The time Is Now.
Market, Partnership and Investment Opportunities in the USA Await You!
NearUS, the H2020 initiative aiming at building upENRICH – European Network of Research and Innovation Centres and Hubs – in the USA announces the opening of the following calls
- NearUS Match & Pitch at CES 2018 (January 7-11, 2018)! (click here)
- NearUS Innovation Tour to San Francisco, Sacramento and Silicon Valley (January 15-19, 2018)! (click here)
- NearUS Research2Market (R2M) Bootcamp in Boston, with an individualisedprogramme across the USA (March 4-16, 2018) and a pre-departure workshop in Brussels in February 2018! (click here)
- NearUS Business2Business (B2B) Bootcamp in Boston, with an individualisedprogramme across the USA (March 4-16, 2018) and a pre-departure workshop in Brussels in February 2018! (click here)
Are you an early stage entrepreneur, early stage Startup founder,researcher, research organization, SME, or cluster looking for market information, market opportunities,partners, investment opportunities and feedback on yourinnovations?
Then you should definitely visit us at https://near-us.eu/opportunities to learn more about the calls
Deadline for applications is:
November 12th, 2017 23.59 CET for the NearUS Match & Pitch at CES 2018 and the NearUS Innovation Tour to the West Coast
December 5th, 2017 23.59 CET for the NearUS Bootcamps in Boston
Financial technology startups are invited to apply for the Rietumu Fintech Challenge 2017!
Last year, 25 startups applied to take part in Rietumu Fintech Challenge 2016. The winner of the main prize was Nordigen, a startup from Latvia – a tool helping lenders to automatize the data analysis of borrowers’ bank printouts.
According to Roberts Bernāns, Development Director of Nordigen, “The Rietumu Fintech Challenge is a valuable event, because FinTech culture in Latvia is very active. It is good that big companies are providing support for such initiatives. Especially so, when the support comes from Rietumu Banka which also helps startups to function using the platform it provides. In preparing for the competition last year, we had a defined technology, but we lacked a clear understanding of its applicability. However, the presence of many mentors from the banks and other large financial enterprises gave us the chance to understand whether our service was useful and appropriate for them. Moreover, the large number of foreign experts involved helped us to understand whether our service was viable beyond the borders of Latvia. Our success in this competition is our quality mark and a reference we often use in order to increase the credibility of our brand.”
This year, the involvement of more participants from all the Baltic States, Scandinavia and Russia is expected. As previously, the jury will assess the submitted applications. After all applications, have been reviewed, the strongest startups will be selected for the final. The finalists will have the opportunity to spend a full day working with FinTech industry experts and mentors. These experts will share their advice and experience to encourage the teams to formulate their future vision of their product and business in general as precisely as possible, as well as to prepare the startups for the presentation to investors at the end of the day.
The Rietumu Fintech Challenge 2017 is organised by the Latvian Startup association StartinLV in collaboration with Rietumu Banka. Both parties signed the collaboration agreement at the beginning of 2017. Previously, Rietumu Banka has actively supported different initiatives of startups, for instance, participating in FinTech Club – the series of closed events specially organised for startups working in financial technologies.
Jevgēnijs Djugajevs, Board Member of Rietumu Banka explains that, “Launching a successful FinTech project is complicated. The need to deal with real money and reveal private financial information means that user requirements in regard to new solutions are often high. While it is possible to create something unique, the company should not only be thinking about launching a product; it also has to ensure the product’s reliability and security. It is important to comply with regulations and to avoid bankruptcy. Sometimes companies launch an unfinished project expecting to deal with emerging problems on the go. In our field, this is almost impossible. Therefore, the Rietumu FinTech Challenge has a professional jury that can guide entrepreneurs in the right direction, help them find solutions to problems, and last but not least, to identify the leader amongst the crowd.”
Jekaterina Novicka Chairperson of the Board of Latvian Startup Association says, “We are truly glad that through the Rietumu Fintech Challenge, we can showcase Latvia as a platform able to attract financial technology industry teams from all over the region. It is also a unique opportunity for Latvian FinTech startups to learn, establish contacts and further cooperate with internationally recognized experts. The Rietumu Fintech Challenge is a fantastic chance to understand and exploit the advantages offered by banks.”
Rietumu Fintech Challenge 2017 welcomes applications from startups that already have working product or its prototype. The product must be appropriate for use in the FinTech field. From all the applications, the jury will select the strongest startups, which will then be invited to take part in the all-day mentoring session and compete for the main prize. Register* until April 7 here: https://www.f6s.com/rietumufintechchallenge2017/apply
*In order to register for the Rietumu FinTech Challenge 2017, it is necessary to create a startup profile using the free platform http://f6s.com. Afterwards, you can fill in the questionnaire and to register for the competition. If you have any questions regarding registration, please do not hesitate to contact the project manager Aļona Beļinska by e-mail:
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
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
EU eHealth Competition: Get recognized as the best eHealth solution in Europe
Submit your digital health solution to the eHealth Competition before the 6th March. This year we have introduced a new track on Diabetes.
SMEs, get recognition for your eHealth Solution by entering the eHealth Competition! TICBioMed’s aim is to provide support for SME business success, offering a path to increase visibility and marketing opportunities to attract customers, partners and external capital.
The 6th Edition call for applications will remain open until 6th March. The novelty this year is the launch of a Diabetes track to reward the best solutions for the population management of the disease. 1 in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2040 -642 million- and 12% of global health expenditure is spent on this disease. Let’s give visibility to the solutions that will improve the life quality of diabetes patients.
The eHealth Competition 2017 will be held in partnership with the Health 2.0 and the Healthio Events, taking place at the Fira Barcelona on May 3rd.
TWITTER PROFILE: @eHealthCompSME / Hashtag: #eHC2017
TWEETS PROPOSAL:
Get recognized as the best #eHealth brand in Europe! Apply before 6 March. Special focus on diabetes. bit.ly/eHC2017
1 in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2040. @eHealthCompSME rewards best diabetes eHealth solutions. Apply until 6/03 bit.ly/eHC2017
Do you have a solution focused on Diabetes? @eHealthCompSME rewards the best solutions. Apply before the 6th March. bit.ly/eHC2017