Month: April 2020

– The virtual conference will take place next Tuesday May 30th, 2020 streaming

– The deadline for submissions is July 14th, 2020

– The budget for the work programme 2018-2020 amounts to 2,592 million euros

Brussels, April 29th ,2020. The European Commission organises the virtual conference “EU LIFE Information and Networking day, an informative meeting on the LIFE 2020 Call aimed at all those who wish to present projects related to environment and resource efficiency, nature conservation in the areas of biodiversity and habitats and climate change adaptation. The meeting will take place next Tuesday May 30th at 10 a.m. in streaming through the following link: http://eu-life-2020.b2match.io

Following the interventions of Angelo Salsi, Head of LIFE and Eco-Innovation Unit; Maja Mikosinska, Head of Sector “Nature and Biodiversity”; Fabio Leone, Head of Sector “Environment and Resource Efficiency” and Anne Vermaelen, Head of Sector Finance Unit, EASME, it will proceed to answers the questions of the participants regarding both LIFE 2020 Call and the implementation process. Participants can send their questions regarding both LIFE 2020 Call and the implementation process through the platform Sli.do using the #EULIFE2020 code. Following that conference will start the networking meetings. Participants can register on these meetings until next Friday, May 15th at 5:00 p.m. through the event website: http://eu-life-2020.b2match.io

The LIFE 2020 Environment Subprogramme is a European Union financial instrument exclusively dedicated to the environment. Its main objective for the period 2014-2020 is to contribute to sustainable development and to the achievement of the objectives and targets of the Europe 2020 strategy and the relevant EU environment and climate strategies and plans.

Priority Area of Environment and Resource Efficiency

This subprogramme focuses on projects specially related to sustainability, environmental care or environment recovery, without specifying a sector. The work programme 2018-2020 has a total funding of 2,592 million euros. Projects receive up to 55% non-refunding co-funding. The average duration of the projects is between 3-5 years.

“LIFE is the only specific EU financial instrument for projects related to environment, sustainability and the fight against climate change,” afirms Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO at Finnova Foundation.

Beneficiaries

Consortium between public and provide bodies at local level: provincial councils, town halls, universities, public and private companies (including SMEs) and associations. Startups and entrepreneurs can also apply for this grant. MORE DETAILS: http://life.finnovaregio.org/

Finnova Foundation

Finnova’s staff has experience in more than 30 projects for 20 years, and an example of this is Ecobus, an initiative that collects and recycle cooking oil from restaurants to make into biofuel and subsequent use in diesel engines. This project took place the Valencian Community with a total budget of more than 1.675.000€.

Finnova Foundation is committed to environmental entrepreneurship and innovation as well as to finding solutions to the COVID-19 health crisis by helping researchers seek European funding for their projects, just as motivating and offering workspaces and networking where they can collaborate with a wide network of professionals. For this purpose, we have three projects linked to entrepreneurship such as Startup Europe Awards, Startup Europe Accelerator and Accelerathon. More details about the projects can be found on the Finnova website: web.finnovaregio.org

Contact in Brussels:

– Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation juanma@finnova.eu – (+32) 475 97 42 77

Contact in Spain:

– Lola Bordas, CMO of Finnova Foundation cmo@finnova.eu – (+34) 619 110 266

The Escalar programme of the European Commission will double the investment already given to the most promising European Scaleups/Start-ups.

· A financing tool to support the growth of innovative companies that develop their activity in Europe.

· The 25% of European funds are guaranteed.

The main challenge of many companies nowadays that try to scale up in Europe, is not having enough money to grow. This problem could disappear with the call ESCALAR of the European Commission. Its main objective is that companies can continue growing and creating jobs in Europe. This programme will double the funds already given to European Scaleups/Start-ups with a financing budget of 100,000€ minimum, as well as specialised management. 50% of investment is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of the European Investment Bank (EIB) with a guarantee of 25% DG-GROWTH through ESCALAR. Therefore, ESCALAR will enable the risk capital funding to increase a lot their investment capacity by financing the quasi-debt with EIB funding, guaranteed by the EFSI.

