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Business Sans Frontières
jobs and growth through innovation
Sponsored by
Find out how European research and business organisations now have abridge to Brazil, China and the US
The Entrepreneur’s SherpaGuiding entrepreneurs to reach
new heights Equalising Opportunity
About inclusivity and economic empowerment
The Economics Of
InnovationEuropean funding forstartups and scaleups
Issue 3: Summer 2017
EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTRE
OF EXCELLENCE IN CHINA
Where do you want to grow today?
These projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under grant agreements Numbers 733531; 733554; 733286
More information: [email protected]
European Research and Innovation Centres in
Brazil, China and the US
Within the next few months, three networks of European Research & Innovation Centres will be established in Brazil (CebraBIC), China (Ericena) and the US (NearUS).
These Centres will provide a wide range of services to European stakeholders (research organisations, universities, startups, SMEs, entrepreneurs, etc.) that are aiming to expand to or to collaborate with research & innovation organisations from Brazil, China or the US.
Back in the eighties, the Business and
Innovation Centres (EU|BICs) were born
from a European Commission initiative
coming from what is now called the
Directorate General for Regional Policy.
EU|BICs were designed to bring increased
economic growth and development to the
regions. In order to provide quality
accreditation and enhance cooperation, it
was decided to create EBN, the European
BIC Network as the umbrella association.
Now, after almost 40 years, the EU|BICs
have proven to be a tool for regional
economic growth. Some years ago the
European Court of Auditors compared
EBN’s accredited incubators (EU|BICs)
with other EU-funded business support
organisations, and the numbers indeed
showed that EU|BICs were significantly
better in delivering high-quality,
sustainable jobs and businesses. Every
year, EBN launches a quality survey
among its members to verify the quality
criteria are fulfilled by all the EU|BICs. This
focus on quality creates a network of
excellence, with standards replicated all
over Europe and beyond.
Beyond, because although EBN was
born in the European Union (the European
Community back then) the EU|BIC label is
getting such recognition that members
from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Jordan,
Lebanon, Russia, South Africa,
Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, etc want to
join the network and become accredited
following the EU|BIC quality criteria.
In line with promoting the EBN
standards outside the EU boundaries, EBN
together with members, third-party
organisations and the European
Commission, is launching the
establishment of three European
Research and Innovation Centres in Brazil,
China and the US. Collaboration with
these countries is getting stronger and
bridges to them are getting shorter. There
is more information on the Centres in this
issue of the magazine.
But EBN continually reinvents itself, and
we have revised the EU|BIC criteria and
adapted them to current thinking.
Innovation means finding solutions for the
challenge we encounter in our lives.
Future Forward
Innovative entrepreneurs that go beyond the
obstacles and reinvent their boundaries are
looking for the support of our members; the
EU|BICs that are helping them to build on
their ideas and make them become a reality.
This issue also shows examples of these
entrepreneurs: Motius (Gate Garching-
Germany), StableLab (WestBIC, Ireland),
Optimitive (BIC Araba, Spain) and
Promeditec ( BIC Friuli Venezia Giulia - Italy).
EBN is above all a network. The synergies
and best practices shared among its
members make EBN the network of
excellence that I was referring to above. We
will meet again in the Paris Region this July,
for the annual EBN Congress. In a spa city,
just 15 minutes by train from Paris, we will
Sponsored by
exchange best practices and discuss
the different innovation ecosystems in
which our members are developing
their daily activities.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Patrick Valverde
President, EBN
theForeword
Summer 2017 1
Membership Development
Giordano Dichter
Head of Membership Development
Nathalie Marchand
Membership Officer
Membership ServicesDavid Tee
Head of Membership Services
Marta Gómez Andrés
Communications and Events Manager
Lana Blagojević
Communications and Events Officer
Clarelisa Camilleri
Project Manager
Vasu Briquez
Senior Advisor, Open Innovation
International Projects
Robert Sanders
Head of International Projects
Raffaele Buompane
Senior Advisor
Margaret Mulligan
Project Manager
Laura Lecci
Project Manager
Chiara Davalli
Project Manager
Marion Perrin
Project Manager
Finance and Administration
Thierry Veys
Chief Finance Officer
Kristina Kockova
Project Manager
At The Office
Summer 20172
Avenue de Tervuren 168Brussels 1150
BelgiumTel: +32 2 772 8900
2
Publisher
The European Business and
Innovation Centre Network (EBN)
t: +32 2 772 8900
Managing Editor
Sangeetha Shinde
Contributors
Manju Bansal, Karen Boers, Janis
Bowdler, Raffaele Buompane,
Clarelisa Camilleri, Chiara Davalli,
Giordano Dichter, Marta Gomez,
Hang Ho, Krzysztof Krzysztofiak, Jane
Lambert, Laura Lecci, Marie
Longserre, Tom Mancuso, Robert
Sanders, Kristin Schreiber, Madi
Sharma, Rozina Spinnoy, Patrick
Valverde, Philippe Vanrie
Research & Copy Editing
Nathalie Marchand
Diego Claessens
Images
www.shutterstock.com
www.pixabay.com
© 2017 EBN
Printed at
Buxton Press, Derbyshire
United Kingdom
Created and designed by
Incubation Worldwide Ltd
Registered Office: Birchin Court,
20 Birchin Lane, London, EC3V 9DU
United Kingdom
www.incubationworldwide.com
This is the fifth year that The Business Innovator has been in print. From a small startup
to the flagship communications tool for the biggest innovation network in the world, the
story of the magazine reflects, in many ways, all that EBN stands for. Support for
innovation, entrepreneurship and SMEs and an overarching look at all that is happening
around the world, and the sharing and spread of best practices for those engaged in this
dynamic field.
We have more columnists than ever before writing on subjects that impact us all.
From recent trade agreements, to the issue of IP and Brexit, to the philosophies that
keep incubators relevant and in business… We have explored the projects that enable
European businesses to take their concepts and products to markets around the world,
and we’ve looked at the real story behind the number crunching in EBN’s Impact Report.
In our feature ‘The Entrepreneur’s Sherpa’ we see how international corporates like SAP
team up with SMEs and innovative ideas to create synergies between new and
established players in the market. In that same spirit of openness we get a quick glance
at how J.P. Morgan is looking at building inclusivity into all levels of innovation, globally.
This issue, as others before, mirrors all this, and is very much in line with the theme of
this year’s EBN Congress – Open Ecosystems for Innovation.
And indeed, openness is one of the underlying principles that drives EBN. To bring
together players from everywhere under a single umbrella of sharing, networking and
interchange – with the aim of creating an open world for innovators to do what they do
best.
In the world where borders become unsure, and the geopolitical landscape becomes
uncertain, entrepreneurs face increasing challenges as the very nature of
entrepreneurship is without boundaries. Hence the increasing relevance of EBN, and
organisations like it, that look at facilitating innovation, and creating and maintaining the
ecosystems that enable it.
The EBN team wishes you an enjoyable read, and looks forward to your continued
readership and participation…
Sangeetha Shinde
Managing Editor
www.ebn.eu
Sponsored by
theNote
Summer 2017 3
6
TheForewordPg 1: Future Forward
A note from Patrick Valverde, EBN
President
TheCongressPg 20: Open For Business
Marta Gómez takes us through the 2017
EBN Congress agenda and its special
features
TheResultPg 28: Results That Speak
A look at the best performing incubatees
across the network, and an inside glance at
an Italian incubator
ThePeoplePg 58: New Beginnings
EBN wishes luck and success to some of
the family who have moved on after years
of service and to others who have recently
joined us
TheMembersPg 62: New Arrivals
EBN welcomes the new additions to our
our growing network of global members
TheLastWordPg 64: An Open World
Philippe Vanrie talks about the need to
remain open and creative in a changing
geopolitical landscape
52
ThePolicyPg 42: The Economics Of
Innovation
Kristin Schreiber reveals the variety of
support mechanisms the EU offers to
innovative startups and SMEs
TheSpotlightPg: 52: Putting Poland On The
Innovation Map
Raffaele Buompane gives us a
comprehensive overview of Poland, its
history and the current policies that are
shaping its innovation sector
theContent
Summer 20174
46
TheOpinionPg: 13: Talking Trade
Madi Sharma speaks out for the
entrepreneur who is passed over in big
trade deals
Pg: 27: The Winds Of Change
From Startup Manifesto to a truly unified
European startup ecosystem, Karen Boers
encourages us to get involved in a
movement that serves entrepreneurs
TheFeaturePg 6: Business Sans Frontières
Robert Sanders and Laura Lecci look at
EBN’s international activities that help
forge new roads for European innovators in
international markets
Pg 14: The Entrepreneur’s
Sherpa
Manju Bansal explains how the SAP
Startup Focus delivers to startups and big
corporates enabling both to benefit
Pg 22: Equalising Opportunity
Janis Bowdler explains the need to power
economic opportunity and how J.P.
Morgan is achieving this
Pg 36: The Responsible
Response
Chiara Davalli encapsulates the learnings
from EBN’s engagement in Responsible
Research and Innovation projects over the
last five years
Pg 46: The Numbers Game
Giordano Dichter offers insight into the
statistics behind innovation, and the need
to involve the human component
22
Pg: 35: A Kaleidoscope Of
Opportunity
Tom Mancuso walks us through the many
ways an incubator can positively impact
and serve client needs using a multi-
faceted approach to stay relevant and
engaged
Pg: 41: To Stay Or Not To Stay
Jane Lambert writes about Intellectual
property and the impact on this, post
Brexit, for entrepreneurs on the Continent
and in the UK
Pg: 51: Teach A Man To Fish
Marie Longserre delivers insight into the
world of coaching and mentoring, to
remind us that long-term views and
creativity are vital components
Pg: 61: Design’s Role In
Innovation
Rozina Spinnoy informs us of the need to
incorporate design thinking into every level
of innovation in order to benefit all
segments of society
41
42
Sponsored by
theContent
Summer 2017 5
Business Sans Frontières
Robert Sanders and Laura Lecci show us how EBN International is helping European companies enter new markets around the globe
EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTRE
OF EXCELLENCE IN CHINA
In our increasingly connected world people
and ideas can easily move from one
country or continent to another, and news
and information travel fast as distances
are shortened. Technology, research and
innovation are overcoming borders as well,
giving rise to all sorts of new business
opportunities.
The reasons why companies are
interested in ‘going global’ and entering
international markets may vary, and at the
point of entry different strategies may be
employed, with different expectations and
performance goals. Evidently, increasing
revenue and profit is often a key goal, but
boosting innovation potential is also
desirable, as developing a client base
internationally can support new product
and service development.
Although, in general terms,
internationalisation often refers to
corporate players deploying strategies on a
global scale, small companies can
internationalise successfully with limited
resources if they focus on the right
opportunities.
Adopting this focused approach to global
development can make companies
potentially more successful, and offers
routes to developing a larger client base
and additional opportunities to expand.
In order to create new partnerships and
the opportunities they might generate,
public and private initiatives are aiming to
enhance international collaboration, and
innovation actors are trying to attract or
locate the best talent to global hotspots in
their given sector.
Growing pace
There is an increasing need therefore, to
stimulate and support startups and SMEs
that have the potential to grow fast
internationally, so that they are not left
behind by their peers and competitors.
The recent acceleration of globalisation
offers a unique opportunity to collaborate
on innovative business ideas being
developed by entrepreneurs located all over
the world.
EBN Membership now reflects this
international dimension, and the network is
a rich source of partnerships from many
countries and regions. The EBN Secretariat
regularly welcomes visiting foreign
delegations, and we have organised study
and innovation tours to destinations such
as the US and China.
Whilst firmly anchored within Europe’s
innovation ecosystem, EBN members and
their client companies are actively seeking
global opportunities and international
business development.
EBN’s Internationalisation Service brings
together a network of business incubation
programmes that provide assistance to
innovative companies under the support of
incubators and cluster organisations.
EBN members are providing assistance
to companies for their international
expansion by offering easy and practical
solutions from ‘smart take-off’ to ‘soft
landing’. This ensures that businesses
entering, or expanding into new markets
are introduced more effectively and with
lower risks.
New international projects
To support our members’ soft landing
programmes EBN has been scouting areas
for funding opportunities via different
organisations such as the EC and the
World Bank. The EBN team has been
promoting our members and developing
initiatives in India, Brazil, the Middle East,
Russia, and Southeast Asia.
At EBN we are entering a new phase in
our international story with the acquisition
of three strategic EC contracts that will
offer EBN Members and their client
companies a long-term platform of
international connections into these three
countries – the US, China and Brazil. EBN
is a strategic partner in three new H2020
projects (that fall under the same call for
proposals) and are very much aligned with
EBN’s and the EU|BICs’ core business.
The challenge of this EC call is clear, “…to
create a network of centres in the world's
most dynamic and innovative countries
and regions that will connect and support
European researchers and entrepreneurs
globally, in order to strengthen the position
of Europe as a world leader in science,
technology and innovation.”
It was appropriate therefore that EBN
was invited to join the consortia
addressing this challenge for the US, China
and Brazil. The three Centres will be
designed to help European companies and
researchers to better access international
partnerships in the three target countries.
Let’s take a closer look at each initiative
and the main services of each structure.
theFeature
Summer 2017 7
theFeature
NearUS: Network for European Research and Innovation Acceleration in the US
NearUS will establish the Network of
Centres of European Research and
Innovation as a central contact point for
support to EU research and innovation
actors (startups, SMEs, universities)
seeking collaboration with and in the US.
The NearUS Network will include:
• One coordination ‘node’ in Europe
(at EBN, Brussels)
• One coordination ‘node’ in the US
(at InBIA, Orlando)
• Two physical ‘landing hubs’:
NearUS West Coast Hub in San
Francisco Bay Area at the European
American Enterprise Council; and
NearUS East Coast Hub in Boston
• Five Associate Hubs across the
USA, with plans to expand the
NearUS network over four years
The network will be built on strong existing
ties in both countries and will ensure
access to EU organisations from all EU
Member States and US actors from all over
the US. A variety of services will be
developed and proposed to customers
(startups, companies, researchers) by the
network during a pilot phase, then the
centres and their pilot activity will be
evaluated and the activity optimised where
necessary so as to ensure the sustainable
implementation after the project ends.
Services will target Research2Research,
Research2Market and Business2Business
cooperation, such as matchmaking
opportunities, working visits to US
organisations, pitching to potential
investors, boot camps, providing work
space and business acceleration
programmes. All services will be allocated
via an open and transparent selection
CEBRABIC: Centre for Europe-Brazil Business and Innovation Cooperation
The CEBRABIC network will support the
creation of R&I&B opportunities for
European organisations in Brazil,
stimulating demand and cooperation. The
Centre will not only provide support-based
services (network, advice, training, etc.), but
also technology-related services,
leveraging the network of regional
innovation hubs and external service
providers and seeking linkages to the
private industrial sector and to investors.
This will enable CEBRABIC to address
knowledge-intensive sectors, offering a
service portfolio that corresponds to an
integrated approach towards the
innovation value chain that stimulates
research-to-market collaborative projects.
The centre will be located in Sao Paolo
and Brasilia in the first instance, and during
the project lifetime five more regional hubs
will be set up.
CEBRABIC aims at:
• Creating research and business
opportunities for European
organisations in the Brazilian
market
• Stimulating the demand for
European technologically-oriented
services in Brazil
• Ensuring optimal conditions for a
sustainable internationalisation of
European research and business
organisations to the Brazilian
market
• Encouraging cooperation among
European and Brazilian research,
innovation and business (R&I&B)
organisations
The lead organisation on this project is IPK
Fraunhofer.
ERICENA: European Research Innovation Centre of Excellence in China
ERICENA is the European Research and
Innovation Centre of Excellence in China,
and will reinforce the leadership of Europe
in research and innovation (R&I) by
promoting European science, technology
and innovation (STI) interests in China. It
will connect and support entry of European
researchers and entrepreneurs to the
Chinese market. ERICENA will provide a
wide range of services for its clients
(European research and technology
organisations, startups, SMEs and
entrepreneurs) generating revenues
through different services to achieve
financial self-sustainability.
The first centre will be located in Beijing,
and five regional hubs will follow.
The service portfolio of ERICENA intends
to be comprehensive and diverse,
addressing the needs and interests of its
European clients in the Chinese market and
maximising the benefits of their activities
and presence in China. The service
portfolio is structured into six main areas:
• Networking
• Advice and support on
internationalisation
• Advocacy on responsible research
and innovation
• Opportunities for workplace
secondment and exchange
• Design and pilot of public/private
funding mechanisms
• Promotion, awareness raising and
capacity building
ERICENA will offer tailor-made services
with an in-depth knowledge of the Chinese
context, improving the understanding of
the existing infrastructures and techno-
logical resources in China.
Summer 20178
theFeature
The big picture
The overall approach for the three Centre
projects is similar; stakeholders from
research (universities, research institutes
and networks), innovation (science parks,
incubators, accelerators, funding agencies)
and business (startups and SMEs) are the
main beneficiaries of these initiatives. They
will receive tailored, business-oriented
services, supporting information sharing
and capacity building/training, promoting
networking events and market research
visits, providing relocation and soft-landing
services.
European companies and researchers
can express their interest in one or more of
the international centres and apply to
receive information on activities and
events, training sessions and B2B, R2R and
R2B matchmaking.
What’s more…
Promoting the excellence of European
science, technology and innovation means
meeting the challenges of competitiveness
and creating high-quality jobs. Doing this
internationally means increasing the
success of these challenges.
The key is to find trusted partners and
work in synergy with them, to create fertile
ecosystems where new ideas meet new
skills and competences, and create the
future. A future where new markets create
a whole new universe of opportunity.
