Mois : juillet 2016

Brussels, June 23 2016

Eight creative entrepreneurs who had received a training session on how to pitch their project to investors defended their ideas in the Instituto Cervantes of Brussels, in an event jointly organised with the Foundation Finnova.

This action is part of the activities of Creative StartUp Europe. Nine creative and cultural entrepreneurs are taking part of the first edition of this program, which main objective is the promotion of the professional development in the field of culture and creativity of young Spaniards living in Belgium. Through ‘Creative StartUp Europe’, the high importance of culture and innovation is recognised as a tool for the social and the economic development. Moreover, the new generations receive support and are boosted to work on cultural projects abroad.

These 9 entrepreneurs do have very different start-ups, with projects such as the creation of Spanish audio-guides for museums, a social network for the scenic arts or the creation of a high format exhibition with sculptures, among others. Due to the big variety of these projects, Finnova provides them with customised coaching sessions, including:

• Communication mentoring: elevator pitch, investors pitch, informative pills, how to pitch in front of a camera, how to manage social networks, how to write a press release, etc.
• Legal and financial counselling: individualized sessions about Spanish-Belgian taxation, intellectual property, drafting contracts, business plan, etc.
• European Sphere: how to expose your project in the European institutions, how to access a traineeship within the institutions, etc.
• Start-ups accelerator: advice in order to find a co-working, contacting investors, networking, development of new strategies, mobility programs, how to come back to Spain, etc.

With this program, we aim to facilitate and support cultural and artistic initiatives of young entrepreneurs, helping to the future employability of young Spaniards in the Belgian cultural sector.

The program is oriented to Spanish young entrepreneurs living in Belgium with a concrete idea or project in the field of cultural and creative industries, regardless of the development stage of the project. Furthermore, multiple projects can belong to ‘Creative Startup Europe’.

Emprendedores creativos defendieron sus proyectos ante inversores en el Instituto Cervantes de Bruselas (Bélgica)

Bruselas, 23 de junio de 2016

Ocho emprendedores creativos que recibieron formación sobre cómo defender sus proyectos frente a inversores, defendieron sus ideas en el Instituto Cervantes de Bruselas, en un evento organizado conjuntamente con la Fundación Finnova.

Esta acción es parte de las actividades programadas dentro de Creative StartUp Europe. Nueve emprendedores creativos y culturales están participando en esta primera edición del programa, cuyo objetivo principal es la promoción del desarrollo profesional en el campo de la cultura y la creatividad de jóvenes españoles viviendo en Bélgica. A través de Creative StartUp Europe, la alta importancia de la cultura y la innovación es reconocida como una herramienta para el desarrollo social y económico. Además, las nuevas generaciones reciben apoyo y son impulsados para trabajar en proyectos culturales en el extranjero.

Estos nueve emprendedores tienen proyectos muy diferentes, que van desde la creación de audio-guías en español para museos, redes sociales para artes escénicas o la creación de una exhibición con esculturas en gran formato, entre otros. Debido a la gran diversidad de estos proyectos, y a pesar de que sus necesidades son tan diferentes como específicas, Finnova les ofrece sesiones de formación personalizadas, incluyendo:

• Formación en comunicación: elevator pitch, investor pitch, píldoras informativas, cómo enfentarse a la cámara, cómo gestionar las redes sociales, cómo escribir una nota de prensa, etc.
• Asesoría legal y financiera: sesiones individualizadas sobre la tasación Belgo-Española, propiedad intelectual, redactar contratos, plan de negocio, etc.
• Ámbito europeo: cómo presentar tu proyecto a las instituciones europeas, cómo acceder a períodos de prácticas en las instituciones, etc.
• StartUp Accelerator: asesoría para encontrar espacios de co-working, contactar inversores, relaciones de trabajo, desarrollo de nuevas estrategias, programas de movilidad, cómo regresar a España, etc.

Con este programa, pretendemos facilitar y apoyar las iniciativas culturales y artísticas de jóvenes emprendedores, contribuyendo así a la empleabilidad de jóvenes españoles en el sector cultural belga.

