Category: Calls Gr

The application form will be open from Wednesday, 21st July at 17h CET.

The selected applications will receive a financial support of 12,000 EUR. 

Proposals must favour the sustainable transition of the sector, through the circular economy but also social innovation. 

Interested candidates will have until October 13th to send in their applications.

Registration link to the infodays: http://registration.nextextilgeneration.eu/

On Wednesday 21st of July at 17h CET and next Wednesday, 28th of July, the CircularInnoBooster project is holding two Infoday sessions regarding the opening of the call for proposals for interested SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs from the fashion and textile sector to apply to be part of its CirCoAX accelerator. 

The application form will be available to potential candidates from Wednesday 21st of July and the call will close the 13th October 2021.

CircularInnoBooster Fashion and Textile (F&T) is a project of the COSME programme of the European Union, with an initial duration of two years and a budget of €1,128,000.  It is 75% co-financed by the European Commission. Led by the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), together with the Finnova Foundation, Texfor, Circulab and The Circular Project with HumanNation, it aims to transform the highly polluting fashion and textile industries through innovation, fostering entrepreneurship to generate business models based on the circular economy, turning SMEs and start-ups into sustainable and circular companies. Through the regenerative economy model, the project aims to become a benchmark for the total transformation of the industry, from raw materials to the end of life of the garments, providing a solution to the structural problems of conventional industry. 

In addition, the project has an important social perspective, favouring the creation of value-added jobs at all levels of production, contributing to the achievement of several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as the end of poverty, zero hunger and gender equality.  

To achieve these objectives, the CirCoAX accelerator has been created to provide SMEs with both financial and business support to enable them to scale their proposals. The business model of the applications must favour the circular economy, being able to focus on any of the areas of the Fashion Design and making, Textile Industry, Education & Research, Dissemination and Communities & Platforms. Likewise, applications that provide social innovation will be positively assessed.

In the presentation of the call, which will be led by Sharam Yalda, founder of HumanNation and project manager of CircularInnoBooster, the representatives of the different partners of the project will introduce the key points that candidates must meet to be selected. 

Following the submission of applications, which will close on 13 October 2021, the 30 most disruptive candidates selected will receive a €12,000 grant to scale their innovative ideas. In addition, thanks to the team of industry experts that make up the project, the beneficiaries will have access to mentoring, as well as training and workshops in which best practices to be implemented throughout the value chain will be shared. In addition, marketing knowledge and business plans will be offered to ensure the success and sustainability of the projects once the programme has ended. 

Participation in this accelerator not only helps to receive support at various levels to implement new business models in line with an ecological and circular transition of fashion and textiles, but also gives them the opportunity to set themselves up as benchmark projects on a European scale.

About COSME

COSME is the program for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises (EASME) of the European Commission.

Through this program, assistance is offered to SMEs to develop their business models, access financing and internationalize. Likewise, support is offered to public administrations to improve the business environment and facilitate economic growth in the European Union. During the 2014-2020 funding period, this program allocated 2.3 billion euros to support SMEs.

About IED 

The Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution that operates in the fields of education, training, and research in the disciplines of design, fashion, visual communication, and management, covering professional, vocational, and business design training. IED has branches across Spain (Madrid, Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome, and 5 other cities), and Brazil (São Paolo, Rio de Janeiro). It operates across several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and agreements with institutions, business support organizations, professors, experts, and mentors with whom it has established relationships. IED draws on a broad network of connections in the F&T sector specifically for this project, drawing on R&D in the areas of fashion design, product design, interior design, visual arts, communications, and management.

https://iedmadrid.com/

About Finnova

FINNOVA is a foundation that works for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at the EU level. With headquarters in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships across EU countries. FINNOVA expertise in leading communication and dissemination activities for EU projects is coupled with strong proven experience in setting up businesses and entrepreneurial support programmes, like accelerators, incubators and selection and award/ceremonial events.