EBN offers the opportunity to access
these international centres of European
research and innovation. For more details
please contact [email protected] or
The Dutch Experience of Soft Landing
“Startup locally and act globally. This is the smart approach. This is what most startups
are looking for nowadays. Business Development Friesland (BDF) and their Inqubator
Leeuwarden facilitate global-driven startups from Friesland with ‘soft landing’ options
made possible by the EBN network.”
“One of the best international entrepreneurial cooperations was with the ANCES
network and EOI from Madrid. They sent three startup entrepreneurs from Spain, to us,
residing for a month in Leeuwarden, to explore the possibilities of expanding their
business to the Netherlands. These Spanish entrepreneurs have opened their eyes to
international sales to Dutch startups. The Dutch startups could see for themselves the
possibilities for startups to go international, and this has really created a positive vibe
among our Dutch startups. BDF is a strong supporter of opening possibilities for
international sales. When determining your market, take a look at the international
market too, it’s a big world out there!”
“Recently we have become the facilitator for a fast-track programme in the
Netherlands for non-EU entrepreneurs aiming to start their own firm in the Netherlands.
These entrepreneurs can apply for a residence permit, but it is obligatory to be guided
by an experienced mentor (facilitator). We are honoured to have been selected for this
role and the related task of assessing and evaluating the added value of these startups
to the Dutch economy. Our evaluation will be taken in consideration by the immigration
agency when deciding on whether to provide a permanent permit or not. Pretty cool
and a powerful acquisition tool for our region.”
Lennard Drogendijk. Business Development Friesland
“Jose and Sonsoles, founders from two
different Spanish startups arrived in
November 2016. We opened up our
network and introduced them, gave them
personal coaching, let them join our group
workshops, and encouraged them to be
part of the incubator’s community. They
loved it, even though they could only stay
for a brief month. We have maintained
contact, and a few months later, we have
started to cooperate in new (EU-funded)
projects with them. To us this is the
essence of engaging in international soft
landing and projects; not solely for short
duration of the mentoring period, but the
chance to build long-lasting partnerships
and collaborations that evolve - both for
us and the entrepreneurs. We hope that
our international startups will do the
same and consequently build up their
network abroad, increasing the impact
and their reach.”
Jannet de Jong, Incubator Manager
StartHub, Wageningen
mechanism. 60 associated partners from
the EU and the US support the NearUS
Network, with more associated partners
expected in the future.
Under the leadership of DLR, EBN has
teamed up with InBIA and, together, as the
innovation networks in the consortium, we
will drive the activities of the Centre. We
have collaborated with InBIA over the
years, and now have a concrete workplan
to collaborate on international activities for
our respective members.
Summer 2017 9
theFeature
A view from SPI, coordinator of ERICENA
Sara Medina is a member of the Board of
SPI (www.spieurope.eu), an international
management consultancy company
created in 1997 as an active centre of
national and international networks
connected to SMEs and innovation
sectors.
SPI has more than 75 full-time staff
from ten different nationalities located in
the various offices of the company
(Portugal, Spain, China, Singapore and
the US).
“Having a physical presence in China
and the US since 1999 has allowed us to
support European companies in the
internationalisation process to these
markets. We quickly understood that, in
order to be able to consider entering the
Chinese markets, a physical presence
was needed. You need to go to China
many times in order to interact face-to-
face with different organisations; this
requires time and building of trust.
Markets in Brazil, China, the US and
Southeast Asia are definitely very
attractive, but require local support to find
partners and help with local business. We
support companies in identifying
potential clients; provide consulting,
training and R&D services across
different sectors: agro-food, healthcare,
tourism, environment, ICT and software,
higher education and government;
establishing contacts with local
government authorities, industrial parks,
S&T entities, investment agencies, etc.
SPI also conducts market studies and
organises missions to these markets and
has seen that Brazil, China, the US and
Southeast Asia have a lot of potential for
EU companies”
A short note on NearUS from InBIA
We asked Kirstie Chadwick, President &
CEO of InBIA, how they will engage their
members in the initiative.
“InBIA’s Soft Landings designation is a
two-year accreditation provided to
entrepreneurship centres that serve
foreign companies. Credibility, visibility,
and access to programmes through the
State Department and the European
We support companies
in identifying potential clients;
provide consulting, training
and R&D services across
different sectors
“
Summer 201710
theFeature
Commission’s NearUS project, in
collaboration with EBN, are benefits that
InBIA’s 35 Soft Landings centres (that
are located across nine countries)
currently enjoy. InBIA has received high
demand from members to facilitate the
creation of a quality network of
entrepreneurship centres that enables
startups and growth businesses to
accelerate internationalisation efforts.
Soft Landing serves this purpose.”
The Ohio University Innovation Center
Stacy Strauss runs one such
programme from Ohio University
Innovation Center and we asked Stacy
how being part of the network adds
value to the business support they can
offer to foreign companies.
“This recent recognition brings to light
the myriad resources available to foreign
companies in Southeast Ohio,” she said.
“We would not have received this
designation without the resources of our
partners, the Athens County Economic
Development Council and the
Appalachian Partnership for Economic
Growth. Together, we have the
necessary elements to attract, retain and
support foreign companies in our
region.”
The Innovation Center’s 36,000
square-foot facility features six
biotechnology labs, 33 offices, and
prototype development space and
equipment. The Center serves local
entrepreneurs by providing office,
meeting and laboratory space with
flexible lease options, as well as access
to shared equipment.
The incubator also offers business
coaching and access to funding
opportunities and other resources to
help startup companies grow. The
business incubator works closely with
university and regional partners,
including TechGROWTH Ohio, a
public/private partnership based at Ohio
University’s Voinovich School of
Leadership and Public Affairs.
The Innovation Center provides
various services to foreign firms to
facilitate soft landings, including
domestic market research, identification
of local customer prospects, access to
capital and potential funders and
cultural training. It also offers
assistance with protecting intellectual
property and patenting, meeting
government regulations and
understanding import/export laws.
“ InBIA’s Soft Landings
designation is a two-year
accreditation provided to
entrepreneurship centres that
serve foreign companies
This recent recognition
brings to light the myriad
resources available to foreign
companies in Southeast Ohio
“
Summer 2017 11
Other projects
EBN is not new to international projects and partnership. Leveraging on the expertise
and best practices coming from the network, EBN has been promoting research,
entrepreneurship and innovation all over the world, over the last few years. Some
noteworthy initiatives:
INCOBRA aims to increase, enhance and focus Research and Innovation (R&I)
cooperation between Brazil (BR) and EU. The project is contributing to: (i) increasing
cooperation patterns – by supporting cooperation networks among BR and EU R&I
actors; (ii) enhancing framework conditions – by fostering coordination and alignment
of R&I funding in BR and EU; (iii) have more focused BR-EU R&I cooperation – by
identifying emerging topics and opportunities in priority R&I areas for cooperation. For
more information, contact Chiara Davalli at [email protected] or visit
www.incobra.eu
SEBSEAM aims at promoting Malaysia as a direct trade market and as an easy, cost-
effective gateway to the ASEAN market of 600 million consumers. At the same time,
Malaysian SMEs wanting to establish themselves regionally benefit from partnership
with reputed and innovative EU companies that can offer high standard quality and
services. For more information visit www.eu-sme.my or contact Robert Sanders at
IPR HELPDESK CHINA and SOUTH-EAST ASIA support European Union (EU) Small
and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to both protect and enforce their Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) in China and Southeast Asia through the provision of free
information and services. These take the form of jargon-free, first-line, confidential
advice on intellectual property and related issues, plus training, materials and online
resources. For more information, contact Raffaele Buompane at
INNO INDIGO implemented a coordinated funding scheme for Indo-European
cooperation projects in the field of research and innovation. The project aimed at
ensuring global competitiveness and helped satisfy social needs through innovation.
As the new ERA-Net with India, the INNO INDIGO project first analysed the needs of
the Indian and European markets in order to set up joint initiatives that strengthened
the European-Indian STI collaboration. This was done through the involvement of
industries and clusters of excellence and regions as important funding partners with
strong links to the regional industry on both sides (Europe and India). For more
information contact Chiara Davalli at [email protected] or visit
www.indigoprojects.eu
Robert Sanders is a graduate from Leicester University and has spent over 15 years working in international
business development roles in the food and retail sector. He set up his own consultancy business in 2001 and
now supports the EBN Project Team, building consortia with EBN Members and other international project
management specialists in all areas of innovation and entrepreneurship who think smart!
Laura Lecci is an experienced Project Manager working at EBN since May 2012. She animates the bioeconomy
Special Interest Group of the network and manages EU funded-projects in this topic, mainly focusing on
supporting research projects in the ICT sector to start up and scale up: SmartAgriFood, TRAFOON, CommBeBiz,
and ACTTIVATE. Laura also coordinated the Startup Europe project, WeHubs, the first European network of
women web entrepreneurs. Currently, she oversees the development of the three international centres.
theFeature
Summer 201712
Talking TradeMadi Sharma voices her concerns about the big trade agreements that drown out
the voice of the entrepreneur
Another one bites the dust! But at what
cost? And who cares? If the deal had
worked out, we could have been slightly
better off. What am I talking about? TTIP of
course! Or the EU- India trade agreement or
any of the other negotiations which started
and have come to nothing!
Bitter? Yes, I am bitter, because I am an
entrepreneur running my small companies
at my cost. I have to pay from the company
purse to negotiate with potential suppliers
and customers and the investment has to
be justified. I do not have a team of
negotiators, nor people to conduct debates
and conferences, or have expensive
lunches, business class flights and sight-
seeing visits to understand the context. If
my negotiations do not succeed I have to
justify the costs and move on to the next
customer quickly because nobody is going
to give me a free handout of money to keep
my business afloat. I have to do business
to exist.
Just existing for small businesses these
days is a challenge. The rhetoric from the
politicians is laughable - entrepreneurs are
the backbone of the economy and we will
support them, we will ‘think small first’. But
the reality is quite the opposite. There is so
little relevant support for entrepreneurs,
limited financial resources, minimal
affordable office space or travel
allowances, even for trade events to
promote products or services. And yet our
politicians and decision makers have spent
millions of tax payers hard-earned money
on ‘talking trade’.
My question: if the Governments had
invested the same amount of money into
our SMEs as they have wasted on the trade
negotiations that have failed, how much
growth could we have had? How many new
jobs? How much innovation? Sadly this is
not an evaluation governments make
because they are so misguided by the big
business interests! Oh, and if you are about
to tell me that some of the trade deals have
succeeded, yes they have! But again, has
the investment in negotiations outweighed
the benefits to SMEs? I don’t think so! I look
forward to receiving the figures, if anyone
can show me them!
Bitter yes, because we could really grow
our home-grown businesses, support their
development, help them create
employment, provide skills and training,
and invest in new technologies, research
and innovation if there were more hand-
holding, business-to-business support
organisations such as EBN.
There is no accountability, nor
responsibility for the wastage of funds
when it comes to trade negotiations. As
entrepreneurs we have to account for
every cent, prioritising our staff and
company growth over our own
expenditures. Can this be said of the
politicians who seek global wins for their
empires which ultimately weaken
economic, social and cultural rights in
favour of trade?
The voice of the small entrepreneur is
rarely considered, despite the ‘SME
chapter’. Maybe it is time to distribute the
same funding euro-for-euro to entre-
preneurs next time we start a trade
negotiation and see where the real growth
comes from.
Madi is an entrepreneur who founded
and runs the Madi Group, a group of
international private sector & not for
profit companies and NGOs. The
philosophy is to create innovative ideas
tailored to local action which can
achieve global impacts beneficial to a
sustainable society.
Madi is a public speaker
internationally, particularly in the field of
entrepreneurship, female entrepren-
eurship, diversity, gender balance and
her passion for corporate social
responsibility CSR. She presents and
teaches in schools, universities and to
forward thinking businesses and
organisations.
She is additionally a member of The
European Economic and Social
Committee in Brussels.
Madi is the author of ‘Madi No
Excuses!’ and a three-time TEDx
speaker.
theOpinion
Summer 2017 13
TheEntrepreneur’s
Sherpa
Manju Bansal explains how the SAP Startup Focus guides innovation, helping both companies and innovators scale new heights of success
Yongyut Kumsri/Shutterstock.com
The Fortune 500 list started in 1955 and at
the end of 2016, only 60 companies (12
percent) were still on that list. In the
intervening six decades, the rest have
either gone bankrupt, merged with or were
acquired by another firm, or they still exist
but their revenues have fallen so they don’t
make the cut any more. In fact, even in this
century alone, more than half the
companies that existed in 1999 do not
exist on the list today. The lifespan of a
company on the Fortune list has dropped
from 60 years in 1955 to about 12 years
now, and forecast looks to be even smaller.
So, what happened?
When Gary Kasparov played against IBM’s
Deep Blue computer almost two decades
ago, he is said to have remarked before the
match that he was “trying to help defend
our dignity”. Since the dawn of the
industrial revolution in the late 1700s,
technology has continued to cast a very
long shadow on our lives, mostly changing
it for the better but also inevitably upending
the status quo in ways unimaginable.
Innovate or else
Every day you hear about young startups
that are disrupting the status quo and
redefining entire industries in the process -
think Uber, Facebook, Airbnb, etc. In a
globalised, hyper-competitive world, the old
rules don’t seem to apply any more and
‘innovate or lose’ has become the norm,
even for established enterprises with
dominant market presence. However,
innovation is a tricky business and not one
that is easy to deliver on. Market leaders
are realising that for them to deliver growth
means adopting a fundamentally different
approach to innovation, i.e. if we cannot do
it organically ourselves, let us partner with
someone else who can help us find that
pot of gold.
Increasingly that means working with a
tech-savvy entrepreneur with an agile DNA,
who looks at problems with a
fundamentally different lens. Like Campbell
Soup did, for example, when it launched a
$125 million VC fund to invest in early-
stage food companies to squeeze some
growth in the mature processed foods
industry.
However, we also know that in the real
world, it is not easy for a Fortune 500 size
company to partner with (let alone buy
from) a small startup. And that is where
SAP comes in. As the global leader in
enterprise applications serving almost
350,000 customers worldwide, we are
committed to supporting the enduring
success of our customers. One of the ways
we do it, is by building an ‘ecosystem of
innovation’ that brings startups, partners
and innovators of all stripes together to
help our customers win in their markets.
Simply put, we help bring innovation to the
enterprise.
Focus on startups
SAP Startup Focus is a global programme
that works with young companies
worldwide and helps them build
commercially-viable solutions on SAP’s
technology (including but not limited to
SAP HANA and the SAP Cloud Platform),
which we then help sell to our installed
customer base. The programme exists to
foster innovation outside of the traditional
SAP ecosystem and to encourage, inspire
and energise startups to use the power of
SAP technology to develop compelling
solutions. Some years ago, the prevailing
feeling among startups working with larger
organisations was one of anxiety, i.e. “how
will I protect my intellectual property or will
it ever be a fair arrangement?”
Today, open innovation is much more
established as a concept and we see
startups wilfully embracing larger
companies. The realisation is very clear on
both sides – startups have the agility and
the solution innovation, whilst large
companies have the commercial scale and
deep customer relationships that the
startup needs. Often it comes down to a
simple fact. In practical terms, how easy is
it for a young startup to work with an
established corporate without being
squished by the embrace, and how easy is
it for the customer to derive value from
what the startup is offering?
Today, open innovation
is much more established as
a concept and we see
startups wilfully embracing
larger companies
“
theFeature
Summer 201716
The programme started in mid-2012 and
since then we have had over 5,500 startups
from 60 plus countries that have expressed
an interest in working with us. We apply
some old-fashioned human intelligence to
identify a subset of those startups that are
a good fit with SAP, and which will likely be
of interest to our enterprise customers (e.g.
in areas like IoT, predictive analytics,
machine learning).
Once the startup solutions have been
certified and/or validated by our technical
staff, we work with SAP field sales
personnel and our partner community to
continue the go-to-market journey. The
validation and/or formal certification
process is critical because we want the
customer to have the confidence that the
solutions they are evaluating are a curated
bunch that meet certain quality criteria and
which would not mess up the rest of their
IT landscape.
A key ingredient for our long-term
success is finding high quality startups
who are building things that our enterprise
customers will care about. This is a non-
trivial challenge, and which cannot be
easily addressed without enduring
partnerships with networks like the
European BIC Network (EBN). Whilst we
use social media, events, referrals, thought
leadership and the like to reach startups,
having someone like EBN on the ground
with its credibility and reach truly allows us
to access the next generation of innovators
that we seek.
What makes us unique?
There are several incubator or accelerator
programmes that exist in many large
companies. Only SAP Startup Focus
however, offers not only technology but
also the human expertise needed to
develop a viable solution and a powerful
customer channel to sell those solutions
through. The programme is 100 percent
free for startups, and does not ask them to
either give up their precious equity or pay
any fees. Some of the things that we offer
startups include:
• Technology: Access to SAP
technology (including the HANA
database platform and the SAP
Cloud Platform, among others)
• Resources: Access to SAP solution
architects / technical experts and
marketing and sales enablement
support
• Customers: Access to our global
customer base to sell market-ready
solutions (for qualified startups that
meet certain criteria)
• Money: SAP Startup Focus does not
invest cash into startups (like a
traditional venture capitalist would
do), but we do make introduction to
VC firms in our network and to
SAP.io, which is a SAP entity that
invests in early stage startups
• Community of entrepreneurs,
partners, investors and thought
leaders in the enterprise big data
space
Nothing succeeds like success
The SAP Startup Focus programme was
kicked off in mid-year 2012, and in the past
five years, we have had considerable
success. Consider some of our
achievements to date:
• Over 5,500 startups that have
expressed an interest in working
with us, with over 900 of them
being accepted into the
‘development accelerator’ phase
and are actively developing
solutions on SAP technology
• Over 260 fully productive, validated
solutions available for our
customers (this approximates to
one new solution being introduced
every week for the entire five-year
duration of the programme’s
existence)
• Startups from 60 plus countries
participate in the programme
• Solutions are being developed for
22 different industries and multiple
lines of business
• Scores of deals concluded in 2016
alone, with significant revenue
accruing to the ledgers of the
startups involved
A key ingredient for our
long-term success is finding
high quality startups who are
building things that our
enterprise customers will
care about
“theFeature
Summer 2017 17
What our startups are building
While there is a very wide range of
solutions that our @SAPStartups are
building, here are a couple of illustrative
examples.