From Finnova Foundation, we invite all companies that are interested in scaling up (“ESCALAR” in Spanish) their business to continue growing and creating jobs. For more information, this afternoon the WEBINAR ESCALAR will take place: “EUROPEAN FUNDING FOR SCALEUPS” in the MIPIM webinar about Proptech House with professor Rudy Aernoudt, Chief economist of the European Commission, and Dirk Paelinck, co-founder of Proptech House. The call is today afternoon, 28th April at 4pm. To sign up: HTTP://bit.ly/3eAqPGJ

Finnova Foundation, Proptech House partners and boosters of Proptech Startup Europe Awards

CONTACT:

For any other enquiry: info@finnova.eu

In Brussels: 0032 475 97 4277

– Press officer:

Lola Bordás cmo@finnova.eu, Phone: +34 619 11 02

OKRA Technologies was named the best Female-Led startup in 2019

The company aims to transform healthcare by developing solutions that help bring the right treatment to the right patient quickly

15/04/2020 Brussels. Technology has become one of the best allies for scientists to continue research and for health care providers to save lives. Loubna Bouarfa, is the founder and CEO of OKRA Technologies , the startup of artificial intelligence that empowers life science professionals with AI driven insights anywhere and at any time. The company, located in Cambridge (UK) and in Leiden (Netherlands), is leading the implementation of AI in life sciences at the European level.

Dr. Loubna Bouarfa has fought tirelessly to move her project forward and has won several awards, including the Best Female-Led in 2019 at the special edition of the European Startup Awards. The Finnova Foundation helped her a lot, and thanks to this award the company has achieved visibility across Europe.

We spoke with Loubna Bouarfa to find out what OKRA Technologies is all about. A company that, without a doubt, can contribute its grain of sand to help healthcare professionals in the fight against coronavirus.

Q- What prize have you won, on which date and through by what means or institution?

A-My company OKRA.ai was named Best Female-led Startup in 2019, at the StartUp Europe Awards Special Edition.

Q-What has Finnova helped you with or is helping you with?

A– StartUp Europe Awards is a fantastic initiative of both the European Commission and Finnova Foundation. This award has given us visibility across Europe, which is absolutely essential to boost small innovative companies like us and help us scale globally.

“The Eurovision for Startups” has built a powerful ecosystem, and has connected us with relevant stakeholders across Europe.

Q- How did you meet Finnova?

A- I met Finnova Foundation thanks to this initiative. I am very impressed by how Finnova is promoting a culture of innovation across the EU and beyond.

Q-Are awards for entrepreneurs or startups important?

A-Absolutely. As an entrepreneur, to me an award is an absolute honour, as it means a clear recognition of the value that my company is bringing to the world.

Q- What is your project about and how do you differ from the rest?

A- At OKRA, our mission is to support and transform healthcare, developing AI solutions that help bring the right treatment to the right patient at speed. We are here to unleash the potential of AI and use it to save and improve human lives.

We collaborate with the life science industry to create AI systems that accelerate thegrowth and create real value for healthcare, with the aim of having a direct impact on every step of the pipeline – from drug to patient.

The big breakthrough for OKRA’s technology lies not only in our capability to integrate huge amounts of data and extract relevant insights to drive actions, but also in the delivery of this information in a very user-centric way. Our AI systems are not black boxes: they are powered by explainability. This means that our predictions and suggestions are coupled with explanations, so that users understand the situation and are empowered to make the right decisions consistently.

What makes us different is that we develop trustworthy AI. I am a member of the European High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on AI, so at OKRA we implement the European AI strategy and guidelines, making sure that AI is lawful, ethical and robust.

Q- Do you think it’s hard to invest in a startup?

A-Investing in startups may be generally considered to be risky, but I believe that it is really necessary. Investing in a startup means putting money into a revolutionary idea that has the potential to change reality. For me, innovation is where money should be spent.

If a great idea turns out to be unprofitable, you can confidently say that at least you madean effort to challenge the status quo . But if a great idea comes to life, the consequences are unimaginable.

Q- How has your company evolved since you won the acceleration ticket?

A– Over the last year, OKRA has experienced great growth. Our team has doubled in size and we have a team of brilliant professionals who go the extra mile every single day to develop the best AI solutions for life sciences.

At OKRA, we develop AI products that are easily scalable. We believe that strong foundations and agile methodologies are the key to success in the technology industry.

This acceleration ticket has brought us really far.

Q- Do you consider that Startups are the future on a global level?

A– Definitely. Startups are the future because they can literally change the world. We need revolutionary ideas on a global scale, so that we can solve current problems and thrive with innovation.

