startup ecosystem also reaches out to Europe more actively. This is conditioned by the fact that Armenia used to be an “engineering hub” during Soviet era, where over 30% of all the military electronics, R&D and production took place.
Currently, Armenia boasts top-notch technical expertise incorporated in promising startups which can open new opportunities for European partners.
“In this regard, Startup Europe is proud to partner with “Support to SME Development in Armenia” (SMEDA) project in cooperation with Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) and Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SMEDNC) of Armenia to support participation of 10 Armenian startups in Startup Ole Conference. The full announcement can be downloaded here.
SMEDA is co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ Private Sector Development in South Caucasus Programme. SMEDA is part of the EU4Business and EU4Innovation initiatives of the European Union.
More information about startups in Armenia can be found here: www.eif.am
Madrid Startup House Foundation presented with VP of Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip
-
The Madrid Startup House Foundation was created to boost Madrid into an internationally recognised Digi-Tech and Startup-Friendly city
-
It began under the umbrella of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market initiative, as a pilot project soon to be developed in other cities
-
MSH was presented on 6 March 2017 with Vice-President of the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip
On 6 March 2017, Madrid’s startup community gathered with Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Digital Single Market, for the presentation of the Madrid Startup House Foundation.
Throughout the meeting, the role that Madrid Startup House Foundation will play in overcoming the challenge of adapting to the Digital Single Market was discussed. The Digital Single Market is one of the European Commission’s key priorities: it aims to tear down regulatory barriers and create a more vibrant, connected and seamless European Digital Market.
The event was opened by Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Digital Single Market. He explained that Europe is full of creativity, that there are lots of good ideas, but that to scale-up in the European Union is difficult. He said that the Digital Single Market, is needed for everybody and will be really beneficial for startups. VP EC Ansip also highlighted the huge market potential we have in the EU, with 500 million customers, and how mobile applications are an incredible source of jobs which are often undervalued.
The event was chaired by Manuel Gago, Vice-President of the Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives (Confederación Española de Directivos y Empresarios, ‘CEDE’). Focusing on the city level, Carlos Barrabés (Serial Entrepreneur, Barrabés.com) insisted on the importance of networks by claiming that Madrid Startup House is a really collaborative project, as it can count on the support of the people of Madrid and “it will include us in a greater European network‘.
Victor Teodosio, Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House Foundation (Hugin and Munin), introduced the concept of Madrid Startup House by saying that the idea was born through Startup Europe. He said, “Madrid is a city with a lot of activities for startups; there are a lot of resources, but they are widely dispersed. What is needed is a single entry point to connect all players in the ecosystem. The overall goal of Madrid Startup House is to position Madrid as an internationally recognised Digi-Tech and Startup-Friendly city, and connect to other markets such as the rest of Europe, the US and Latin America”.
Asier Basterretxea-Gomez, Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House Foundation (Socios Inversores), went on to explain the long-term goals of Madrid Startup House Foundation. He said, “Our goal is to position Madrid in the top ten digital cities in Europe by 2020, and to be in the top 5 by 2025. We want to inspire: we want to inspire digital talent, inspire people to invest in startups, and most importantly, inspire women and facilitate their route into entrepreneurship”.
Teresa Alarcos, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, concluded the presentation of the initiative with a strong call to action, informing all participants that “We are now creating personalised sponsorship and partnership programmes for those that want to sponsor Madrid Startup House. Partnering with Madrid Startup House Foundation will not only boost your city of Madrid, but it will have a direct, positive impact on you too. ”
The decision to focus this initiative at a city level was also discussed. Isidro Laso, Head of the Startup Europe initiative at the European Commission, pointed out that, “We know via Startup Europe, that startups are a local phenomenon. It’s not even regional, it’s very local – on a city level”. He said, however, that “even within cities there can be several ecosystems co-existing. The target is to establish in these cities the homogenous structures where they do exist yet. The EU added value is then connecting all of these cities together”.
Asier Basterretxea-Gomez, Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House Foundation, also added that “The principles on which Madrid Startup House is based, its methodology, is such that it can then be transferred to other ecosystems, and become itself a white paper of best practices”.