Meteo Protect: Based in Paris, France,
Meteo Protect offers financial products
that protect companies and institutions
when weather conditions adversely impact
their business or profits, or generate
additional costs. As weather uncertainty
increases exponentially, so does the
potential for negative impact on all kinds of
businesses, including farmers,
Starting with one
customer and a handful of
employees, SAP set out on a
path that would not only
transform the world of
information technology, but
also forever alter the way
companies do business
“
Vixit/Shutterstock.com
theFeature
Summer 201718
Manju Bansal leads SAP's effort to engage with the startup community worldwide and build its innovation
ecosystem. He is Vice President and Global Head of SAP Startup Focus, the accelerator programme that helps
promising startups in the Big Data, predictive and real-time analytics space develop new applications on SAP
technology and accelerate market traction. Manju has been at SAP since 2007 and over the years has held
various leadership roles in Solution Marketing, the SME business and Ecosystem & Channel marketing. Prior to
SAP, he was the founder of Thinknotes, an innovative content delivery platform that connected consumers,
physicians and pharmaceutical companies and created personalized content repositories to help consumers manage their unique
medical situations. Manju is an SAP Mentor and an Industry Mentor at the Easton Technology Management Center at UCLA. He holds
an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA with additional executive education completed at the Harvard Business School, and has
been widely published on MIT Technology Review and Forbes. On a personal note, Manju has climbed several peaks in the high
Himalayas and bicycled thousands of miles in countries around the globe.
About SAP
With over 84,000 employees in 130
countries and revenues of €22 billion,
SAP is the world leader in enterprise
applications in terms of software and
software-related service revenue.
However, what is an industry leader
today began as a garage startup a few
decades ago. In 1972, five
entrepreneurs in Germany had a vision
for the business potential of
technology. Starting with one customer
and a handful of employees, SAP set
out on a path that would not only
transform the world of information
technology, but also forever alter the
way companies do business. Now 45
years later and 350,000 customers
stronger, more than ever, SAP is still
fuelled by the pioneering spirit that
inspired its founders.
transporters, retailers, etc. If you are an
electric utility that has wind turbines, what
do you do if the wind drops? Or if you are a
farmer and unseasonable hail pummels
your cherry crop, now what?
Semantic Visions: Based in Prague, the
Czech Republic, Semantic Visions offers
technology that can predict supply-chain
disruptions in real time, and is especially
designed for large manufacturers that have
thousands of suppliers worldwide.
Disruption on a global scale often begins
as tiny, insidious events flying well below
the radar of major news outlets, often
covered only in local non-English media, if
at all. To capture this information,
Semantic Visions has developed a unique
cross-language semantic analysis
technology that enables it to extract
knowledge from Web content, in whatever
language it is written.
Choice Holdings: Based in Luxembourg,
Choice employs sophisticated algorithms
to accurately predict the possibility of fraud
and the associated financial return for each
customer in the utilities industry, where
fraud is an $85 billion problem annually. It
is an evolutionary system designed to learn
and adapt as thieves develop new tactics
to steal energy and water.
Conclusion
For a young startup to sell their solutions
to a large corporate is much like climbing
Mt. Everest; a daunting initiative that you
wouldn’t consider attempting without the
right Sherpa team on your side. For
entrepreneurs, the SAP Startup Focus
programme becomes that critical Sherpa
team to help guide them to commercial
success, and to assist in navigating the
many pitfalls that they will see along the
way.
To learn more please visit
startups.sap.com or follow us on Twitter at
@SAPStartups. If you know of a startup
which is focused on the enterprise big data
space, please do reach out to
For entrepreneurs, the
SAP Startup Focus
programme becomes that
critical Sherpa
“
theFeature
Summer 2017 19
The EBN Congress is the annual gathering
of professionals in the innovation and
entrepreneurship sphere. In 2017, the
Congress is jointly organised by EBN (the
European Business and Innovation Centre
Network), our certified EU|BIC in the region
– Val d’Oise Technopole, Retis (the French
innovation network), and Agoranov (a
startup incubator in Paris). It will take place
between 5-7 July in Enghien-les-Bains, in
the Île-de-France, near Paris.
The 2017 EBN Congress is structured
around the idea of ‘OPENNESS’:
OPEN INNOVATION
OPEN ECOSYSTEMS
OPEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
OPEN STARTUPS
EU|BICs are important actors, who are
entrusted to work in direct contact with the
entrepreneurs and SMEs, to ensure that
innovative ideas are generated and that
innovative products and services are
marketed. They do so by ensuring a
seamless delivery of the ‘incubation service
value chain’ that is typically aimed at
stimulating the territory, pre-incubating
new ideas, incubating potentially
successful startups and growing scalable
businesses.
From the perspective of the entre-
preneurs the same value chain can be read
as: stimulate your brain, stand up your idea,
start up a new business, and scale up for
real impact.
The EBN Congress in Enghien-les-Bains
will focus on these developments and the
crucial role EU|BICs have in the creation of
jobs and wealth. Over three days, the most
innovative, most disruptive and most
original practices will be presented,
contributing to the evolution of our
methods.
EU|BICs alone will not be able to achieve
their mission if all the actors around them,
the innovation ecosystem, are not well-
oriented and organised towards this
common mission. They can fall short at
any given point of the value chain if
conditions are not met.
Open For BusinessMarta Gómez takes us through the 2017 EBN Congress agenda
and outlines its special features
Enghien-les-Bains
Enghien-les-Bains is a spa resort in the Île-
de-France (Paris) region and a UNESCO
Creative City for Media Arts. It cultivates its
eclecticism by merging its heritage in a
contemporary way. Built in the late 19th
century around a 108 acre lake, Enghien-
les-Bains is situated in the centre of the Val
d’Oise department, north of the city of
Paris, and has 200,000 residents.
Its preserved environment constitutes
one of the most beautiful sites in the Île-de-
France. The only spa town in the Parisian
Region, it maintains a way of life centred
around health, well-being and now, digital
creation.
With its exceptional accommodation
capacity, a few minutes away from the
centre of Paris and international airports,
Enghien-les-Bains becomes a magic place
to host participants at the EBN
Congress.
Barrière Business Centre
Congress Venue
Congress by the Numbers
400+ participants, innovation experts
35+ nationalities from five continents
40+ international startups
3 working days
www.ebncongress.eu
theCongress
Summer 201720
Open startup exhibition
The main attraction of this year EBN
Congress will be the ‘Open Startup
Exhibition’, an open space for exchange
and discussion with startups, entre-
preneurs and SMEs coming from France,
Brazil and all across Europe. They will be
gathering at the Congress to learn from
each other and present their innovative
ideas. B2B matchmaking meetings will be
organised on Thursday morning for
startups and corporates present at the
event. It will be followed by an afternoon
with EU|BIC managers, policy makers and
innovation practitioners attending, as well
training and information sessions.
The main topic of the Open Startup
Exhibition will be Internet of Things (IoT)
where top-level startups developing
innovation on Internet of Things will be
showcasing their ideas. Within IoT the
focus will be on the sub-themes of Health
and Wellness, Heritage and Sustainable
development, and Smart Cities. Moreover,
corporates supporting innovative solutions
in IoT will take part too; showing that
openness across current ecosystems
provides the best support to innovation.
Guest country
Once again the EBN Congress will bring a
guest country to share its experience. This
year we turn to Knowledge Capital, a
project from Osaka, Japan. They will be
present during the three days of the
Congress.
Knowledge Capital is a consortium of big
industrial, financial and services providers
and is a fairly new and original concept.
The project is developing an ‘intellectual
creation centre’ where entrepreneurs,
researchers, creative people and citizens
come together to create new values, by
engaging and combining knowledge and
ideas.
It is located above the Umeda Osaka
Station, a complex with offices, salons,
labs, exhibition spaces, show rooms,
coworking spaces, meeting rooms and a
congress centre used as a platform of
interaction among people, and a bridge
towards the world.
This Congress is honoured to have the
presence of the General Producer of
Knowledge Capital Association and
President, Super Station, Mr Takuya
Nomura.
Why join us?
Over three days in July, EBN Congress will
be the international gathering of diverse
innovation ecosystems. It is the ideal place
to bring together EU|BICs, large corporates,
startups and policy makers from Europe
and beyond, to discuss synergies and the
best ways of cooperating at the
international, regional and local level.
Organisers
EBN: Created in 1984, the European
Business and Innovation Centre
Network - EBN is a network of around
150 quality-certified EU|BICs (business
and innovation centres) and 100 other
organisations that supports the
development and growth of innovative
entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs.
EBN is also a community of prof-
essionals whose day-to-day work helps
these businesses to start and scale in
the most effective, efficient and
sustainable way.
VOT: Val d’Oise Technopole (VOT) is an
economic development association
created in 1985 by territorial
corporations, economic organisations
and companies from Val d’Oise. VOT
manages incubators, coworking
spaces and programmes around
innovation and entrepreneurship
including students. It is recognised at
the national and international level
through its EU|BIC quality certification.
VOT is very active in EBN and Retis,
among others.
RETIS: Retis is the French innovation
network of around hundred organ-
isations, whose aim is the coordination
of the territories of the innovation
ecosystem. Through its members -
incubators, EU|BICs and competit-
iveness clusters - Retis supports more
than 13,000 innovative startups and
SMEs.
AGORANOV: For the last 15 years,
Agoranov has incubated 320 startups,
including five companies that are now
publicly listed. Between them, they now
represent some 5,000 jobs: Criteo
(NASDAQ: CRTO), Anevia, Biophytis,
Gensight and Pixium. Agoranov, was
founded by Pierre and Marie Curie
University and Paris-Dauphine
University, High School Normale,
ParisTech and INRIA. It is now
supported by the Research and Higher
Education Minister, Île-de-France
Region, Paris City and the European
Social Fund.
Main moments
Wednesday 5 July
• EBN Special Interest Groups
and project private meetings
• EBN and RETIS statutory
private meetings
• Networking session (speed-
dating style)
• Formal opening ceremony
• Welcome cocktail
Thursday 6 July
• Morning plenary sessions
• Afternoon parallel workshops
• All-day networking
• Gala dinner
Friday 7 July
• Video competition
• Plenary debate
• Closing session
Organisers
Local authorities
Sponsors
theCongress
Summer 2017 21
EqualisingOpportunity
When it comes to running a small
business, sometimes who you know
matters as much as what you know. Family
connections, old classmates or business
networks can fling the door open to the
right introductions, the right expertise and
the right funding. But the door to these
resources has been shut for entrepreneurs
of colour, women and those located in low-
income communities. These businesses
have often faced major obstacles getting a
strong start without the access and
advantages these networks provide.
Janis Bowdler of J.P. Morgan tells us how it’s possible to power
economic opportunity and do it one small business at a time
Chris002/Shutterstock.com
A Worthwhile ENDEAVOR
Our commitment to small businesses
extends globally and reduces the global
barriers to economic growth.
The barriers to opportunity faced by
women- and minority-owned small
businesses aren’t unique to the United
States, and Small Business Forward
backs programmes that open pathways
to economic growth and success for
underserved entrepreneurs worldwide.
For example, in countries such as
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Mexico, the Philippines and Singapore
we have supported Endeavor, a non-
profit organisation that identifies,
mentors and supports entrepreneurs
with the greatest potential to contribute
to economic growth and social progress
in developing markets globally.
Endeavor takes a long-term, focused
approach by identifying entrepreneurs
with the most potential for social and
economic impact in emerging and
growth markets around the world. The
organisation then connects these
entrepreneurs to a network of seasoned
global and local business leaders who
serve as mentors, advisers, connectors
and investors to help them grow their
businesses and create jobs. In turn,
these entrepreneurs become role models
to inspire future generations to innovate.
By helping the most promising
entrepreneurs develop the skills and
networks they need, Endeavor is
catalysing long-term economic growth
around the world.
The right access
Yet access is exactly what these small
business owners need. Given an equal shot
at the financial, intellectual and human
capital needed to launch a business, these
underserved entrepreneurs can and do
walk through the door to success. And
when they succeed, the benefits
reverberate way beyond the economic
mainstream.
We call these businesses ‘community
commerce’ - restaurants, hardware stores,
dry cleaners and day cares that boost the
vibrancy of existing neighbourhoods and
revitalise distressed ones. They also have
vast potential to power inclusive economic
growth. To take the United States as an
example: a study by the Association for
Enterprise Opportunity found that if one in
three micro businesses in the country hired
at least one person, the economy would
reach full employment. Arming these
underserved entrepreneurs with the
resources to succeed can be one of the
most powerful levers for creating
economic opportunity broadly.
Positive impact
JPMorgan Chase is tackling major
challenges faced by underserved
entrepreneurs around the world, especially
the availability of targeted technical
assistance. Through ‘Small Business
Forward’, a five-year, $30 million global
initiative that builds on our long-standing
commitment to supporting small
businesses and entrepreneurs, we are
tailoring solutions to meet the needs of
women and minority-owned businesses, all
with the aim of helping to generate
inclusive growth in the communities where
we live and work.
“Providing capital can positively impact
small business growth, including those in
underserved communities,” says Chase
Business Banking CEO, Jennifer Piepszak.
“But beyond lending, we also believe in the
power of sharing intellectual capital:
advice, technical assistance and
connections to supporting services. There
is a broad and multiplying effect of both
kinds of capital flowing through a
community.”
Providing capital can
positively impact small
business growth, including
those in underserved
communities
“C
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How YTKO helps
YTKO is giving thousands of small
business owners in East London the skills
and confidence to make it.
YTKO Group’s GetSet for Growth is
geared toward small businesses seeking
expansion. But the effects are huge: in the
past 18 months, the programme has
helped support more than 500 businesses
and created more than 200 local jobs. In
addition, these businesses have been able
to access over £500,000 of funding.
The organisation’s 30-year plus track
record of advising both new and
established businesses throughout its
regional UK offices led to YTKO’s forward-
thinking collaboration with J.P. Morgan –
ultimately resulting in the creation of the
GetSet for Growth East London
programme, geared toward proactive
economic development in this vibrant
community. “We started our collaboration
with J.P. Morgan in Bournemouth back in
2013, and that pilot programme went so
well that we brought it to East London,”
said Bev Hurley, CBE, CEO of YTKO. “J.P.
Morgan wanted to fund the same project
in East London because they could see
the need there.”
Through specialised finance, marketing
and sales support, the three biggest
barriers to growth, GetSet for Growth East
London guides a variety of small business
owners with a wealth of talent, from
fashion designers to gamers. Such
entrepreneurs represent a significant slice
of the local economy. Recent research by
the British Bankers Association identifies
that smaller businesses remain engines
for growth, creating 60 percent of all
private sector jobs, and £1.6 trillion of
revenue. It’s all part of YTKO’s mission to
facilitate the growth of more than 10,000
companies that will contribute more than
£1 billion annually to the British economy
by 2020, which they expect to achieve
before the end of this year.
“GetSet for Growth London changed
our company philosophy by ensuring we
understand that failures do occur on the
route to success and we can be equipped
to handle that. They put us in the right
direction, by empowering us with
knowledge. They made us believe in our
company more than we already did,” noted
Christopher Larbi, who runs an advertising
company based in Hackney, north
London.
Of course, the success of a small
business doesn’t only impact its owners; it
has a ripple effect throughout the local
economy. “The whole point is if we can
make [small business owners] more
resilient and grow, and improve their
profits and turnover, they will take on new
people and create new jobs,” Hurley said.
Such entrepreneurs
represent a significant slice
of the local economy“
gst/
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Janis Bowdler is Head of Community
Development, Small Business, and
Financial Capability Initiatives within
Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase
& Co, a global leader in corporate
philanthropy with more than $200
million invested in communities
annually. Under her leadership the firm
invests more than $80 million each year
to advance strategies that connect
distressed communities and
underserved individuals and
entrepreneurs from around the world
with the tools, resources, and
opportunities necessary to prosper. In
her short time at the firm she has
launched several high profile initiatives,
including Financial Solutions Lab, PRO
Neighborhoods, the National African
American Loan Fund, and blight
mitigation initiatives in Detroit, MI. Janis
has authored a number of publications
on financial opportunity and economic
mobility. She also serves on the board
of Raza Development Fund, the nation’s
largest Hispanic Community
Development Corporation.
theFeature
Summer 2017 25
A rising tide
Hang Ho, Head of Global Philanthropy for
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin
America at J.P. Morgan, talks to Clarelisa
Camilleri of EBN about why, for
entrepreneurs on the margins of society, a
rising tide doesn’t always lift all boats… and
what business incubators and accelerators
can do to help.
The JPMorgan Chase Foundation is
funding EBN to help European incubators
and accelerators to share good practice
on diversity and inclusion to enhance their
practice over the next two years. What’s
your motivation?
The phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’
comes from a speech by John F Kennedy.
It’s the idea that, if the economy is doing
well, all of the businesses in that economy
will do well. Through the firm’s corporate
responsibility work, we’ve seen that this
just isn’t the case; when the tide is rising,
some businesses profit much more than
others, which is to be expected. However
what separates one type of business from
the other often isn’t hard work or drive… the
underlying problems are more complicated
than that.