https://web.finnovaregio.org/

About Texfor

TEXFOR is the reference textile association in Spain with 400 members. Founded in November 2010 and located in Catalonia, it groups companies of the whole textile value chain, from yarns to fabrics including accessories, finishing processes, printing and dying for the apparel industry, home textiles, and technical/industrial applications. Texfor has specialization and experience, having worked on important EU-level expert committees: University and Vocational Training, Financial capacity building, Cross-Sectoral collaboration, R+D+I promotion, specialized services, and sustainability leadership focused on the circular economy.

https://www.texfor.es/

About Circulab

CIRCULAB is a business design lab and studio specialised in developing transformation methodology, tools and programmes to help businesses develop circular and sustainable business models. CIRCULAB has designed a toolkit for implementing Circularity in businesses and operates across +23 countries (9 EU countries), supporting projects through +60 certified independent CE consultants, applying the Circ methodology and tools.

https://circulab.com/ 

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental and economic aspects, and has a strong presence and connections in the sustainable fashion world. TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also an ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated in a wide array of Spanish, European and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

For this project, The Circular Project works with HumanNation for the co-design and development of the project. HumanNation is a consulting firm specialised in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and business: the ‘New Economy’. Based on the Fourth Economic Sector, systemic thinking and co-creation, it promotes awareness within organizations and ecosystems to respect planetary boundaries and social fabric, creating resilient economies at the local level, with a global perspective.

https://thecircularproject.com/

https://humannation.earth

Brussels, 01.04.2021-. Finnova Foundation and Startup Europe Awards wanted to lend a hand to all those entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas who wish to participate in the latest Horizon Europe call for proposals, and to do so they have searched for the different grants that Belgium offer for this purpose. But first of all, for those who might not know it… What is Horizon Europe?

Horizon Europe is a €95.5 billion financial instrument (including €5.4 billion Next Generation EU fund) implemented by the European Union in favour of innovation and research and whose aim is to ensure Europe’s global competitiveness. Besides, Horizon Europe is seen as a powerful tool to boost economic growth and job creation and has the political support of European leaders and Members of the Parliament who state that “research and innovation are an investment in our future!

By combining research and innovation, Horizon Europe promotes business growth and employment in a smart, sustainable and inclusive approach, underscoring excellent science, industrial leadership and the social challenges we currently face.

The aim is to ensure that the European Union develop world-class science, removes barriers to innovation and makes it easier for the public and private sector to work together to generate innovation.

Moreover, thanks to its simple structure with reduced bureaucracy, Horizon Europe is open to all and allows participants to concentrate on what is really important, ensuring that new projects get off the ground quickly and achieve results faster.

And now, entrepreneurs, do you want to know what grants Belgium offers SMEs when applying for Horizon Europe?

1. EIC Accelerator

EIC Accelerator is addressed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups that are developing disruptive innovation projects and are looking for additional financial support to complete their research and development from the prototype phase to a full commercial product.

This programme aims to identify and support cutting-edge technologies and innovations capable of international scalability. It is open to companies from any EU Member State or an associated country. Projects must have a duration of between 12 and 24 months.

The EIC Accelerator supports SMEs (<250 employees and <50M turnover) through a non-repayable grant of 0.5 to 2.5 million at 70% for the development of their innovative projects, and optionally and additionally, up to 15 million euros of capital investment through the EIC Fund to expand your innovative idea and take it to the international market.

2. NCP Wallonie – The Horizon Europe subsidy

NCP Wallonie is an incentive for SMEs, universities, colleges and approved research centres located in the Walloon Region to submit European projects. What does it do? It covers the costs linked to the preparation, presentation and negotiation of the project.

The amount changes depending on whether they are SMEs (€3,500) or universities, colleges and research centres (€1,750).

3. Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship helps, encourages and supports business innovation in Flanders in collaboration with other local actors and with the support of international commitments such as EUREKA, Entreprise European Network and Horizon Europe.

Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship supports companies through grants so they continue to grow, transform and innovate as well as to promote networking among SMEs. There are three types of grants: the growth grant, the innovation grant and the R&D projects grant, all of which addressed to SMEs.

4. InnovFin – EU Finance for innovators

InnovFin – EU Finance for innovators  is an international Belgium grant to all the member states of the European Union and associates countries to provide funding instruments of research and innovation projects in small and medium businesses.

It offers loans, guarantees and financing from a joint initiative launched by the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund in cooperation with the European Commission. Its main objectives? To facilitate and accelerate access to finance for innovative companies and organisations in the European Union.

5. Sowalfin

Sowalfin is a grant for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Walloon Region from which you can access grants and guarantees to cover bank financing, playing a complementary role to the banks and in collaboration with various partners, such as Walloon Invests.

What are you waiting for to apply?

About Finnova Foundation

European Foundation for innovation funding. It is a European foundation based in Brussels whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the United Nations SDGs, the circular economy, etc. Finnova organises the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognise the best European startups in the social field.

For more information: www.finnova.eu

About Startup Europe Awards

It is a methodology of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, implemented by the Finnova Foundation since 2016. The SEUAs are an open innovation tool for identifying disruptive startups that promotes public-private collaboration and raises awareness of the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driver of employment. In addition to generating alliances that help to meet the SDGs of the United Nations and the actions of the European Green Deal, thus contributing to the circular economy, the fight against climate change and sustainable tourism.

For more information: www.startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

Rice Straw Startup Europe Accelerathon will announce its winner on June 30

The winning team will choose a grant of up to 2 million euros to develop their project through the Life program of the European Commission.

Brussels, June 26, 2020 – Next Tuesday, June 30 at 5:00 pm, the final and virtual award ceremony of the Rice Straw Startup Europe Accelerathon will take place, organized by the Finnova Foundation and the City Council of Coria del Rio (Seville). The objective of this project is to find innovative solutions that focus the treatment of rice by-products as a resource and not as waste, thus promoting the circular economy.

Throughout these weeks, the five finalist teams have been working and training online on Life+ projects thanks to the experts from the Finnova Foundation. The most innovative ideas have been the following:

• Rice straw for sustainable construction material;
• Rice straw for electric power generation;
• Rice straw as additive for packaging and paper;
• Rice straw for gas and bioethanol production;
• Innovative uses of rice husk. 

During the awards ceremony, each team will present their project with an elevator pitch, which will be evaluated by a jury of experts (80%) and also by the public (20%). After the jury’s verdict, the winning team will obtain a European acceleration ticket awarded by Startup Europe Accelerator to present the project on July 14 to the Life program of the DG ENVIRONMENT of the European Commission. Subsequently, the winning project will participate in the Startup Europe Awards and will also be present at the Smart Agrifood Summit to be held in Malaga on September 24 and 25. The latter constitutes an industry leading event for the creation of innovative ecosystems within the European agri-food sector.

Rice Straw Startup Europe Accelerathon has been the first open innovation competition on the circular economy of rice straw. It has been promoted by the Finnova Foundation and the City of Coria del Río (Seville). This initiative is supported by Startup Europe Awards and the DG CONNECT of the European Commission, which allows the winning project to qualify for a grant of up to 2 million euros through the Life program.

Coria del Río

Coria del Río is a town located 12 km from the capital of Seville, located on the banks of the Guadalquivir. With thousands of years of history, this riverside municipality keeps under its streets the remains of important civilizations that settled there, such as the Tartessos, the Romans and the Arabs, who made Coria del Río a place to promote culture, the social development and the economy through services such as livestock, agriculture, and fishing. Over the years, the Corians developed new techniques, promoting riverside carpentry or sturgeon fishing, and it became the only place in Western Europe to have a caviar factory. It is also worth noting the close relationship that this town has with Japan since 1614, when the Keicho Embassy led by the Samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga landed here, which united both cultures and left a legacy that more than 400 years later continues in more than 700 Corians who they have inherited the surname “Japan” from this expedition. Currently, Coria del Río has more than 30,000 inhabitants and a tourist offer that makes thousands of visitors travel to the municipality every year. Tourists are attracted by its gastronomy, its rich landscapes, its history, its festivals, and its peculiar relationship with Japan.