Q- Do you think there should be more Startup Europe Awards? And what would you say to those entrepreneurs who are thinking of approaching European projects?

A- Of course there should be more Startup Europe Awards! There are many exceptional people in Europe and worldwide, and their game-changing projects need to be valued and recognised.

I would encourage all entrepreneurs to actively approach European projects, because they offer fantastic support and help boost companies to the next level.

In this video Loubna Bouarfa, Founder & CEO of OKRA Technologies, explains her journey in AI, the company mission and the amazing OKRA team.

• Send your proposals to participate in the Hachathon before Saturday 11 April at 10:00
• Finnova, official partner of the European Commission, calls to participate in the Pan European Hackathon #EUvsVirus from 24 to 26 April.

10/04/2020 Brussels. The Finnova Foundation invites civil society, entrepreneurs, companies and universities from all over Europe to participate in ‘EU vs Virus’, the Pan-European Hackathon organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Innovation, in close collaboration with the EU Member States, on 24, 25 and 26 April.

The objective is to develop possible multidisciplinary solutions to fight against COVID-19 and other viruses such as SARS, Ecoli, Dengue or Malaria in order to offer practical, affordable initiatives.

The Finnova Foundation and its Startups Europe Awards program are official partners of the European Union and those interested in making suggestions or proposing challenges related to the coronavirus or others can send them to us at the following form: http://covid19.finnova.eu before Saturday 11 April.

From the registered challenges, between 150 and 200 will be selected at international level and then they will be worked on in the Hackathon #EUvsVIRUS.

Receive information and personalized mentoring on EU tools through the startup Accelerator

What is Pan-Eu Hackathon EuvsVirus?

It is a Hackathon with international and multidisciplinary teams whose primary objective is to respond with innovation to the crisis of the COVID-19 epidemic. In this first phase, a European call is made for the proposal of challenges to be discussed in the Hackathon. This event is an opportunity to align efforts with the European Commission and subsequently access European funds with different financial tools such as the LIFE or Horizon 2020 programme.

In this call the European Commission expects challenges defined by sectors affected by the coronavirus, which affects most sectors, economic activities and therefore it is necessary to identify them to find multidisciplinary solutions to provide practical initiatives, affordable and low cost.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

Specific challenges can be proposed through the following link

Challenges will be received until Saturday, April 11th at 10:00 am Brussels time.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

This Hackathon is open to innovators, companies, startups, universities from all over Europe, and partners at municipal, provincial, regional or national level.

WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE?

The aim of Finnova and the Startup Europe Accelerator is to inform the winners about the challenges of EU financial opportunities and the different programmes to subsidise and implement new solutions, new jobs, remove legal barriers and help attract private investment and internationalisation.

Video #EUvsVirus: videocovid19.accelerathon.com

STARTUP EUROPE COVID-19 & STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATOR

The winners will be eligible as finalists for the COVID-19 Startup Europe Awards, a new category aimed at finding solutions to combat the coronavirus or other viruses such as malaria or legionella. This 2020 edition is aimed at innovative ideas from startups, universities and companies in all categories and that are focused on fighting the virus. The Finnova Foundation, through the Startup Europe Awards Accelerator, will mentor the winners in the categories of health, water, agri-food and environment with regard to European grants, calls, European legislation, networking and internationalization. The winners will participate in calls for proposals from the European Union, opting for up to 2.5 million euros in grants and 15 million euros in capital investment from the EU.

Open Covid-19 Startup Europe Awards Partner Search

To be able to carry out Startup Europe COVID-19 we call for the support of European, regional and national partners so that they can implement the awards in their field of action.

What is Startup Europe Awards?

It is an initiative of the European Commission, DG Connect implemented by the Finnova Foundation, supported by the European Parliament, members of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee.

  What is Startup Europe Accelerator?

It is a second level European Accelerator specialized in supporting regional and national entrepreneurship incubation programmes so that their best startups can access the resources offered by the European Union to internationalize their project and access the market through European projects, mentoring, networking, lobbying, legal advice and international communication.

CONTACT US:

-For any other question: info@finnova.eu

Juan Manuel Revuelta, General Director of the Finnova Foundation: 0032 475 97 4277

-Press officer:

Lola Bordás cmo@finnova.eu, Contact telephone: +34 619 11 02 66