What kind of businesses have you seen
struggling when market conditions are
difficult?
Our Foundation works with business
accelerators and incubators across Europe
and around the world, and different
businesses struggle in different contexts.
Gender is a big issue: in the UK, aside from
the lower overall levels of female
entrepreneurship, enterprises run by
women are considerably less likely to be
approved for a loan. Sometimes it’s a
question of geography: in Paris, for
instance, entrepreneurs in the Quartier
Urbain Prioritaire (low-income urban zones)
don’t have the same access to support
networks and referrals to business
development services as businesses
located in richer areas. In Johannesburg,
we’ve seen that - even 20 years after the
end of apartheid - entrepreneurs of colour
face challenges when they try to get onto
the supply chains of larger businesses.
Our firm’s corporate responsibility
agenda seeks to address these
imbalances, helping to confront major
economic and social challenges by
expanding economic opportunity to a wider
group of people to drive more inclusive
economic growth. In part, we do this by
supporting organisations that help
businesses to grow in an inclusive way.
What role do business incubators play?
An effective incubator can make such a
profound difference to a business - from
strategy, to operations, to a founder’s
outlook. When an entrepreneur has faced
systemic social and economic challenges,
they can really benefit from tailored
support that addresses their specific need -
be it access to supply chain, networks or
capital. These entrepreneurs can be
difficult to reach, especially when an
incubator isn’t linked into their community.
However, we’ve seen some approaches
that take the entrepreneur into account,
along with their social context, and are
quite effective as a result; these are
programmes that account for child-care
and family commitments, transportation
costs and business hours - all the things
that make up an entrepreneurs’ daily life,
and can make life hard for entrepreneurs
whose backgrounds create extra
challenges.
Through our work with EBN, we’re
bringing together business accelerators
and incubators to take a look at their
clients through a social and economic lens,
to share good practices, and to shape their
services for a wave of fresh talent. That’s
the sea-change we’re looking for.
Bill
ion
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Hang Ho leads J.P. Morgan’s
philanthropic efforts across Europe,
Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
This includes the direct management
of all grant-making and related
employee engagement activities in 24
countries across the region in the areas
of workforce readiness, small business
development and financial capability.
During her time at J.P. Morgan, Hang
also played a leadership role in
developing the firm’s diversity
programme across the Bournemouth
campus. Hang participated in the
CityUK Social Mobility Steering Group
which is responsible for bringing
CityUK members together to share
best practice and raise awareness of
activities to promote social mobility
among financial and professional
companies. Hang also served on the
London Child Poverty Delivery Group
for place-based programmes, set up by
UK Ministers to tackle child poverty in
London.
theFeature
Summer 201726
Entrepreneurs provide oxygen to our
economy, creating new businesses and
new jobs, new ways to look at the world
and to interact with everyone around us.
They invent and they build, they wreck and
replace. In doing so, they often hit the
boundaries of legislation and regulation not
adapted yet to that emerging future.
Although creative ways can often be found
to get around such obstacles, this can slow
them down considerably, allowing
companies from more forward-looking
regions in the world to snatch the market in
front of their noses. Or they choose to flee
the country or even the continent, moving
to places where experiments are
welcomed, and policy adapts in more agile
ways to changing circumstances.
You may think that entrepreneurs would
form a powerful lobby to counteract these
pitfalls. But entrepreneurs are already
slaving away 24/7 to safeguard and build
their businesses and teams, while putting
out today’s fires. Fighting for a better policy
framework for entrepreneurs is often the
last thing on their minds. They are
scattered across smaller businesses,
across regions, and tend not to be
organised in a structured way, thus leaving
the status quo unchanged…
In 2013, Neelie Kroes, as Commissioner
for Digital Agenda, called upon the Startup
Europe Leaders Club to craft a European
Startup Manifesto, a set of high-impact
recommendations to create a better
entrepreneurial climate in Europe. Yet
many of the recommendations touched
upon areas in which the European
Commission has little or no impact. It was
up to the Member States to drive home the
change. Still, the spark was lit and a small
flame grew out of it. The startup
community started rising up to the
challenge and they got organised. An entire
Startup Manifesto Movement emerged,
with entrepreneurs in country after country
voicing their solutions and suggestions.
Now three years later, almost every
European startup community has created
their very own Startup Manifesto – often
crowdsourced – and many have had
considerable impact on local policy
makers, as testified by the Startup
Manifesto Policy Tracker. Tax shelters were
introduced, legislation on e-commerce was
modernised, crowdfunding was eased,
governments and corporations started
buying from startups, the procurement
legislation got adapted, and a startup test
is being developed to stress test all new
legislation for impact on startups.
The European Commission stayed on the
same course, developing a Startup Europe
programme to connect startup hubs
across Europe and allow more business to
start and grow in the EU – and ‘startup
managers’ emerged at all levels of policy
making, from the city level to the
international. Some of the collaborations
that grew out of these efforts grew into
long-term sustainable platforms and
networks. The European Startup Network
currently unifies over 20 national startup
associations to create a common voice
and provide data analysis, facilitate an
international go-to-market and build strong
national ecosystems. Allied for Startups,
for example, acts on behalf of startups
worldwide. Entrepreneurs have also
stepped up to the challenge individually
and started sharing their stories of
success, but also on (how to learn from)
failure. Understanding that challenges were
shifting from starting a business to fast-
growing companies scaling across Europe,
a European ScaleUp Manifesto was once
more crowdsourced from all those
different communities, with clear action
points for all involved at any level.
It is clear that the entrepreneurial voice is
here to stay. And hopefully these voices will
help construct a more inclusive world, a
tolerant world, one in which change and
diversity can be embraced rather than
feared. We’re creating the framework for all
those who wish to develop their passions
into a profession; their dreams into reality.
If you’re a dreamer, and have the drive to
ensure no one holds you back, there is
always a way to change whatever is in your
way. Sign the ScaleUp Manifesto and join
the movement.
The Winds Of ChangeFrom Startup Manifesto to a truly unified European startup ecosystem, Karen Boers, tells us
how we can all get connected to a growing movement that serves entrepreneurs
Karen Boers is the co-founder and Managing Director of Startups.be. Uniting hundreds of startups with all the
incubators, accelerators, investors and public actors in the local ecosystem, Startups.be operates as a one-stop-
shop and matchmaker. The impact of the Belgian Startup Manifesto underlines the importance and potential of
providing entrepreneurs with a single and strong voice towards policy makers and key decision makers.
Bringing that experience to the European level through the European Startup Network is her current challenge.
For further details go to:
• startupmanifesto.eu
• scaleupeuropemanifesto.eu
• www.europeandigitalforum.eu/
startup-manifest-policy-tracker
• www.europeanstartups.org
• ec.europa.eu/digital-single-
market/en/startup-europe
• alliedforstartups.org
theOpinion
Summer 2017 27
Results That Speak
Incubators serve a very singular purpose. An industry that has gained in strength and reliability for over five decades now, the legacy and
scope of the work undertaken is not insignificant, and its impact is hard to measure given the ripple effect. At the EBN network, we are
proud to present some of our current success stories and invite you to take a look at what goes in in just a single incubator.
Italian design
Founded in 2012, PROMEDITEC has made
incredible progress since they began in the
BIC of Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) from
where they still continue to operate. In
March 2016, the company that now has
ten employees, signed a partnership with
Verizon, the largest US wireless
communications service provider (worth
around $130 billion in 2015), enabling this
startup to drive its global growth through
Europe and the United States, via their
Virtual Private Cloud.
Promeditec specialises in the
development of innovative IT solutions in
the field of clinical trials management and
information management systems applied
to clinical research.
Clinical trials are a key factor for the
development of new pharmaceutical
therapies and medical devices. Knowing
that pharmaceutical and medical device
companies invest several tens of billions of
dollars each year in R&D, the company
decided at the outset to focus on national
and international markets and to acquire
clients who represented business
accelerators and first-level references.
Promeditec‘s service offering includes
virtual monitoring visits and enables clients
to reduce time and costs drastically before
bringing a new treatment to market.
The solutions provided by Promeditec
have convinced many well-established
large companies to use Promeditec’s core-
application AppClinical Trial from phase I
to IV. They’re proud to count the San
Raffaele Hospital in Trieste and
pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer,
the European School of Oncology,
AstraZeneca, as well as a dozen other
hospitals among their clients, with whom
they have established a double client-
partner relationship. This has resulted in a
growth of double-digits year after year.
These key partners have already adopted
their SaaS (Software as a Service solution)
and the VOS (Virtual Onsite Monitoring)
system enabling high quality standards to
be reached even when trial budgets restrict
traditional monitoring activities.
“The reason for choosing Verizon Cloud
to support the delivery of our AppClinical
Trial Solution relies in their capacity to
provide increased reliability to users,” says
Emili Luca, founder and CEO of
Promeditec. This partnership will
significantly support their growth without
compromising on data security. Indeed,
Verizon Virtual Private Cloud is managed
by a professional team of governance, risk
and compliances specialists who are fully
acquainted with business standards and
compliance requirements. The Verizon
brand is known and trusted around the
world; this partnership ensures Promeditec
of added value in their innovative offering.
www.promeditec.com
A look at some recent success stories, and a glance at theresidents of an Italian incubator, showcases the
incredible scope of the innovation support industry
supported by
theResult
Summer 201728
Spanish energy
Founded in 2008, Optimitive is a Spanish
spin-off of Tecnalia - a leading private and
independent applied research and
technology centre in Spain, and the fifth
largest in Europe.
They first contacted EBN member, BIC
Araba (formerly known as CEIA) in 2007
and decided to set up shop in their
incubator in 2009. During this time they
were offered access to financing,
subsidies, training and networking
opportunities which contributed to the
rapid development of their product.
Remembering that period, the pioneering
startup’s CEO, Javier Garcia Sedano said,
“The BIC has been a very important
support for us, and it helped us hugely to
access investors, customers and partners
in the offices of the Alava Technology
Park.” Today the company is still located in
the Technology Park, but also has an office
in Frankfurt, Germany.
Optimitive has become one of the
leaders in the field of energy efficiency and
the use of optimisation solutions for
industrial processes for industry 4.0,
thanks to their core product, the OPTIBAT
Energy Saver. Their innovation is
connected to process control systems and
makes adjustments in reaction to changing
conditions, such as raw material being
used, atmosphere or production rate. The
Optibat system is able to report on savings
as it plays in real time and makes it a very
interesting advantage for customers.
Javier García Sedano correctly surmises
his company offering, “Once you
understand how it works, the ability to
predict the consequences of different
performances allows you to choose the
best in terms of power consumption.”
In 2014, GGM Capital, a Luxembourg
Venture Capital Fund invested €1.4 million
in the company, which, at that time, was
also an alumni of the Houston SURGE
Accelerator. This investment gave them the
opportunity to develop their business
internationally, backed, of course, by a
powerful financial partner. With this cash
injection they hired their sales and
marketing staff, developed their
commercial headquarters in Frankfurt and
started the commercialisation of their
technological products.
Their high-end product has raised
interest from multinationals around the
world leading Optimitive to raise significant
investment funding through the signing of
collaboration contracts with some large
corporates.
In 2015, they started working with
AURUBIS AG, the largest copper producer
in Europe (the second largest in the world)
and the largest copper recycler worldwide.
Located in Hamburg, the German company
has more than 6,400 employees at
production and service sites in Europe,
Asia and North America. They have used
the OPTIBAT technology to advise and
report about those parameters of the
electrolytic process to produce copper
cathodes of the highest purity. It has also
been used to quantify the operational
energy efficiency and savings potential of
the functioning of air compressors in
AURUBIS’ main factory in Hamburg.
In April 2016, they began work with Air
Liquid - a French multinational that is the
world leader in the production of gases,
solutions and technologies, operating in
over 80 countries - as technical partners on
a project entitled ‘Adaptive Intelligence for
the Dynamic Optimization of the
liquefaction Cycle in an Air Gases
Separation Plant’. With this project they
won the Iberquimia Innovation award 2016
in the category ‘Energy Efficiency’. Thanks
to this pilot project they succeeded in
reducing electricity consumption of the
liquefaction cycle.
In September 2016, they raised €1.2
millions of investment from Enzen Global,
an Indian company, that is a leader in the
sector of energy, water and environmental
solutions. This agreement will enable the
company to enter the Indian market
through Enzen’s customer base in the
subcontinent.
www.optimitive.com
Their high-end product has raised interest from multinationals around
the world, leading Optimitive to raise significant investment funding“
supported by
theResult
Summer 2017 29
German efficiency
Daniel Weiss and Zièd Bahrouni are two of
the five co-founders of Motius GmBH, a
high-tech R&D German company based in
Munich, that has developed an ingenious
approach and agile project methodology
that focuses on the development of new
products and prototypes.
The startup was set up with
entrepreneurial support from the Technical
University of Munich in 2012 where they
participated in the Manage & More
programme that convinced them, a year
later, to create their own company. 2014
saw them moving into The Gate -
Garchinger Technologie - und
Gründerzentrum, the business incubator
located in the research and education
campus in Garching (very close to Munich
University). Apart from the office space
that Gate Garching offers to all their
startups, MOTIUS immensely benefitted
from the free consulting and numerous
business services that were included in the
rent. There they connected successfully
with other startups, prospective customers
and business coaches through several
networking events, workshops and
seminars offered by Gate Garching,
eventually leading Motius to host several
big events jointly with the incubator such
as the Catalysts Coding Contest, which is
one of the biggest programming
competitions in Germany.
According to Christian Heckemann, CEO
of Gate-Garching, what makes the district
of Munich and Garching so successful in
terms of innovation strength is the
presence of a strong ecosystem where
entrepreneurs with an innovative mindset
work hand-in-hand with researchers and
teachers to develop cutting-edge
technologies.
In just four years Motius have acquired
an impressive portfolio of well-established
companies such as BMW, Texas
Instruments, Lufthansa Technik, Siemens
and Fujitsu who are keen to benefit from
the input of young, creative and motivated
startups. They have also created a talent
pool of 600 collaborators who are mainly
students, academic researchers and young
engineers working on ground-breaking
technologies in the field of mechanical and
electrical engineering and computer
science. Working with such a broad
spectrum of young elite who are
acquainted with state-of-the-art
technologies allows the company to bring
innovative ideas rapidly to the pre-
development phase of a product.
Their main idea is that the best people
should work on the right project. This
approach is a real asset for companies
who do not have among their collaborators
the specific set of skills needed for
developing an idea or who simply do not
have the time either to work on it
themselves or to recruit the best talent for
the job. Their responsiveness and flexibility
from the very start of the project up to the
transfer of the product to the client allows
product development for customers in a
few short weeks.
Today Motius is a thriving company that
is expanding beyond European borders.
Oman-born Zièd Bahrouni, CEO of the
company, decided to enter the Oman
market in 2016, represented by Genius
solutions, an Omani-owned technology
solution provider. He is now working with
Oman’s Research Council that selects and
subsidises ideas from Omani
entrepreneurs. They recently announced
the opening of their new office in Dubai in
partnership with Innogy, a big German
energy company. Through this partnership
Motius will position itself closer to the
latest trends and relevant fields of
technology in the area of smart cities,
connected mobility and autonomous
driving. Their ambition is to serve as a hub
for the entire Gulf region.
www.motius.de/en/
In just four years Motius have acquired an impressive
portfolio of well-established companies such as BMW, Texas
Instruments, Lufthansa Technik, Siemens and Fujitsu “
supported by
theResult
Summer 201730
An Irish winner
Heinrich Anhold is the satisfied, successful
CEO of StableLab Ltd, a company he
founded in 2008 in Sligo (Ireland). His
disruptive idea came from his background,
growing up on a farm with a 100 horses.
After having raised money from selling a
Grand Prix show-jumper that he had raised,
and with a PhD in biochemistry in hand,
this former international show-jumper
developed the very first hand-held blood
test for horses, now considered one of the
biggest advancements in equestrian
healthcare diagnostics. It launched in the
market in July 2013 as a breakthrough
innovation that combines biomarkers and
digital technologies, and is now used by
thousands of equine veterinarians in
fourteen countries globally.
This technology can detect and quantify
infections in only ten minutes at the
horses’ side without having to send the
blood sample to a laboratory. The system
uses an indicator that is fifty times more
sensitive than usual blood tests - the
protein Serum Amyloid A (SAA). This
protein is only present in horses’ blood
when there is an infection. In case of
infection, the test displays a specific
colour-result which can be interpreted by
any lambda equine practitioner and allows
for rapid responsive therapy even before
the horse shows any physical symptoms
of illness. This screening tool for health in
horse performance is of high value for
practitioners of horse championships
before, during and after the competition
takes place, but it also enables users to
keep track of information and store it in
order to draw on trends. It is as easy to use
as a thermometer, but much more reliable
than one.
Stable Lab (formerly known as Epona
Biotech) was awarded Ireland’s Best
Emerging company in 2010, and its CEO
recognised as one of Ireland’s ‘Top 40
under 40’ entrepreneurs in a couple of
business magazines after signing a
technology license deal with Philips
Electronics. That same year, the company
raised a first round of angel investment
and started to hire staff. This was followed
by a second round of angel investment
funding at the end of 2012 in anticipation
of the planned market launch.
The company received the support of
WestBIC (Galway) and its centre in Sligo
from a very early stage. Heinrich states, “In
the early days when you don’t know how to
raise funding and where funding is
available, or how to put together a business
plan, it is very important that Ireland has
got organisations that can support early
stage startups. I first went to the County
Enterprise Board who passed us on to
WestBIC. They gave us tremendous
support in terms of putting together our
business plan and getting us investor-
ready. They introduced us to investors and
as we found those investors and got them
to support us, we also got Enterprise
Ireland to match the funding.”