What is the Accelerathon?

Accelerathon is an open innovation program promoted by the Finnova Foundation within the framework of the Startup Europe Awards of the European Commission that encourages public-private collaboration and the application of a multidisciplinary approach to the challenges set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. This methodology of the Finnova Foundation combines the hackathon with the principle of acceleration; It seeks to find solutions and European financing through an online system of applied open innovation that brings together different actors in the innovative ecosystem. The Accelerathon is oriented to the LIFE Program of the European Commission and supports programs that are linked to the fight against COVID-19, legionella, among other common problems.

What is Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)?

It is an initiative of the DG CONNECT of the European Commission implemented by the Finnova Foundation and supported by the European Parliament. The SEUA present a methodology for startup awards at local, regional, national and European level that encourages open innovation and collaboration between the different actors in the European ecosystem through public-private partnership to support entrepreneurs.

Finnova Foundation

Finnova is the European foundation for financing innovation. Its objectives are to promote public-private cooperation by transferring the best low-cost technology solutions available. Its objective is to tackle social challenges such as employment, entrepreneurship, the United Nations SDGs, the circular economy, the recovery of waste, sustainable tourism and the fight against climate change.

The Finnova Foundation promotes green employment, economic recovery and training and youth employment.  http://finnova.eu/

What is Startup Europe Accelerator?

It is a European accelerator specialized in supporting incubation programs for regional, national, and vertical / sector entrepreneurship so that startups have access to the resources offered by the European Union to internationalize their project. Thanks to Startup Europe Accelerator, they can access the market, internationalize, carry out European projects, have mentoring, networks, and have legal defense, legal advice and international communication..

Information of Interest:

www.accelerathon.eu

-Registration to the final web: https://bit.ly/3dBZ5zI

Brussels, 19 June 2020 | A total number of 33 speakers from Panama, Mexico, Greece, Belgium and Spain have participated in the opening session of the Accelerathon Waste-2-Energy. This informative webinar was held on Thursday, 18 June at 17:00 (CEST). It is the first digital open innovation competition on waste-to-energy celebrated in the framework of the Startup Europe.

During this first briefing, we had 44 registered participants who participated live from Spain, Colombia, Italy, Belgium and the United States. The webinar has been reproduced a total of 754 times through Facebook Live and shared 16 times through this platform. So far, it has reached more than 2,000 people.

After the opening webinar, the competition among the various multidisciplinary teams will start. They will rely on experts in LIFE from Finnova who will act as mentors and they will also have online training in LIFE projects. After the final, the selected winner will be eligible for a European acceleration ticket from the Startup Europe Accelerator that will let the team present its project to the LIFE Programme on Environment by July 14.

This is a unique opportunity to access funding of up to €2 million in order to develop a project on waste-to-energy. This programme counts with the institutional support of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT within the framework of Startup Europe and is aimed at officials and policy makers from municipalities, enterprises and public corporations, business associations, institutes of technology, universities and innovative companies with patents. The Accelerathon Waste-2-Energy seeks environmental challenges that can be addressed with the financial and technological boost of the LIFE Programme.

¿Por qué es importante el reto Waste-2-Energy?

Our society is living a transition period towards a greener, more carbon-neutral, circular economy. Although efforts have been made at a national and European level, waste generation is not decreasing. According to the New Circular Economy Action Plan of the European Union, the whole set of economic activities generates up to 2,500 million tons of waste each year.

This is the reason why the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations includes Sustainable Development Goal 7 and 11 that address the issue of waste-to-energy. These SDGs are focused on sustainable consumption and production patterns based on the transformation of non-recyclable waste into energy, such as electricity, steam or hot water, for domestic or industrial purposes.