To find out about how you can become a sponsor of Madrid Startup House, contact the Founders of MSH, or the Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees:
Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House:
Victor Teodosio
Co-Founder of Madrid Startup House:
Asier Basterretxea Gómez
Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees:
Teresa M. Alarcos Tamayo
Making a new Europe: The OpenMaker initiative
Accelerating the 4th Industrial Revolution: Inviting Makers & Manufacturers
The OpenMaker initiative is a pan-European project aiming to seed & accelerate the 4th Industrial Revolution.
We recognise manufacturing as one of the key sectors in Europe: in 2014, manufacturing represented around 16% of the EU GDP, more than 80% of EU total exports, 80% of private Research and Development expenditure, and employed 30 million people[1]. However, the sector has suffered in the wake of an economic crisis and globalisation[2], and in 2014 a goal was announced to increase manufacturing’s share of GDP to 20% by 2020[3]. Such aspirations require radical innovation in the face of economic decline and technological disruption.
The 4th industrial revolution heralds such a shift not only in the nature of what we make and how and where we make it but also how we reimagine elements like citizens rights, quality assurance, insurance warranties and provenance in a zero margin cost society. It is ultimately supporting the distributed networking of scale free industrial processes to bring about the new “smart factory[4]” city.
This initiative seeks to catalyse the ideation, discovery, design and prototyping of business models, production processes, products, and governance systems.
We aim to seed & prototype collaborative innovation across manufacturers and makers and transforming linear vertical supply chains into supply meshes, democratizing and decentralising innovation and supporting mass customisation is seen as a strategic opportunity for ushering forth a new era of manufacturing.
The programme will initially support makers and manufacturers with 4 accelerator hubs across Europe (UK, Italy, Slovakia and Spain) offering seminars, matching events and training sessions to facilitate partnerships. the initiative will also engage with citizens, universities, local authorities, civil society organisations and policy-makers. Each hub will award prizes of up to €20,000 to successful partnerships, and all partners will be supported by a dedicated digital platform to widen the opportunity for businesses to grow.
Imagine a future where manufacturing companies become the open platform for young innovators to try inventions and take their next step to making an impact on society. Then, imagine a future in which brilliant innovators are able to transform industrial processes, making them more efficient and effective, resulting in more user-friendly products for society. OpenMaker unites these two dreams.
– Filippo Addarii, Co-Founder and CEO, PlusValue
The industrial revolution was born at the crucible of a reimagining of our institutions and our means of making, and we are again at a similar moment where the remaking of our literal future is contingent on us reimagining our institutional infrastructure for a new age of Democratized making. OpenMaker initiatives recognise the 4th industrial revolution will not be made by merely focusing on new products or the localized remaking of existing products, but on this symbiotic relationship between our institutions and our means of making. The OpenMaker initiative is an open opportunity for cities to systematically reimagine and start recasting their manufacturing ecosystem for a 21st Century.
-Indy Johar, Senior Innovation Associate Young Foundation, Co-Founder 00, Co-Founder Dark Matter Laboratories, Chair – Wikihouse Foundation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Catherine Hughes, Communications, OpenMaker
M: 0044 7746 198 352 (UK)
E:
NOTES TO EDITOR
OpenMaker website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
OpenMaker is funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The OpenMaker consortium consists of 10 partners:
- The Young Foundation (UK)
- Bogazici University (Turkey)
- Centire (Slovakia)
- IMT Lucca (Italy)
- LAMA (Italy)
- Tecnalia (Spain)
- Top-ix (Italy)
- University of Zurich (Switzerland)
- Accord Group (UK)
- PlusValue (UK)
[1] See EC Task Force on Advanced Manufacturing for Clean Production (2014)
[2] While Frey-Osborne, (2013) identifies that 47% of current jobs – including accountancy, legal work and technical writing – risk being completely automated in twenty years, it is already apparent that the “sharing economy” and th e “on-demand economy” are facilitating nonstandard employment and subcontracting, reducing substantially workers’ protection. On this topic, and on the impact of globalisation on the manufacturing sector, see also Center for American Progress, 2015.
[3] http://europe.autonews.com/article/20140604/ANE/140609928/eu-aims-to-have-20-percent-of-gdp-come-from-manufacturing-official
[4] http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/20/what-everyone-must-know-about-industry-4-0/#604392c34e3b