Heinrich was selected as finalist in
January of this year in the national finals of
Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE)
competition and won the award in the ‘Best
Established Business’ category.
Today, Stable Lab sells extremely well
and will double its staff over the next few
months as it expands both in the UK and
the United States. The StableLab blood test
was used in 2014 in the US to test the
famous American racehorse, California
Chrome, winner of the 2014 Kentucky
Derby and the 2016 Dubai World Cup, and
that was named American Horse of the
Year in 2014 and 2016.
www.stablelab.com
supported by
theResult
Summer 2017 31
Best practice at work
Among the companies that have initiated
and recorded the highest growth rate over
the years, the following deserve mention:
TBS GROUP (2,000 employees), the Euris
Group (240 employees), Emaze Networks
(100 employees), Innova Trieste (175
employees) and MW Fep (200 employees).
Other companies have also proven to be
highly innovative and well-developed and
those currently operating out of the
incubator are: Engys, Tempestive,
Promedictec and Mquadro.
high growth potential, actively supporting
new business initiatives in the Friuli
Venezia Giulia region. To achieve this
objective, incubators BIC FVG has
assumed responsibility for:
• Identifying and valorising innovative
projects, in particular in the energy,
ICT and life science sectors
• Promoting the establishment of
industrial startups with high growth
potential
• Hosting new initiatives and joint-
ventures promoted by venture
capitalists and small existing
companies wishing to diversify their
business
• Providing equipped
premises/workshops
• Assisting in drawing financial plans
to be submitted to the banking
system with the goal of increasing
company growth
• Carrying out functional tutoring and
managerial coaching
• Identifying specific financial
solutions during the various
development phases of the
incubated companies
• Information dissemination about
financial incentives available at
regional, national and EU levels
• Providing contacts and assistance
aiming at developing strategic
partnerships and international
cooperation projects
BIC Incubatori FVG has also among its
institutional objectives the development of
existing enterprises through their
accompanying foreign markets.
The incubator cooperates closely with
the scientific community of Trieste, in
particular with the University of Trieste,
SISSA - International School for Advanced
Studies, AREA Science Park and Elettra –
Sincrotrone. Jointly, with the above-
mentioned entities, the Chamber of
Commerce of Trieste, Confindustria VG
and local banks, BIC Incubatori FVG forms
an active system supporting the creation
and growth of new business ventures.
All the range and scope of activities are
in strict alignment and accordance with the
policy of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional
Authority.
Tomorrow in Trieste
Italy. The name conjures up an array of
images. From sweeping coastlines, to
amazing food to fine couture and fine
wines and racing cars. But over the last
decade of so, Italy has been making a
name for itself in the innovation game as
well. BIC Friuli Venezia Giulia S.r.l. which
began in 1989 has been supporting
entrepreneurship in Trieste for two
decades now and during its time it has
launched 245 companies meeting the
needs of tomorrows solutions, in real time
today.
The incubator was certainly the first of
its kind in Italy. Soon after it opened its
doors, in 1991, it became a member of
EBN (the European Business and
Innovation Centre Network) and in 1993 it
was recognised as a ‘Center for
Entrepreneurial Innovation’ by the
Directorate General for Regional Policy of
the European Commission. From 2006 to
2007 it was selected for ‘best practice’
among European incubators. In June 2015
it received the prestigious Incubatore di
Start-up innovative certificato under the
National Law 221/2012, which promotes
the establishment and development of
innovative startups.
The incubator is located in the industrial
zone of Trieste and covers an area of
12,000 square metres, 8,500 of which
house workshops for business ventures.
At the beginning of 2017, 39 companies
were located in the incubator with a total of
more than 270 employees, and prior to
that, in 2015, the annual global turnover
reached more than €40 million.
The mission
The mission of BIC Incubatori FVG, in
synergy with its main shareholder, is to
identify and develop innovative business
ideas and to establish a startup scene of
In June 2015 it received
the prestigious Incubatore di
Start-up innovative certificato“
theResult
Summer 201732
TBS Group S.p.A.
AREA Science Park, Padriciano 99
34149 Trieste
Italy
Web site www.tbsgroup.com/index.php/en/
Sector Health
Activity Specialised clinical engineering service provider.
Description
TBS Group provides integrated services of clinical engineering
and ICT for the outsourced management of the whole
technological equipment, both biomedical and IT, within
social and healthcare facilities, in particular with medical
equipment and ICT systems as well as telecare &
telemedicine ones. TBS Group offers a complete range of e-
Government solutions and services designed for public
administration sector. With a strong propensity for
internationalisation, TBS Group operates in 20 countries.
Gruppo Euris S.p.a.
Via Caboto 19/1
34147 Trieste
Italy
Web site www.euris.it/eng/
Sector ICT
Activity Software development and IT services
Description
Euris Group offers customisation and maintenance activities,
as well as specialised implementation processes and
technological consulting. It provides a 360° assessment of all
aspects of an IT project management, both at the
architectural and application development level. They support
clients in their mission of renewal and updating, with a
modular offer that enables intervention at many levels in the
production value chain, by optimising processes and
activities through a team of continually trained specialists.
Emaze S.p.A.
Viale Francesco Restelli, 3/1
20124 Milano
Italy
Web site www.emaze.net
Sector ICT
Activity Information security industry
Description
Emaze offers innovation services in the Cyber Security field.
Emaze realises enterprise-grade software development
projects that cover customer needs covering all bases.
Emaze is a European professional services company focused
exclusively on Cyber Security. It delivers software
development, specialised security consulting – both ongoing
projects and one-off assessments – and provides its own
products to ensure system protection via its own Security
Operations Center (SOC).
Innova S.p.A.
Via del Follatoio, 12
34148 Trieste
Italy
Web site www.innovatrieste.it
Sector ICT
Activity Interceptions
Description
Innova is a technology-based company that markets
integrated interception systems for lawful activities and
intelligence operations. Its solutions are designed to be
effective versatile, reliable and easy-to-use. Thanks to a deep
expertise in telecommunication applied to security sector,
Innova products support Public Prosecutor’s offices and law
enforcement agencies in any type of monitoring activity with
advanced technology.
theResult
Summer 2017 33
MW.FEP S.p.A.
Via Mario Stoppani 23
34077 Ronchi dei Legionari
Italy
Web site www.mwfep.com
Sector Electronics industry
Activity Electronic manufacturing services (EMS)
Description
MW Fep offers complete and reliable subcontracting
solutions for the production of electronic boards and
assemblies: from product engineering through high-standard,
efficient production to delivery and after-sales support. Its
specialised facilities enable it to respond to small, medium
and high-volume production requirements and to offer
flexibility and customisation capacities aimed at establishing
a long-term partnership with the client.
Engys S.r.l.
Via del Follatoio, 12
34148 Trieste
Italy
Web site www.engys.com
Sector ICT
Activity Software development
Description
The company is specialised in the application, support and
development of open-source engineering analysis and
simulation software for industry, offering a variety of products
and services focused mainly on Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) and Multi-Disciplinary Optimisation (MDO).
They are also highly proficient in the use of many
complementary CAE tools for solving a wide range of
engineering problems.
Tempestive S.r.l.
via Roveredo 20B
33170 Pordenone
Italy
Web site www.tempestive.com
Sector ICT
Activity Software development
Description
Tempestive is an IT consulting firm with a range of
experience in system integration and software development.
It designs, realises, deploys and manages solutions based on
distributed software and distributed systems, SOA (services
oriented architecture) and BPM (business process
management), collaboration systems for the information
worker, e-Business solutions, electronic commerce, asset
management systems, system integration, embedded
systems and cloud solutions.
Mquadro S.r.l
via del Follatoio 12
34148 Trieste
Italy
Web site www.mquadro.net
Sector ICT
Activity Electronic engineering
Description
The company is specialised in the development, production
and integration of professional devices, systems and services
for data gathering, monitoring and tracking purposes. It
provides professional products, complete solutions and
services in the oil and gas, waste management,
environmental and automotive sectors. In 2012, a second
branch of activities started, aimed at the development and
industrialisation of embedded systems for medical and
industrial/environmental applications.
theResult
Summer 201734
A Kaleidoscope Of Opportunity
Tom Mancuso walks us through the multifaceted approach that is needed for successful business incubation programmes
Tom Mancuso has lived his entire life
in and around industrial and
commercial incubator buildings. His
experience in all facets of their
existence is evident in his ability to
understand the complex factors
affecting their success. The history of
the Mancuso Process demonstrates
practical strategic solutions focused
on client objectives for a variety of
economic development situations.
Tom's specialities include: business
incubator development and operation;
business and industry centre startup
and operation; adaptive reuse of
buildings; management of multi-tenant
and mixed use properties; real estate
brokerage of industrial, commercial
and office properties.
Financial independence is a key to
happiness. Lots of profitable businesses
are needed to provide employment for the
founders and their employees, who are the
lifeblood of our local and global
economies. Like the individuals that create
them and drive them forward, these
enterprises represent a kaleidoscope of
innovation across all business segments,
technologies and markets. In a world faced
with countless human and geo-political
challenges, how can our business
incubators do a better job of facilitating the
progress of this critically important
entrepreneurial population?
New businesses come in all shapes,
sizes and technologies. This diversity is
then multiplied by the reality of their
geography, where every community has a
unique set of resources and challenges
that shape the people and businesses that
spring to life there. If we acknowledge that
job creation is an ongoing effort that
should evolve, over time, in response to the
realities of its environment, the wisdom of
developing locally focused entrepreneurial
support programmes becomes clear.
During our 58-year history of designing and
operating a place-based business
incubator and development programmes,
we repeatedly see the value in constructing
a plan that reflects that individual situation.
Our experience has shown us that it is
important to be as inclusive as possible to
the full diversity of entrepreneurial
innovation available from artisan,
mercantile, manufacturing, service,
distribution and tech activities. No one
knows the future, so who can predict with
certainty which enterprises or fields of
activity will flourish in any given place at
any particular time? The establishment of
mixed-use, technology-agnostic business
centres has proven a useful, cost-effective
way to embrace the possibilities.
Every business is important. In view of
the fact that every venture, from the
moment of its inception, is in some state of
leaving (i.e. relocating, failing, consolidating
or retiring), the work of encouraging job
creation is never ending. Because it
typically takes a few years to stabilise an
incubation programme, it is critical, at the
start, to research, recognise and respect
the realities of human, financial, physical
and geographic resources available to fuel
entrepreneurial encouragement over the
years. The active participation of
appropriate local leaders is an important
component of designing such a
programme, which should then be able to
operate and evolve for as long as the
community continues to value it with their
involvement and appropriate support.
By actively encouraging ‘creative
collisions’ and partnering with appropriate
technical, professional and educational
resources, we have been able to maximise
community opportunities in these facilities,
while also managing to produce self-
sustaining business incubator and
development programmes that transcend
the whims of political funding and trends.
We do this by strategically designing
staffing and systems that are then funded
by revenue streams attached to value
creating activities, shared assets, services
and spaces that are matched to the unique
situation of that particular place.
Coworking space, shared commercial
kitchen, makerspace, artisan and farmer’s
markets are a sample of features that can
be worked into an incubator programme to
take advantage of local startup potential.
The involvement of positive community
leadership with consistent commitment to
entrepreneurial recruitment and
development over a period of time, is a
recipe for dependable advances toward the
mission of job creation. We find mixed-use
inclusive business centres, with proper
management and margin awareness,
customised to reflect the realities of their
unique place-based location, provide an
effective solution for communities of all
sizes. The implementation of these
nurturing facilities on a broader scale
offers us an exciting opportunity to
accelerate the spread of financial progress
around the world and create a
kaleidoscope of opportunity.
theOpinion
Summer 2017 35
The Responsible Response
Chiara Davalli reflects on the inputs that emerged from EBN’s involvement in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) over the last five years
Over the last half decade, EBN, through the
participation in EU-funded projects such as
RRI Tools and COMPASS, was part of an
inspiring journey that enabled it to meet
with, and learn from, a wide range of
Research & Innovation (R&I) stakeholders
and experts from across Europe.
It is a commonly held view that R&I are
expected to cover, meet and solve today’s
global challenges. Society expects R&I to
cope with a wide range of pressing needs
affecting European citizens: climate
change, demographic changes, energy
shortage, pollution… to name just a few. All
these challenges are characterised by
growing complexity and uncertainty and
require collective and coordinated actions
to address them.
Indeed, science and technology could
contribute to solving these grand
challenges, but some have proved to be
controversial (such as intense factory
farming, big data, GMOs… we’ve all heard
the rumours) or have had unexpected
(negative) consequences. In other
instances needs haven’t been met, while
others have been created – for example,
most drug research and its impact on
wealth and the wealthy. All of this, and
more, pose justified questions about the
ethical acceptability and the social
desirability of R&I processes and results.
These ‘unexpected’ consequences, the
controversies and failures we observe
today from the R&I system are mainly (but
not only) due to a mismatch between
innovation players and society, between
the interests of the former and the needs
of the latter. In several cases key actors
haven’t been engaged, contributing to
generating a climate of mistrust towards
science and innovation.
The impact this mismatch can have on
social cohesion, economics, politics and
even public health (just for starters) has
the potential for serious societal problems.
That’s why, from 2011 onwards, the
European Commission has been pushing
forward the RRI concept vigorously.
What
Responsible Research and Innovation is an
approach that anticipates and assesses
potential implications and societal
expectations with regard to research and
innovation, with the aim to foster the
design of inclusive and sustainable
research and innovation.
RRI is a holistic approach taking different
variables into account: it is about including
all actors, considering specific key issues
(such as gender equality or open data) and
integrating some process dimensions in
R&I practice.
Responsible Research and Innovation is
about including different perspectives
when defining the objectives and the
modalities of the innovation process; it has
to recognise diversity as a resource; it has
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theFeature
to be anticipatory and reflective, thinking
wide and wild, considering different options
and potential alternatives; it needs to be
open and transparent, even if this is very
difficult (especially for private sector). But
in order to be truly transformative, research
and innovation need to be responsive.
Responsiveness is a crucial attitude at the
individual (researchers, entrepreneurs,
citizens, policy makers), systemic and
institutional level.
“Innovation is about transforming the
future,” said Prof Richard Owen (University
of Exeter Business School) in an interview
to RRI Tools in June 2015. “RRI recognises
the transformative power of research and
innovation to create the future. The
responsible approach grips with broader
ethical, social, environmental, political
dimensions of science, technology and
innovation as they are happening and not
at some point in the future”. We therefore
need to understand what kind of future we
want R&I to produce and how it can be
shaped in an inclusive way. It could be said
that RRI is a “complexity management
approach”, able to turn challenges into
opportunities and bring added value to
individuals, and to the society as a whole.
There remains quite a lot of work to do in
making RRI an operational concept, shared
within the whole innovation ecosystem,
and particularly for, and within, the private
sector.
Why
Why should businesses consider aspects
such as environmental and social impacts,
gender balance inside their organisation,
and inclusive approaches towards final
users and consumers of their
product/service? In other words, why
should they behave as responsible
innovative businesses? Why and how
should they integrate responsible
approaches and practices into their
businesses?
From a business perspective, the idea of
‘contributing to a better world’ is probably
not enough motivation to implement
Responsible Research and Innovation.
However, RRI is beneficial, even strategic,
for businesses themselves.
Innovating in an inclusive and societally-
oriented way can open up new
opportunities, especially for startups and
SMEs in Europe, as some of the RRI
processes and values are already in their
DNA - flexible, adaptable, less hierarchical,
willing to experiment with potential benefit
of emerging technologies to meet societal
challenges.
By adopting a responsible approach
businesses can obtain competitive
advantages such as cost reductions, sales
and profit margins, risk reductions,
improved relationships with investors
looking for reduced-risk investments,
increased attractiveness as an employer,
better supply chain engagement, improved
reputation and brand value, increased
innovative capabilities, and better
relationships with government, regulators
and local communities, etc.
If we look at the contemporary digital
context, at the growing ‘participation
demand’ of millennials, we see how more
and more actors want to be part of the
ongoing debates relating to looming global
challenges that are both complex and
often ambiguous.
The growing attention of policy makers
and R&I actors to co-design and co-create,
user-centred methodologies also ratifies
how societal challenges require innovative
solutions resulting from a multi-
stakeholder dialogue. This generates
positive externalities for SMEs adopting
this inclusive approach:
• Broader vision/Long term vision
• Increased and improved
relationship with customers and
users
• Increased awareness about
upcoming regulatory regimes
• New business processes focusing
on customers rather than
competitors
• New resources of creativity and
innovation
Over the past seven years, since the RRI
approach has been pushed forward by the
EC, R&I players in Europe and beyond are
getting more and more familiar with it.
However RRI advocacy remains a priority
goal. Therefore, the European Commission
has funded several initiatives aimed at
promoting it among different stakeholders.
How
EBN has been/is involved in a few key
initiatives which contributed towards
making RRI accessible to the
entrepreneurial world: RRI Tools (2014-
2016) and COMPASS (2016-2019).
The RRI Tools project, developed the RRI
Toolkit – a universal ‘point of call’ for policy
makers, researchers, industries, civil
society organisations and educators on
questions of RRI. This is an impressive
repository of 400 plus online resources
from all over Europe to help a broad range
of stakeholders implementing Responsible
Research and Innovation. It includes ‘how-
to’ guidelines that explain how to apply RRI
to specific situations: corporate
responsibility, RRI criteria for investors, or
how to embed RRI principles into a
business plan. It presents success stories
of companies that used RRI to reconsider
their business models, develop new
Summer 2017 37
theFeature
EBN is also part of HEIRRI Advisory Board.
