Month: February 2017

NOBEL GRID, Horizon 2020 project in which Finnova is partner,  is carrying out the Twitter Campaign #LovingCleanEnergy – #LovingSmartEnergy from 13th to 14 th February to remind citizens how important clean energy and smart energy is within the current energy transition.

To join the initiative via Twitter, participants must answer the question “Why we should love clean energy and smart energy?” and use the hashtags #LovingSmartEnergy and/or #LovingCleanEnergy. As well as, post a photo related with smart energy or clean energy.

Don’t hesitate to join this initiative and share it!

Brussels, 8 February 2017 – Three enriching conferences took place that day. During the event, the companies have presented all the help they can provide for entrepreneurs.

Firstly, Véronique Flammang, Co-ordinator 1819 at impulse.brussels, talked about the Brussels Ecosystem for Business Creation. Doing business in Brussels is not that difficult. Many ways are at your disposal to create your enterprise. The website of 1819 complements the phone line, providing one-stop access to valuable information in French and Dutch for anyone who does business in Brussels or is looking to develop a business activity in the region in the near future. It also includes all market parties who can provide the training, information, advice, guidance, support and finance needed to start or grow a business in Brussels. For more information about the company, please have a look at : http://www.1819.be/en .

Then, Candice Francescato, Program Officer for Coopcity at impulse.brussels, presented their accompanying programs for entrepreneurs and the free coworking spaces after an introduction to the company. More information can be found in the website : http://coopcity.be/ .

The last presentation was about Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs. It is a cross-border programme facilitating the exchange of entrepreneurial and management experience. The benefits of the program are important : it reinforces entrepreneurial attitudes by offering skills, knowledge and experience, increases the number of start-ups and boosts their resilience, helps small firms to network, innovate, and go international, helps to create jobs and fosters the transfer of ideas, knowledge and cooperation between small firms. For more details about the program : http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/index.php?lan=en .

Also, want to thanks  Bodegas Verum for their support in the event with the greatest withe wine. https://www.bodegasverum.com/es/
To end the presentations, people could participate in a networking cocktail to expand their network, to enlarge their contact list and ask for more precise questions.

All the events are behind the Startup Europe Week http://startupeuropeweek.eu

Brussels, 6th February 2017 – Microsoft organised an event to give a better insight of the help entrepreneurs can have. This event was an opportunity to have an understanding of how entrepreneurs can reach success.

The program of the day was as follows:

* 09:00 – 09:30 Welcome coffee

* 09:30 – 09:40 John Frank, Vice-President, EU Government Affairs, Microsoft

* 09:40 – 09:50 Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Unit, Startups and Innovation, Digital Single Market Directorate, DG CONNECT

* 09:50 – 10:00 Igor Tasic, Founder and CEO of Startup Europe Week

* 10:00 – 10:20 Fireside chat with Andrus Ansip, Vice President of the European Commission and Alex Barrera, Cofounder Tech.eu

* 10:20 – 11:00 Fireside chat with Adina Valean, Chairwomen of the Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) at the European Parliament and Alex Barrera, Cofounder Tech.eu

* 11:00 – 11:30 Roundtable discussion on the importance to connect ecosystems across Europe: Karen Boers, Cofounder startups.be and Emilio Corchado, CEO Startup Ole

* 11:30 – 11:45 Live connection with cities across Europe where Startup Europe Week event is happening simultaneously (such as Venice)

* 11:45 – 12:00 Chosing remarks by Isidro Laso, Head of startups and scaleups DG CONNECT, European Commission

* 12:00 – 13:00 Networking lunch

In fact, the success is based on many criterias startups don’t always have, such as getting the necessary fundings, being in contact with people that are well connected, finding out what they really need… “The success of many actions are based on people” said Emilio Corchado, CEO of Startup Ole. It is important to know the source of our failures and how to avoid making them again.

The Head of startups and scaleups (DG CONNECT, European Commission) Isidro Laso said their aim is to connect all local systems to an international level. Many times startups aren’t connected to municipality and this is a problem to solve at local level to reach success.

One of the most comprehensive reports regarding the current state of the tech scene in Europe was presented in an event hosted and organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) on January 31st. “We don’t have proper data related to startups, we are in need of this report due to the importance of evidence based policy making on startups policy” said Isidro Laso, head of Startup Europe.

Commissioned and produced by Atomico, a European-based global venture capital firm, in partnership with Slush, the organisers of the Slush technology conference in Helsinki, Finland, the report outlines three key trends underlying the growing influence and success of the European technology industry:

1. Deep tech is thriving and diversifying in Europe: 2016 was a bumper year with $88B in deep tech M&A; more US and Asian tech giants buying up European deep tech companies and tapping into a growing deep tech talent pool.
2. New tech hubs are emerging across Europe beyond the existing order of London, Berlin, and Stockholm. The report suggests that Munich, Zurich, Lisbon, Madrid, and Copenhagen will be ones to watch over the coming years. Paris is starting to seriously challenge London and Berlin in number of VC-financed deals and deal volume.
3. Traditional industries are awakening to tech: two thirds of Europe’s largest corporates by market cap have made a direct investment in tech companies while one third has acquired a tech company since the beginning of 2015.

This is the second year in a row that Slush and Atomico have produced their data-driven look inside the European tech ecosystem, with this year’s report including data from LinkedIn, Meetup, Stack Overflow, Dealroom.co, and the London Stock Exchange.

The presentation of the report “State of European Tech – The future is invented in Europe” was hosted and organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) leading think tank and forum for debate on EU affairs, with the support of Finnova Foundation and StartUp Europe (DG CONNECT), under the frame of StartUp Europe Awards.

“The objectives of StartUp Europe Awards are to identify local role models in each ecosystem of startups across Europe and to create an alliance of organizations supporting innovation and entrepreneurship” stated Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation and StartUp Europe Awards.

StartUp Europe Awards (www.startupeuropeawards.com) 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.