El programa está orientado a los jóvenes emprendedores españoles viviendo en Bélgica con una idea o proyecto concreto en el campo de las industrias creativas o culturales, independientemente de la fase de desarrollo del proyecto. Además, muchos proyectos pueden pertenecer a Creative StartUp Europe.

 (Versión en español abajo)

In June, Finnova had a busy month of sustainable energy events, workshops, conferences, meetings and round tables under the umbrella of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), which was promoting Energy Days throughout the month.

The weeks before, during and after the official EUSEW hosted (13-17 June) focused events in which Finnova participated or organised  in Brussels, Madrid, Valencia, Cadiz and Berlin. These events covered technical sessions, innovation forums, entrepreneurial events, and also targeted both corporate and public administration sectors.

“Participating in EUSEW has been also a recognition of the 4-years-old StartUp Europe Accelerator of Finnova, which brings European Commission programmes and resources to StartUps and entrepreneurs, focused on fostering innovation projects; especially in the areas of renewable energies, eco-innovation, social-innovation, Tech-based or ICT solutions”, remarked Juan Manuel Revuelta, Director General of Finnova.

EUSEW, an initiative of the European Commission, is the month-long annual series of activities across Europe, promoting secure, clean and efficient energy, and connecting policymakers, stakeholders and citizens to achieve climate and energy goals for the Energy Union.

“Finnova through the participation in EUSEW has gained access to a wide and captive audience in order disseminate the benefits and opportunities promised by the NOBEL GRID Horizon 2020 project, in which we are partners”, stressed Sharam Yalda, Head of Regenerative Business Innovation & Climate Change of Finnova.

Two Energy Days organised by Finnova in June, one in Brussels together with Partenalia: “Best Practices on Energy projects under the EU Framework Programmes” and other in Valencia together with Diputación de Valencia and AVAESEN: “European funding for a sustainable future”. 

During both events NOBEL GRID was presented to show how it will contribute in the Energy Union and improve Smart Grids.

The H2020 project also participated in the EUSEW Policy Conference “New Standard for Smart appliances in the smart home” the 16th June in Brussels. The aim of this seminar was to disseminate how smart appliances using a shared model of consensus, so called SAREF (Smart Appliances REFerence), and dedicated software applications may contribute to promoting more sustainable energy use in households and neighbourhoods.

There it created synergies and showcased its new Smart Meter designed to implement many additional functions comparing with current smart meters such “flexibility in adding new features during its lifetime, including unforeseen ones. One such unforeseen aspect is the challenge to map existing demand response features on the new SAREF ontology” explained Mihai Sanduleac, R&D Director of ECRO SRL (partner of the project).

Furthermore, European bodies shown great interest in Finnova energy initiatives at the Startup Europe Summit 2016 in Berlin 9-10 June. Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, and the President of the Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula, both found out NOBEL GRID project and the StartUp Europe Awards 2016 (SEUA16).

In Madrid Finnova attended to the Energy and Environment International Trade Fair of Madrid (GENERA) to met the main scientific and technological advancements in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and especially with Rafael Apraiz, CEO of the Spanish Technical Association for Waste Management and Environment (ATEGRUS).

“Nowadays waste concerns energy”, stated Rafael Apraiz, since some alternative energy companies are developing new ways to recycle waste by generating electricity from landfill waste and pollution.

Moreover, representatives of overseas projects in the field of hydropower shared with Finnova their knowledge and best practices like ITAIPU Binacional in Paraguay and Brazil, the world’s largest generator of renewable clean energy, and Renace Project of Multinversiones in Guatemala, a hydropower project to benefit the country by supporting social development and sustainability. 

In Cadiz, Finnova participated in a successful workshop on Environment and Energy: EU Funding, to bring EU energy initiatives and
opportunities closer to entrepreneurs.

Month-end closing took place at the 5th Annual Conference InnoGrid2020+ the 27-28 June in Brussels, where knowledge, views and best practices were shared with other expertises within the smart grids and the digital market fields and NOBEL GRID exhibited its poster.