The HEIRRI project (Higher Education
Institutions and Responsible Research
and Innovation) aims to start the
integration of RRI within the formal and
informal education of future scientists,
engineers and other professionals
involved in the R&D&I process. We believe
that HEIs can play a strategic role in
preparing the next generation of
responsible entrepreneurs.
In conversation with
Gema Revuelta,
Universitat Pompeu
Fabra – Coordinator,
HEIRRI project
How would you pitch
the HEIRRI project?
HEIRRI stresses the importance and
potential of RRI as a transformative,
critical and radical concept based on the
six RRI key aspects identified by the
European Commission (public
engagement, gender, open access,
science education, ethics and
governance). HEIRRI has done an
inventory of RRI teaching, including a
State of the Art Review and a Database.
This work has helped design the HEIRRI
training programmes and teaching
materials, which will be tested in several
institutions around Europe and beyond.
Results from these pilots will be used to
improve the materials, and then they will
be available on open access to all HEIs.
How Higher Education Institutions can
prepare the next generation of
responsible entrepreneurs and how do
they reach out to that audience?
By including in the curricula skills like
critical thinking and reflexivity, and
specially by including practical contents
and exercises that enable university
students (the future entrepreneurs) to
have a dialogue with the different groups
of stakeholders, who in the future will be
the consumers of their innovations, or
their work colleagues from several
disciplines, or their investors, or the
politicians who will decide on science and
technology matters. University students
are too far away from society and the real
world. HEIRRI develops didactic materials
that help develop a more responsible
approach to societal aspects and a
general consideration for all stakeholders
involved. Moreover, innovative method-
ologies are used to encourage the uptake
of these skills, like Inquiry Based Learning
(IBL) and Problem Based Learning (PBL).
How is HEIRRI supporting HEIs to embed
RRI in their curricula?
In the first place, by creating specific
training programmes and their respective
educational materials. Secondly, through
an ambitious internationalisation plan
with which many actions are being
developed with main university networks
in Europe and around the world. These
networks are already very interested in
the materials we are developing and
some are actively participating in the
project, either from the consortium and
its advisory boards, or in the conferences,
the HEIRRI online forum, or the many
channels of collaboration that this
initiative enables. At the end of the
project, we hope that any HEI interested in
embedding RRI in their curricula will know
that our resources exist and that they can
take the HEIRRI programme that suits
them best, adapt it as desired, and simply
follow the course instructions.
More information: www.heirri.eu
products, services or technologies, or even
improve their production processes. It
explores how inviting unexpected
stakeholders into research and innovation
processes allows novel ways of
understanding your company's potential
(www.rri-tools.eu).
Building on RRI Tools and other EC-
funded projects focusing on RRI in industry
and business, the COMPASS project aims
to facilitate the implementation of
Responsible Research and Innovation in
European SMEs in three key innovation
fields: nanotechnology, ICT and healthcare.
Through co-creation processes, COMPASS
aims to foster cross-sector, multi-
stakeholder collaboration in these key
innovation fields for improved RRI
processes and outcomes, and clearly
defines what drives RRI in the SME context
(www.innovation-compass.eu).
Results from
these pilots will be
used to improve the
materials, and then
they will be available
on open access to all
HEIs
“
Additional barriers
include the frequent
separation of research &
development activities from
engagement with the end-
user, a strong technical
focus of many managers
and a perceived lack of
explicit, long-term policy
commitment to RRI.
“
theFeature
Summer 201738
In conversation with
Katharina Jarmai, WU
Institute for Managing
Sustainability –
Coordinator,
COMPASS
How would you ‘pitch’ the COMPASS
project to SMEs?
COMPASS supports Small and Medium-
Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in managing
their research and innovation practices
responsibly. SMEs are invited to develop
their company-specific approach to
responsible innovation in a custom-
designed workshop setting. In close
collaboration with SMEs and innovation
support organisations, COMPASS will
develop a self-check tool for SMEs, with
roadmaps detailing steps towards
responsible innovation and training
materials for innovation support
organisations. Project news and
information about how to get involved can
be found at www.innovation-compass.eu.
How do you see the take-up of RRI
concept by SMEs? What do you think are
the main barriers/challenges ?
Awareness about the potential of RRI in
business is currently confined to a few
front-runners. Main barriers for take-up of
RRI by SMEs are a lack of information
about RRI in general and about potential
benefits and implications of RRI for
companies in particular, on the one hand,
and limited personnel and financial
resources of SMEs on the other.
Additional barriers include the frequent
separation of research & development
activities from engagement with the end-
user, a strong technical focus of many
managers and a perceived lack of explicit,
long-term policy commitment to RRI.
RRI is a complex concept, reflecting the
complexity of today’s challenges. How
SMEs can manage complexity in their
innovation processes?
While large companies often implement
innovation management processes, SMEs
tend to perform research and innovation
in a more intuitive, ‘learning-by-doing’ kind
of way. A first step towards managing
complexity could be the explicit
formulation of the company's purpose for
performing research and innovation - and
the expected impact on the environment
and the society. Institutionalised
anticipation of potential implications of the
company’s research and innovation or RRI-
based criteria for decision-making are
additional options for managing the
complexity of innovation processes in
terms of RRI.
COMPASS aims at developing a self-
check tool and creating roadmaps in three
strategic sectors. What’s new from
previous initiatives?
From the very beginning of the project, all
partners agreed that we would need to
cooperate with SMEs and innovation
support organisations in order to co-create
resources that are useful for companies.
The self-check tool is based on insights
from interviews with key industry
representatives and case studies of RRI
front-runners, and will be finalised after a
pilot-testing phase with SMEs. The
roadmaps will be created together with
SMEs and innovation support
organisations in custom-designed
workshop settings. The aim of the project
is to accompany and support SMEs in
exploring RRI for their particular company.
Definitions matter: how would you explain
in a very brief and meaningful way RRI to
a young entrepreneur who just founded a
startup in the biomedicine sector?
Responsible research and innovation
means that you assume responsibility for
the impact of your research and innovation
on society. It means that you adhere to
fundamental ethical principles in your
research and innovation processes, include
(diverse) internal and external actors, make
scientific knowledge available to society
and support science education. It also
means that you anticipate potential
implications of your research and
innovation, and take the necessary steps
to increase positive impact and avoid
negative impact.
EBN is a network of organisations
supporting entrepreneurs across Europe
and beyond. What can organisations like
EU|BICs do to support SMEs embracing
and applying the RRI approach?
Innovation support organisations can play
a vital part in promoting responsible
research and innovation. They can offer
training (based on training materials from
COMPASS and other RRI projects) to
support SMEs in exploring the potential of
RRI for themselves and in operationalising
it adequately. They could also act as
intermediaries, because they are the ones
who understand the needs of SMEs and
the socio-political context these SMEs
operate in. When EU|BICs integrate RRI in
their support services, they can accelerate
the propagation of responsible research
and innovation practices across Europe.
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Summer 2017 39
More
We need business in and for society. This
is also the scope of the brand new EU-
funded initiative the Social Challenges
Innovation Platform, which aims to match
social challenges with the best innovative
solutions coming from the entrepreneurial
world. Powered by Meta Group, EBN and
Impact Hub it aims at designing, creating
and enabling an online ecosystem
encouraging the interaction between social
innovators and SMEs. It will help to co-
develop and take up the sustainable and
marketable innovations with clear social
and environmental impact
(www.socialchallenges.eu).
When talking with SMEs and R&D&I
players, the key issue is about choosing the
way to innovate. The Responsible
Research and Innovation is a possible (and
desirable) direction to gear one’s thinking
and one’s business. To eventually be a
driver for economic growth - in a social,
ethical and sustainable way.
We cannot afford to allow opportunities
to slip past us now. Failure to act now and
implement a responsible way to innovate is
to fail to save ourselves.
As Winston Churchill rightly said, “Gentlemen, we have run out of money, now we have to think”. Now we are not running out of money,
we are running out of a clean planet. Therefore, we cannot afford foolishness, it is too expensive. Responsibility requires complex
thinking, wide angle analysis and forecasting of consequences.
BioGas+ by AppNPs - Spanish company
COMPASS Case Study
Chiara Davalli joined the EBN team in April 2010. She has a Postgraduate Degree in International Relations,
a Degree in International Studies from the University of Florence (Italy) and an Executive Master in
European Studies from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). In EBN, she assisted the Quality & Technical
Assistance Department for two years before joining the EU projects team where she is now in charge of
the following projects: INNO INDIGO, SCHIP, COMPASS, INCOBRA and CEBRABIC. Her linguistic skills
include Italian, English, French, Spanish.
When EU|BICs
integrate RRI in their
support services, they
can accelerate the
propagation of
responsible research
and innovation
practices across
Europe
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Open innovation, open science,
open to the world
“We should not be afraid of testing new
ideas and piloting new actions. But we
then must have the discipline to stop
those which are not working, and the
ambition to scale up what works.
Research and innovation must take a
long-term perspective and not be
trapped by the past. And we must make
sure that each one of our actions brings
in new entrants, young researchers,
dynamic entrepreneurs, and people who
have never been involved in European
research and innovation. […]”.
Carlos Moedas - Commissioner for
Research, Science and Innovation
‘A new start for Europe: Opening up to
an ERA of Innovation’ Conference
theFeature
Summer 201740
To Stay Or Not To StayJane Lambert examines the implications for
SMEs and the Unified Patent Court as Europe prepares for Brexit.
Brexit has caught everyone unaware. With
the initial shock wearing off, on both sides
of the Channel, people are trying to
understand the implications on every area
of human functioning. From travel to
education to work to relationships…
everyone is struggling to come to terms
with an unprecedented new scenario. And
of course, entrepreneurs are part of this
new dynamic. So what is the fallout for
entrepreneurs at the most basic level of
their businesses? Entrepreneurs are
typically people with a new idea. Mostly
ideas that require safeguarding in some
shape or form. Hence the importance of
patents and their enforcement.
A patent is a monopoly of a new
invention. It is granted by governments to
inventors as a reward for teaching those
with the appropriate skill and knowledge
(‘persons skilled in the art’) how to make or
use their inventions. There are other ways
of protecting investment in developing
technology, but patents are the most
effective.
The numbers speak for themselves.
There are far fewer patent applications
from the UK than there are from many of
our competitors.
In 2016, for instance, there were 5,142
applications to the European Patent Office
(EPO) from the UK as opposed to 40,076
from the USA, 25,086 from Germany,
21,007 from Japan, 10,046 from France,
7,293 from Switzerland, 7,150 from China,
6,889 from the Netherlands and 6,825 from
South Korea. One of the reasons why there
are fewer patent applications from the UK
than from those other countries is that
patent enforcement in the UK is much
more expensive than it is in other
countries. In 2003 it cost £1 million and
upwards to bring a patent infringement
claim in the Patents Court, and between
£150,000 to £250,000 in the Patents
County Court, compared to €10,000 to
€50,000 in France, Germany or the
Netherlands. The gap between the cost of
enforcement in Britain and the costs in
those other countries has narrowed since
then, but even so they remain significantly
higher here than anywhere else.
One initiative that would have levelled the
level playing field between the UK and
other EU countries is the Agreement to
establish a Unified Patent Court (UPC) for
the territories of the signatory countries. An
important part of that court was to sit in
London. Currently, the government sees
the undeniable advantages of the UPC and
intends to ratify the Agreement. The UPC
should, therefore, open its doors before the
end of this year or the beginning of next.
But what happens after the UK leaves the
EU? Jo Johnson, the Minister for IP, has
characterised the UPC Agreement as an
international agreement outside the EU
treaties, but it can be signed only by EU
member states; the legislation for a unitary
patent is an EU Regulation and the
Agreement incorporates EU law as
interpreted by the Court of Justice of the
European Union. In absence of a special
agreement with the other Member States it
would appear that the UK would have to
leave the UPC when it quits the EU.
Should that happen, British businesses
(particularly entrepreneurs and small and
medium enterprises) will find themselves
once again to be at a significant
competitive disadvantage in an
increasingly competitive global arena.
Jane Lambert is a barrister
practising intellectual property,
technology, media and antitrust law
from 4-5 Gray's Inn Square. She
specialises in advising and assisting
startups and other small and
medium enterprises on protecting
and exploiting their investment in
branding, design, technology and
creativity. They often require a
different approach from that taken
by larger businesses and
organisations. She has appeared in
several important IP and technology
cases and is an accredited arbitrator
and mediator sitting on the WIPO
arbitration, mediation and domain
name panels. She blogs at
http://nipclaw.blogspot.com and has
published several books and articles
on IP.
theOpinion
Summer 2017 41
The Economics Of Innovation
Kristin Schreiber of the European Commission tells us about the different support instruments the EU provides to innovative startups and SMEs
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Innovative startups and SMEs are essential
for the creation of growth and jobs in
Europe. They play a key role in fostering
innovation and are able to market new
products quickly and adapt easily to the
needs of their customers. European
industry needs advanced technologies and
business models to improve
competitiveness in all industrial sectors,
both in traditional sectors and emerging
industries. However, despite the potential
benefits of new technologies for
manufacturing, adoption by the industry is
not a simple matter. Success in the fourth
industrial revolution requires that our
industry uses the best available
technologies and revises traditional
business models.
Europe relies on the performance of
innovative companies. However, the
backbone of our economy are those SMEs,
companies with less than 250 employees,
often with traditional business models,
who account for 99 percent of the total
number of companies in EU, for 67 percent
of people employed and 57 percent of the
total value added.
Money talk
To allow innovative, as well as more
traditional, startups and SMEs to flourish in
the EU, both policy makers and businesses
need to act. Companies must broaden their
understanding of innovation and enhance
their management practices. Policy makers
need to ensure more consistent policy
frameworks in areas critical to innovation,
support cooperation across new industrial
value chains taking root across Europe,
reduce market fragmentation and ensure
funding.
The latter is of particular relevance to
policy makers. In Europe, startups and
SMEs still have problems accessing
various forms of finance. Financing gaps
exist, though the situation is improving.
Bank lending is the most common source
of finance for European SMEs. According
to the latest SME Access to Finance Survey
conducted by the European Commission
and the European Central Bank, credit lines
are the most relevant source of finance for
55 percent of SMEs, followed by bank
loans (50 percent). However, 20 percent of
the SMEs who applied for bank financing
did not receive the financing they had
planned for. This number varies strongly
across countries: with the biggest
problems in Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania and
the Netherlands.
Though there is little variation between
the proportion of SMEs applying for bank
loans across sectors of industry, there is a
strong correlation between enterprise size
and the degree of application success: the
smaller the enterprise, the higher its
chance of not getting a loan. This situation
naturally raises concerns on a startup’s
ability to raise finance in the EU.
On the up side, one should recall that
there are plenty of alternatives to
traditional bank lending for startups and
SMEs seeking finance in the EU. Depending
on the size of the investment and the stage
of a company's growth, money can be
raised through family and friends,
crowdfunding, business angels, venture
capital, and listing on a stock exchange.
Equity is an important source of finance,
and in particular venture capital. However,
it is taken up by only a minority of startups
and SMEs. On average only 13 percent of
European SMEs consider equity financing
as their preferred source. This is not only a
demand-side issue: in some EU countries,
equity financing is less available than in
On the up side,
one should recall that
there are plenty of
alternatives to
traditional bank
lending for startups
and SMEs seeking
finance in the EU
“
thePolicy
Summer 2017 43
COSME Programme• Guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises for loans mainly up to €150,000
• Equity (growth and expansion stage)
InnovFin Programme (H2020)• Loans and guarantees to innovative businesses
• Financing of research and development projects
• Equity (early or startup phase)
SME Instrument• Offers funding and coaching support to innovative SMEs (Phase 1: Concept & Feasibility,
Phase 2: Demonstration, Market Replication and R&D, Phase 3: Commercialisation)
Creative Europe• Loans to small and medium sized enterprises in the cultural and creative sectors.
Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI)• Micro-loans up to €25,000 to micro-enterprises and to vulnerable persons who wish to set
up or develop a micro-company
• Investments up to €500,000 to social enterprises
European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund• Business Loans, micro-finance, guarantees and venture capital
European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI funds)• Loans, guarantees, equity finance or business grants. Support is provided from
multi-annual programmes co-financed by the EU.
cent
rally
man
aged
(at E
U le
vel)
man
aged
at
loca
l lev
el
mainly guarantees,
loans and equity
mainly
grants
mainly loans and
investments
EU Startup and SME Funding Opportunities
investments into risk capital funds which in
turn provide equity financing to SMEs in
their growth and expansion stage. Both
instruments complement those available
under the Horizon 2020 InnovFin
programme, which are dedicated mainly to
innovative SMEs and small mid-caps. And
more financial instruments are available to
European companies thanks to the EU (for
more details, see box below). Among
those, the SME Window of the European
Fund for Strategic Investments (part of the
so called 'Juncker Plan') contains debt and
equity financial instruments which
complement those available under COSME
and InnovFin. Most of the EU financial
instruments are implemented by the
European Investment Bank group on behalf
of the European Commission, and
deployed via local financial intermediaries
who support companies at local level e.g.
via traditional bank loans. A
comprehensive list of all the intermediaries
A share of the EU budget is dedicated to
programmes and instruments supporting
innovative startups and SMEs. Within the
programming period 2014-2020, the
Commission has put in place the COSME
programme which supports the
achievement of various objectives,
including better access to finance and
access to markets for SMEs and
entrepreneurship, and more favourable
conditions for business creation and
growth.
To improve SMEs' access to finance,
COSME uses financial instruments in the
form of a risk-sharing mechanism and an
equity instrument which are solely
available for SMEs. The Loan Guarantee
Facility mainly provides guarantees to
financial intermediaries for lending to
riskier SMEs (transactions which financial
intermediaries would not be prepared to do
if they had to bear the risk alone). The
Equity Facility for Growth focuses on
others. Around 90 percent of the EU
venture capital investment is concentrated
in only eight EU Member States, and public
markets are also not fully developed.