This joint initiative of Finnova Foundation and the Municipality of Vilamarxant (Valencia) aims to find innovative solutions to transform waste into energy and find innovative solutions focused on significantly limiting the generation of waste. The final objective is to promote the principle of circular economy and to contribute to the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.

Visit our webpage http://accelerathon.eu/waste2energy to find out more information about the Accelerathon Waste-2-Energy and to watch the opening session again. You will also find in the Accelerathon waste-2-energy webpage the registration form. It will be opened until June 23.

About

Accelerathon

The Accelerathon is an open innovation programme promoted by Finnova Foundation within the framework of the European Commission’s Startup Europe Awards that promotes public-private cooperation and the application of a multidisciplinary approach to the challenges set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This methodology from Finnova combines the concept of hackathon with the principle of acceleration. It aims to find European solutions and funding through an applied, online open innovation system that brings together the different actors of the innovative ecosystem. The Accelerathon is oriented to the European Commission’s LIFE Programme and supports programmes linked to the fight against COVID-19 and legionella, among other common problems.

What is Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)?

It is an initiative of DG CONNECT of the European Commission implemented by the Finnova Foundation and supported by the European Parliament. The SEUA presents a methodology of awards for startups at local, regional, national and European level that promotes open innovation and collaboration between the different actors of the European ecosystem through a public-private partnership to support entrepreneurs.

What is Startup Europe Accelerator?

It is a European accelerator specialised in supporting regional, national and vertical/sectorial incubation programmes, so that startups access the resources offered by the European Union to internationalise their projects. Thanks to Startup Europe Accelerator, they can access the market, go international, carry out European projects, have mentoring, do network and lobbying, receive legal advice and develop international communication.

Ajuntament de Vilamarxant

The municipality of Vilamarxant, in collaboration with the Centre d’Emprenedoria i Innovació del Túria (CEI Túria), provides users with access to services and information, like the ones related to the Accelerathon Waste-2-energy.

It has a global perspective concerning projects, institutions and different types of entities that work in the same domain all over the world.

Alongside CEI Túria, Vilamarxant’s main objectives are to support innovation, to extend new technologies to society and to become a regional and international leader in this domain.

Centre d’Emprenedoria i Innovació del Túria (CEI Túria)

The CEI Túria aims to enhance entrepreneurship and new technologies at a regional and international level. Its main objective is to materialize and experience new ways of living, working, learning and interacting through entrepreneurship and innovation.

· It promotes entrepreneurship, the creation of startups and employment generation.

· It promotes new lines of business activities connected with innovation, new technologies and emerging sectors.

· It creates a community of entrepreneurs where projects and experiences can be shared, and where synergies and alliances with other municipalities can be established for the development of collaborative projects.

· It helps organizations and projects to develop business plans and look for public, private or European funding.

· It contributes to the revitalization of the productive fabric in Vilamarxant, the region of Camp de Túria and neighbouring areas.

El CEI Túria represents an open innovation model where entrepreneurs, creators, the civil society and organizations cooperate in order to create wealth, employment and knowledge for the combat of this new ecosystem’s challenges.

Finnova Foundation

Finnova is the European foundation for innovation funding. Its main goal is to promote the cooperation between public and private sectors through the best low-cost, technological solutions, in order to address social challenges such as employment, entrepreneurship, the SDG of the United Nations, circular economy, waste recovery, sustainable tourism, and the fight against climate change.

Finnova Foundation promotes green employment, economic recovery, and training and employment for the youth. http://finnova.eu/

Contact:

– For any questions, please contact:

Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation. Email: info@finnova.eu.Telephone: +32 475 97 42 77

– Press Head contact details:

Lola Bordás, Head of Communication and Marketing at Finnova Foundation. Email: cmo@finnova.eu. Telephone: +34 619 11 02 66