In comparison to the United States,
Europe's economy is about the same size,
but our equity markets are less than half
the size. In the US, SMEs get about five
times as much funding from the capital
markets – or non-bank financing - as they
do in the EU. If European venture capital
markets were as developed as their US
counterparts, companies could have raised
an additional €90 billion over the past five
years.
Cash injection
The European Commission is committed
to solving these issues and has put in
place a set of different policies varying
from financial instruments, regulatory tools
to ‘soft’ power.
thePolicy
Kristin Schreiber is the Director in charge of the COSME Programme (fostering the
competitiveness of European SME's) as well as SME, startup and scale up policy in DG GROW,
the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME's of the European Commission.
She studied International Relations, Economics and European Law at the Institut d'Etudes
Politiques in Paris, the University of Kent at Canterbury and the College of Europe in Bruges. She
worked as a Graduate Lecturer at the University of Kent in Canterbury and a researcher on the
Single Market in Bonn, before joining the European Commission in 1990 where she held a variety of positions. Kristin was appointed
to her current position in 2015 after serving as Director for Governance of the Single Market and International Affairs. Previously,
she was Head of Cabinet of Employment Commissioner, Vladimir Špidla, Deputy Head of Cabinet of Internal Market Commissioner,
Michel Barnier and member of the Cabinets of Enlargement Commissioner, Günter Verheugen and Competition Commissioner,
Karel Van Miert. She also served as Head of Unit for International Affairs in the DG for Employment and Social Affairs. Kristin
speaks German, French, English and Spanish, some Italian, and has some knowledge of Czech and Slovak, as well.
supported by these and other EU financial
instruments is available at
www.access2finance.eu.
In addition, the EU is highly committed to
supporting R&D: the Horizon 2020
programme provides funding that spans
the innovation cycle, from lab to market. It
promotes SME participation across the
board: almost €9 billion of the budget of
Horizon 2020 is to support SME
innovation. A substantial amount is
reserved for a dedicated SME Instrument
that supports innovative business ideas
with the potential to shape new markets.
SMEs can undertake their innovation
projects alone or with clients, suppliers or
other partners according to the needs of
their business development plan. The SME
instrument is mainly a grant and is
substantially different from a loan. The
latter is generally provided by a bank and
has to be repaid with interest by the
company, while the former is often
provided by a public administration, e.g.
through a public call, and sometimes does
not have to be repaid fully, or only in part.
For the first time, the grant support from
the SME Instrument is complemented by a
range of services from enhancing
innovation management skills, to
accessing overseas markets and investors
to finance growth.
Support structures
However, if we want to have a durable
impact on economic conditions in Europe,
then we need more structural change. We
have to improve the investment
environment, especially for SMEs.
Therefore, the Commission is addressing
barriers to investment, notably through
initiatives to develop a Capital Markets
Union, to further deepen the Single Market
for goods and services, to create a Digital
Single Market, and to improve the Single
Market in transport and energy. In parallel,
the Better Regulation agenda of the
Commission seeks to simplify the legal
framework and to reduce regulatory burden
across the Single Market.
In addition, last year, the Commission
launched a Startup and Scale-up Initiative
to address the specific issues of startups
in the Single Market. It recognises that only
a few high-growth companies create most
of the jobs and growth in Europe. It is
estimated that between three and six
percent of businesses with ten or more
employees are high-growth companies
creating between a third and a half of the
jobs on our continent. Within the Initiative,
the Commission has put forward a
comprehensive package of measures
aimed at removing barriers, creating
opportunities and improving access to
finance for startups.
One major measure is the creation of a
pan-European VC Fund-of-Funds, to attract
more private capital back to venture
capital. Moreover, the Startup Europe
initiative will be reinforced, to strengthen
the business environment for web and ICT
entrepreneurs so that their ideas and
business can start and grow in the EU.
And more
And there is more: in an economy like ours
so dependent on bank financing, the ability
for SMEs to tap into capital markets is
essential and will be more and more
important in the coming years. As part of
the Commission's priority to boost jobs,
growth and investment across the EU, the
Capital Markets Union initiative was
launched by the Commission in 2015. The
initiative offers an opportunity for Europe
to widen access to new channels of
funding, in other words an opportunity to
finance the real economy and economic
growth.
Improving the financing landscape for
innovative startups and SMEs is a
necessary condition for a prosperous
European economy. Through efforts
undertaken by the EU, jointly with Member
States, we believe that we will support
growth and job creation, and enable Europe
to fulfil its economic potential.
Ele
na A
braz
hevi
ch/S
hutt
erst
ock.
com
Summer 2017 45
thePolicy
theFeature
The Numbers
GameGiordano Dichter tells us why the numbers and
statistics need to involve the human component and how it can be done
Summer 201746
theFeature
In June 2016, EBN published its annual
Impact Report. This report, which can be
downloaded from the EBN website
(ebn.eu/impact), contains facts and figures
coming from the annual survey that we
undertake, primarily, to assess the
compliance of the EU|BICs (the full
members of EBN) to the EU|BIC Quality
Mark Criteria. The effort to produce this
publication, from data collection to editing,
spans a good six months, going through
validation, aggregation, statistical analysis,
interpretation of the data, to design... and
the effort is not inconsiderable. Usually
once the document is printed and ready
one imagines it is all over and the subject
can be shelved for another six months.
Digital Genetics/Shutterstock.com
Summer 2017 47
This year, though things are different.
What changed? Well, the first thing that
changed (and not suddenly, but through a
long dedicated process) has been EBN’s
approach to quality assurance itself. We
have been obsessed with numbers and key
performance indicators (KPIs) for a long
time. Numbers have been primarily what
has driven us in the selection of the best-
performing EU|BICs. Percentages, mean
values, medians, shares were the main
ingredients whilst preparing the list of
those EU|BICs that would undergo an audit.
The truth of numbers
But, being trapped in this ‘numbers game’
is a risky business. Focussing solely on
numbers has indeed led us to a point
where we were unable to grasp the full
picture. And the full picture is definitely
more complex, with a set of qualitative
nuances that need to be taken into account
when assessing the true impact of a
network such as ours. It is definitely too
easy (and often too far-fetched) to simply
judge an organisation as ‘not compliant’
because it falls short in the value of the
KPIs when compared to the mean or
median values of its peers in a given year.
Without the qualitative component you
would take uninformed decisions based on
just one of the many components of the
story.
The matter is not a trivial one, as it might
affect the economic growth of a region and
might impact the well-being of society at
large. For example, we can see from the
impact report, that on average each EU|BIC
in 2015 has had a deal-flow (from enquiry
to startup) that led to the creation of 32
startups. As for any data series there are
outliers in both senses. At first sight we
would be tempted to say that some
EU|BICs have done way better than others.
However, without a clear vision of the
nature of the startups we would not have a
clear understanding of the real situation
and decisions might be taken that could be
regretted. And beware, it is not just a
quality-assurance matter (trademark or
not). It is mostly a matter of policies, of
funding, of providing the adequate
information to stakeholders who, if not
impressed by the numbers, might decide to
quit supporting the incubation industry all
together. And who knows what really high-
impact innovations might never see the
light of day because of this.
The matter indeed is not a trivial one. It is
easier to ‘sell’ an incubator that launches
50 startups than one that supports five…
Yes, of course, but what if in those five
there is a startup that will solve a real
global challenge? And what if in the 50
there are just 50 new irrelevant apps on the
iPhone store that will not have any real
impact on the world?
As a general rule, quantity needs to go
hand-in-hand with quality. Therefore a
quantitative approach needs to be
accompanied by a qualitative one. EBN has
gone through this paradigm shift in the
recent years and, of course, as a result,
things got more complicated and less
linear, but definitely more interesting.
The human factor
Last year’s impact report, albeit not
disregarding the quantitative results,
shows innovators for what they are, and
not for what they are wrongfully often seen
as: innovators are often just that, not just
indicators.
Innovators, obviously, do have a human
component. While this is fundamentally
true, unfortunately, while concentrating on
impact measurement, we have a certain
tendency to forget this. The hatching eggs
in the EU|BIC infographics show us that, on
average, an EU|BIC will need to assess 572
business ideas to deliver 28.8 sound
startups (already discounting the 90
percent survival rate). From a purely
quantitative perspective this means that
there is a conversion factor from idea to
startup of five percent. Taken alone, this
figure can be conducive to different
contrasting decisions. Some could
perceive the five percent conversion rate as
being too low, therefore requiring
immediate action to reshuffle incubation
programmes or cancel them altogether.
Some could be willing to be more risk-
taking for which it may be viable to
sacrifice such a high sustainability rate in
order to get more companies up and
EU|BIC2016
INCUBATING INNOVATION
IMPACT REPORTACCELERATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
www.ebn.eu/impact
There is still
much to do, but we
couldn’t have
achieved what we
have achieved today
without an active
community of
EU|BICs ready to
share their narrative
“
theFeature
Summer 201748
running. Others may be more conservative
and prefer to keep things safe and are
happy enough to know that those
companies that have been started up will
remain in the region without creating great
distress and economic turmoil due to a
larger amount of future failures and
foreclosures. However, whatever the
decision taken, it would be a flawed
decision, as it would be purely based on a
quantitative analysis. It wouldn’t take into
account the (human) innovators, the
innovations and the intrinsic value they
represent and bring forward.
Analysts who spend many hours
crunching numbers trying to make
something sensible out of them, are
inevitably struck by waves of frustration
when they realise that the innovation and
the human factor, which is mostly
unpredictable, come in to scramble the
hard-earned results of a serious
quantitative research. But ignoring the
problem is not the solution, and at EBN we
had to (and still have to) find ways to cope
with this complexity. The best way to
approach what appeared, initially, to be an
insurmountable problem, seemed to be to
rely on the EU|BIC community itself. EBN
indeed is a community of over 150 certified
EU|BICs that occupy prestigious positions
in the innovation ecosystems at all levels,
and have been doing so for over 33 years.
The community is made of EU|BICs which
are in turn made of respected
professionals that know each other and
have worked with each other for long
periods of time, in part facilitated by the
existence of the network itself. If we hadn’t
been able to rely on the community, we
surely would have a had a much larger
problem than we initially envisaged.
Community task force
We rightly assumed that a well-networked
community would be the perfect ground
for qualitative benchmarking. The
quantitative benchmarking reports that
each EU|BIC receives every year could be
done sitting behind our solitary desks. But
to incorporate the qualitative aspect we
needed to blend our desk work with a
purpose-built networking action, where
trusted EU|BICs (the trademark helps build
trust), would tell the full story.
The matter is
not a trivial one, as it
might affect the
economic growth of
a region and might
impact the well-being
of society at large
“
Scanrail1/Shutterstock.com
theFeature
Summer 2017 49
An expert in incubation and acceleration and a networker by passion, Giordano Dichter has been working the last
20 years on private sector development, startup and SME support issues around the globe. He is now Head of
Membership Development at EBN and responsible for the EU|BIC certification and quality process, which he has
developed to a fully-fledged report and benchmarking service aiming at enhancing continuous improvement in
the innovation-based incubation industry.
A properly built suitable networking
action, of course, takes time and efforts to
create. From our end it required the
amendment of our EU|BIC questionnaire,
where we incorporated a qualitative section
where the EU|BICs could detail innovation,
startups and practices. It required the
creation of a specific annual event, the EBN
TechCamp, where incubation and
acceleration practices, methods and tools
are described, shared and put to test. It
required opening up the current impact
report to real stories, of real innovators
supported by our members. There is still
much to do, but we couldn’t have achieved
what we have achieved today without the
active community of EU|BICs ready to
share their narrative.
Lessons and learning
We have learned much from this activity,
however the most valuable lessons were
two. The first one became abundantly clear
when enlarging the scope of our zoom.
Less focus on the direct KPIs, meant more
clarity on the side-effects, which was
clearly very important, as well, and
assumed significance as stand-alone
variables. The qualitative stories show us
the other side of the coin, which is much
heavier than the standard one we usually
look at. A five percent conversion rate
meant that 95 percent of the innovative
ideas do not pass the so-called pre-
incubation phase. Ideas that are incapable
of finding an adequate business model,
failing their proof of businesses. Ideas that
are not technologically viable, ideas that
could work with different teams, but fail to
get anywhere themselves because of
stubborn potential entrepreneurs... All this
hardly represents a failure as it is a strong
sign of dynamism, and of an EU|BIC’s
capacity to contribute to shaping the
much-needed entrepreneurial mindset.
How do we know this? Because we can
rely on a quantitative figure: to reach the
figure of 572 innovations assessed, each
EU|BIC has been through a massive
amount of lead-generating activities (check
figure 21 of the impact report for proof of
this). We know this because our EU|BIC
staff members come to us with stories of
innovators who fail the pre-incubation
phase, and of how some come back with a
better knowledge of what needs to be
done, with clearer ideas. This qualitative
impact could not be assessed otherwise.
The second lesson that we learned is
that any quality system that aims at
measuring the impact of the innovation-
based incubation industry will be
imperfect. But this doesn’t mean that we
need to kill it altogether. It just means that
we need to manage it with serious
creativity, by conjugating the data
dimension, with qualitative networking
actions and with honest reflection of where
all this is bringing us. We, as a team, hope
that we are achieving this, to the best of
our knowledge and abilities, in partnership
with you.
MrG
arry
/Shu
tter
stoc
k.co
m
theFeature
Summer 201750
As often happens I have had a new
revelation about something I thought I fully
understood – using a coaching approach
to help client entrepreneurs.
There is an abundance of methods and
models we can employ to help people
transform ideas, grow businesses, and
ultimately better their lives and enhance
our communities. Effective business incu-
bators apply multiple techniques and use a
variety of tools to advise, mentor, train,
teach, counsel, consult, and coach clients.
Coaching, a term historically applied to
athletics, has been widely adopted in the
business world for decades. Business
coaching is a valuable addition to incubator
programmes. It helps build communication
and trust and allows us to assist clients
without having to be an expert in their
business fields. I do not have to know
construction or chemistry to help
entrepreneurs in those spheres. I simply
have to apply the key coaching principles:
ask good questions; listen actively; help the
client identify challenges and goals, break
those goals into small achievable steps,
hold the client accountable for them, and
give feedback and encouragement. But
when I encountered the use of coaching in
a new and unexpected setting, I gained a
deeper understanding of why it works and
what it means to the participants.
I recently visited a social services centre
that helps people in crisis in a large city. In
addition to meeting their immediate needs
for shelter, food or clothing, the centre
assists people with longer-term concerns
such as permanent housing, access to
education, health services, transportation
and job placement. A single mother who
has become homeless will benefit from
having immediate shelter, but to build a
better life she may need a better job which
may require new skills training. Such
solutions take time, perseverance and a
commitment to showing up and using the
centre’s services. In order to increase client
engagement and improve outcomes the
centre recently adopted a coaching model.
They began with a core principal of the
International Coaching Federation –
“Coaches honour the client as the expert in
Teach A ManTo Fish
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Marie Longserre looks at the principle of this adage applied to business coaching
Marie Longserre has been President/CEO of the Santa Fe
Business Incubator in New Mexico, USA since its launch in
1997. She was elected to two terms on the International
Business Innovation Association (InBIA) Board and was Board
Chair 2011-2012. She currently serves on the Federal Reserve
Bank 10th District's Community Development Advisory
Council, and is on the Board of the New Mexico Bio-Tech
Association. She has presented at global conferences on topics of business and
entrepreneurial development, non-profit management, and Board governance. She is a
certified Business Incubation Director, a GrowthWheel trainer, and business coach.
his or her life and work and believe every
client is creative, resourceful and whole.” It
is the job of the coach to skilfully help
people find answers and motivation. This
method embodies a belief that each
person can meet challenges and cultivate
opportunities, and only they know what is
best for them.
The road to success in life or business is
most often a steep climb requiring self-
discovery, dedication and ingenuity. The
centre’s coaching model, based on respect
and self-determination, has successfully
motivated more people to keep returning to
do the slow hard work of accomplishing
their goals and aspirations.
Like all human endeavours business
development is ultimately about people.
When people can learn to solve problems
creatively without looking to someone else
to tell them what to do, they will set higher
goals and achieve them. Coaching our
clients to develop those skills, to cultivate
their resourcefulness and imaginations, not
only helps them transform their ideas and
businesses, it transforms their lives.
theOpinion
Summer 2017 51
Putting Poland On The
Innovation Map
Raffaele Buompane shows us the innovation landscape of a country that is emerging as a leading player in the entrepreneurial arena
theSpotlight
Summer 201752
Over the last 20 years, Poland has
experienced a remarkable transformation
to become one of the wealthiest
economies in the EU. The country’s
financial accounts are expected to recover
from the contraction experienced in 2016
and to bring the national GDP growth from
2.7 percent to 3.2 percent, which is closer
to the 4.5 percent average level since 1995.
All this owes much to the level of
investments, which are steadily increasing,
and to the private consumption, which
remains one of its internal key drivers.
The political situation of Poland, (a
member of the EU since 2004, but not the
Eurozone) has partly protected this nation
from recent economic turbulences at the
continental level leaving the country free
from using adjustments on interest rates in
order to increase exports and improve its
financial growth. Furthermore, over the
period 2007-2013 a funding of
approximately €87 billion (€67 billion
Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund,
and €20 billion for agriculture and fishing)
have been injected into the Polish
economic landscape. Together with the
national contribution, which amounted to
approximately €18 billion, the country’s
total budget reached €108 billion; in
infrastructure networks (transport and
energy), SME competitiveness (research
and innovation), environmental protection
and low carbon economy, social inclusion
and labour market participation.
However, recent political decisions on
social and labour themes (like the lowering
of retirement age, the free tax allowances
and free medicines for elderly people or the
monthly child benefit of 500 zlotys (approx.
€119) are expected to create an increase in
the deficit of the national budget.
This favourable economic situation is
reflected at the entrepreneurial level by the
number of new companies and startups,
created over the last decade in the country.
The number of IPOs registered at the
Warsaw Stock Exchange is higher than any
other market in Europe. The country’s high
engineering and IT intellectual capacity, a
result of its excellent academic institutions,
played an important role in shaping this
landscape.
The indomitable spirit
Poland is a good example of a dynamic
economic ecosystem which presently
needs to organise and interconnect all
innovation stakeholders to more
proficiently face all the challenges and
opportunities that may arise in the future.
Certainly, historically it has not always
experienced the same levels of prosperity
and societal welfare, but the national spirit
always survived - it was divided seven
times among neighbours. Poland suffered
tremendous damages during World War II,
especially at the social level, losing not only
one-sixth of its total population, but also its
most young, active and educated citizens.
During the post-war years, the
communist-oriented governments national-
ised all remaining business activities
forcing the population to improvise and be
creative in establishing small commercial
activities. This was probably the period in
which networking became a common
practise among the people and a new
entrepreneurial spirit, based on private
initiative, took root.
This attitude, forged over years of
financial difficulties, saw society flourish
during democratic transition of the
nineties. Newly accessible foreign markets
opened to the expanding economy and
small businesses played the major role in
the import of goods into Poland. Differently
to other ex-communist countries, state
assets were not involved in the creation of
wealth, and a more typical western
business class composed by small
entrepreneurs later created small financial
empires, especially in the services sector
(telecom, insurance, pension funds).
Entrepreneurs certainly took advantage
of the initial period in which state
regulations were not as quickly written and
applied to growing businesses. At the
beginning of the new millennium,
bureaucracy fought back and as the Polish
market became more mature, most of the
previous favourable business opportunities
were no longer available. With the injection
of about €10 billion from the moment of
accession to the EU, Polish governments
certainly planned to not only promote
entrepreneurship, but also to better
mandate and administer the market. The
consequence of this was a quick, but
perhaps unbalanced, creation of a comp-
etitive startup industry in a fraction of the
time it took other western countries to
build similar ecosystems.
The innovation way
From the moment of its accession to the
EU, Poland has been continuously
implementing a series of economic and
social reforms which, over the period of a
decade, transformed its economic
landscape and put the country’s index on
par with EU standards, making Poland one
of the most advanced states in the
continent.
Poland has been continuously implementing a
series of economic and social reforms which, over
the period of a decade, transformed its economic
landscape
“
theSpotlight
Summer 2017 53
theSpotlight
innovative conception of creation,
production and commercialisation of
products, processes and services. None of
which can replicate or mimic the ones
already present in international markets
but represent new and original offers and
opportunities.
What should we expect for the future of the Polish innovation ecosystem?
All scenario analysis by economic
institutions and organisations at the
continental level show a possible future
progression of the Polish start-up
ecosystem, but critical points need to be
addressed in the short term.
As the evolution of an existing innovation
ecosystem depends on a combination of
factors connected to local capacity and
international connections, it is vital for
Poland not to concentrate on
differentiation of its entrepreneurial offer,
but to focus on industrial complementarity
to other important global innovation hubs.
Outward-looking Polish companies, which
have been operating in a safe internal
environment, must be aware that they will
face fierce competition and that their
weapons to win would be original
innovation and brilliant entrepreneurship
capabilities.
aggregation centre for all entrepreneurs,
especially young ones.
Eventually, and in a more simplified way,
it is possible to categorise Krakow as more
technology centred (EBN’s member
Kraków Technology Park is a good
example) and Warsaw, as more business
oriented.
Innovation and human capital
Without doubt, human resources represent
an essential component of an innovation
ecosystem and a clear driving factor for
innovation. In Poland, as in many other
countries, the success of startups is clearly
connected to the level of technical
academic institutions preparing future
entrepreneurs for their access to the
business world. To this aim, Poland may
well be considered as one of the best
examples in developing engineers and
PhDs on a mass scale when compared to
the EU average.
Additionally, what appears immediately
clear is that human capital, on a whole, is
quite well used in Poland. Furthermore, it is
often the case that other European
countries pick skilled workers from this
country whenever possible to outsource
jobs. In contrast to the rest of the
continent, Poland enjoys a majority of
young, dynamic potential entrepreneurs
with no fear of falling and, on the contrary,
ready and prepared to stand up again. The
mediocre attractiveness of a secure
monthly paycheck is not that important
among the younger set in Poland, and this
sets a good tone for entrepreneurship to
succeed.
A brand new innovation vision
With the realisation that past public
subvention of the private sector for
improving innovation did not work as
efficiently as expected, recent Polish
governments have been exploring new
opportunities to better utilise these funds.
Transforming the country’s vision of
innovation while scaling up in global
ranking is a serious and engaging task,
which includes a general re-shifting of the
internal economy towards an unedited
Despite this rapid and successful
progression, however, it still faces some
specific challenges in terms of
improvement of innovation and an increase
of R&D public spending. Until recently, the
government showed a high level of interest
in this arena, taking measures to rectify
previous incongruences. Several financial
tools have been deployed by the state to
upgrade academic infrastructure and to
encourage research with the aim of
creating new bursts of innovation all over
the territory and to facilitate new
entrepreneurs to create international
connections, beneficial to the entire
national innovation ecosystem.
New strategies, fine-tuned to present
international conditions, have been
discussed and, in some cases, adopted,
aiming specifically at ensuring an overall
efficacy of new and existing initiatives that
foster innovation.
Geographical dispersion and innovation
Despite the fact that the innovation
ecosystem in Poland is quite varied across
its different cities (the two leading centres
in the country are Krakow and Warsaw),
one finds that smaller cities like Poznań,
Wrocław or Gdańsk play an important role.
Depending on the location where an
entrepreneur is operating, different
approaches are possible. Networking and a
close level of interaction is registered in
more compact geographical realities like
Krakow or smaller centres, where leaders
in these communities effectively support
each other. Thanks to this, innovation
communities in these areas are passing
from an initial stage of ‘ideas generation’ to
a following stage, where several
companies profitably project themselves
into the market. In Warsaw, the size of the
city and the dispersion of its innovation
kernels over a larger area makes contacts
and interactions relatively more difficult.
The opening of a Google Campus in the
Praga district of the city in 2015, with a
coworking space, various event areas
(campus café, main space, etc.), and even
residency, seems to have partially solved
this uneven distribution, creating an
Summer 201754
theSpotlight
On the other hand, the evident potential
of the innovation ecosystem in the country
is clearly an expression of an
entrepreneurial class with stimulating
ideas and a strong innovative mindset. Yet
an improved level of communication and
cooperation among innovation
stakeholders in the various regions
(voivodships) seems to be necessary for
them to more efficiently access foreign
markets, to benefit from improved
industrial practises and more updated
innovation models. Central and local
governments, as well as corporations and
Bibliography
• European Economic Forecast –
Institutional Paper 048 –
February 2017
• European Structural and
Investment Funds: Country fact
sheet – Poland
• The Global Innovation Index
2016
• Eurostat – Innovation Statistics
– March 2017
local entrepreneurs have to play an
essential role in this evolution in order to
make Poland ready for future economic
challenges.
To this aim, a more effective inclusion of
them into an EU system facilitating
innovation stakeholders, like the EU|BIC
EBN ecosystem, are a vital and beneficial
step towards a better organisation of all
internal innovation structures, as well as
representative of a clear element of
progress towards more factual integration
at the continental level. With these
measures, Poland will continue to grow…
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• Highly educated workforce
• Technical education (engineering)
• Life sciences
• Cost of education not so expensive compared to other
leading economies
• Workforce conversant in English
• Low cost of living
• Lower cost of doing business
• Favourable political support
• Psychological aversion against communist models gears
towards a more modern entrepreneurial culture
• Need for progress is clear from its leadership and younger
generation
• Lack of policy infrastructure
• Consistent IP policy at national level missing
• Homogeneous use of IP rights at national level missing
• Not enough understanding of national and international
patent systems
• Insufficient technical transfer
• Technical transfer training in university mostly missing
• Technical transfer training is needed
• More transnational funding needed
• Professional training for entrepreneurs mostly missing and
strongly needed
• Governmental seed funding not sufficient to cover the
request coming from the entrepreneurial class
• Insufficient links between public and private sector in terms
of innovative and ‘visionary’ joint initiatives
• The support to entrepreneurship is still lacking a common
qualitative standard like the EU|BIC certification
• Economic support available
• Numerous investors ready to commit capital in the
country
• Government spending also focused on development of
economic infrastructures
• Entrepreneurial class ready to evolve and step up their
activities for financial improvement
• Local entrepreneurs already operating successfully and
globally, starting new businesses in the country, with local
workforce and technologies
• Young population already educated to assume calculated
entrepreneurial risks could be better enabled with the
creation of more specific certified support structures like
EU|BICs
• Focus on entrepreneurial differentiation keeps on being
prominent as complementarity can yield higher rewards
• The coordination among stakeholders in the various regions
of the country remains insufficient
• Entrepreneurial learning curve still too flat due to
insufficiency in technical transfer training
• The present level of IP use may represent a factor of
weaknesses of the Polish ecosystem when facing
competitors or creating synergies at continental and global
level
• The links between public and private initiative will maintain
their present incoherent relationship
• The present situation concerning support to
entrepreneurship will continue missing a specific standard
respecting qualitative criteria like the EU|BIC ones
Summer 2017 55
theSpotlight
startups to cooperate with big, well-
established and international corporates
thanks to numerous acceleration
programmes being currently implemented
in Poland.
Can you think of some specific advice for
improving the evolution of the startup
ecosystem in Poland?
We should be aware of the benefits of
international cooperation in the ecosystem
of startups in Poland and not to limit
ourselves to the domestic market. We
operate in the European Union, so
competition, technology and market needs
should be directed to the European market.
The need for cooperation between science
and business, on a European scale, is one
of the main goals in building a more
effective ecosystem.
Can you mention some particular good
examples of entrepreneurship.
There are several companies worthy of
mention. Brainly: It's a place where
students ask questions about specific
issues and receive answers from other
students or experts in the specific field.
Booksy: a tool for service businesses and
their customers that allows people to
quickly and easily subscribe to the
calendar. Livechat: a tool created by the
Polish company which is used to
communicate between the owner of the
website and the people who visit it.
Brand24: which is used to monitor the
internet and social media. This allows
people to react quickly to their business
listing, as well as in-depth market research
and customer behaviour. Estimate
produces beacons, or sensors for precise
geolocation, mainly in rooms. Growbots is
a tool for automating the sales process, the
so-called ‘lead generation’. Dice+ is the
producer of an electronic game die that
allows the user to play board games on a
digital platform. The dice contains
software dedicated to iPad devices and
works via Bluetooth. There’s Legimi, one of
the first internet services in the world
offering eBooks on a subscription basis.
Jak dojade, a modern urban transport
connection browser aims at facilitating
travel around the city.
researchers and entrepreneurs who are
eager to learn how to build successful
business models based on international
networks and their technology. Our
startups want to cooperate with inter-
national companies and institutions to
develop products and technologies.
Startups need knowledge on how to
protect their solutions in the global market
and how to find European partners.
What are some of the similarities and
differences between the startup
ecosystems in Europe and in Poland?
There are no major differences between
European and Polish startups, perhaps only
in the confidence levels. Some Polish
startups, especially those representing
Generation X, may put mental limitations
on their own businesses, therefore missing
major business opportunities. So the only
difference is that startups from Western
Europe are more open to different business
cultures and therefore find it easier to build
relationships.
How can Poland leverage its international
relationships?
Polish startups have a strong research and
scientific background, but to achieve
business goals there is a need for a
science and business partnership (at least
at the European level). Business support
institutions should facilitate the
establishment of such relationships.
Incorporating this process with investors
and businesses will enable them to
develop solutions they need and deliver on
business goals.
What should we expect for the future of
the Polish startup ecosystem?
Polish startups should cooperate more
frequently and compete more effectively
on the European market. Increasingly, there
are international consortia consisting of
entrepreneurs, universities and business
support institutions (including science and
technology parks). This builds the base for
more efficient technology transfer at the
European level, better access to well-
qualified professionals (programmers,
chemists, engineers) and other technology
providers. We shall also expect the
The innovation ecosystem
In conversation with Piotr Nędzewicz,
Maciej Nowak and Ewa Kocińska of Poznan
Science and Technology Park.
What do you think is driving innovation in
Poland?
VC with high risk capital, startup and big
companies cooperation programmes,
acceleration programmes with involvement
of big hi-tech companies, scale-up
initiatives are helping change the
innovation landscape here. National
subsidies as innovation support is one of
the key aspects of the current Strategy for
the Responsible Development elaborated
by the Polish Ministry for Development.
Certainly, best European practices serve as
inspiration.
How is human capital contributing to the
success of Polish startups?
Multidisciplinarity is crucial: a comple-
mentary team consisting of people who
know the technology and who are able to
promote and sell it. We know cases of
companies that can build a good product,
but to be active on the market they must
be able to build good relationships and
provide revenues. A good case for high-
tech startups is the relationship between
the researcher and the sales team which is
usually quite difficult to achieve.
Give us an idea of the international
landscape when focusing on Polish
startups and entrepreneurs.
They take advantage of the networks (e.g.
Enterprise Europe Network) and
successfully apply these to SME
instrument (Horizon 2020). They provide a
strong technology base (programmers,
scientists, engineers) and they cooperate
with international companies in this field.
Some startups present a global
perspective, when modelling and launching
their businesses (e.g. targeting
international markets or attracting foreign
specialists).
How can Poland benefit from looking at
international innovation and processes?
Poland can provide well-educated
Summer 201756
Last year the Polish government
announced the Start In Poland
programme with a budget of
approximately €708 million to support
startups. The first operational project of
this programme is Scale UP – a support
mechanism for accelerators that aims to
help startups grow and simultaneously
invigorate their cooperation with big,
experienced companies. Krakow
Technology Park is an operator of the KPT
ScaleUp accelerator dedicated to startups
working on innovations for industry and
smart cities. Its primary goal is
implementation of innovative products
and services in large businesses. For
startups it’s a unique opportunity to
attract referential clients; for corporations
it is early access to innovation and
strengthening internal innovation teams.
Startups get an equity free €50k grant,
comprehensive mentoring and
competence training. The aim is to
support 24 young companies in a single
year.
Written by Krzysztof Krzysztofiak.
The Kraków Technology Park (KTP) has
supported the development of new
technologies for nearly 20 years now.
Worth mentioning among the number of
initiatives that the KTP has designed with
innovative businesses in mind are as
follows: Digital Dragons – the annual B2B
conference for the video games sector and
the KPT Scale-Up – the new enterprise
accelerator.
During the Digital Dragons 2017
conference (held annually by KTP), indep-
endent game developers will compete for
the fourth time for the title of Best Indie
Game at the Indie Showcase contest. In
2016, 911 Operator by Jutsu Games
impressed the jury of gamedev veterans
and industry specialists, and won the main
Indie Showcase prize. The victorious
project went on to achieve further success
globally with more then 50,000 copies sold
globally. Notably, the first mention of the
game that most of the public came across
was either a part of Digital Dragons media
coverage, or the conference’s official social
media channels.
KTP kicks off
A view of the innovation ecosystem in
the Krakow Technology Park.
In the first two decades following the
1989 collapse of communism in Poland,
quick economic development was
possible thanks to the exploitation of
simple growth factors, including the
available resources of cheap labour, a
large internal market, and an inflow of
external capital (through foreign direct
investments). At the time, innovation in
the Polish economy was of a derivative
nature: new technologies, as well as new
ways of organising production, emerged
with the arrival of Western capital. The
progress observed in the innovation of
Polish economy, which was expressed in
the high increase of productivity and
labour intensity, was therefore a result of
the ‘imitative diffusion’. At this time the
simple resources used in the past have
nearly been depleted: unemployment
dropped below the EU average, and the
stream of inflowing foreign investment
was set at approximately $10 billion a
year and ceased to be a key factor in
increasing the level of innovation in the
whole economy.
What could be done to avoid the so-
called middle-income trap, and ensure
economic development, relied on creation
rather than imitation? A remedy against
the threat of stagnation existed in a
dynamic development of
entrepreneurship based on small and
medium-sized innovative businesses
whose chief initial resource are
exceptionally well-educated young people
living in cities. Many startups therefore
looked for a reference point in the global
market in academic centres such as
Warsaw, Kraków, and Wrocław.
theSpotlight
Raffaele Buompane has been cooperating with EBN since 2007 acting mainly as Senior Advisor and Project
Manager and representing the organisation in several events all over Europe and beyond. With more than 20
years of multifaceted experience in particular in the fields of Intellectual Property, Strategic Management and
Public Relationships, he has a legal and economic academic background holding a PhD in Economics, a Master
in International Political Sciences and a Master in Geopolitics. He also attended an MBA course at Imperial
College in London.
Summer 2017 57
New Beginnings
Obrigado, José de Almeida Martins
After 20 years of devoted and passionate
service to the Portuguese entrepreneurial
community, Director General of NET - BIC
Porto and President of BICS – Portuguese
BICS Network, José de Almeida Martins,
retired in September last year.
José holds a Graduate degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the
Engineering Faculty of Porto University
(1976), and a post-graduate degree in Full
Management from CIFAG. At EBN, he
served as an accredited evaluator and a
board member representing Portuguese
EU|BICs between 2014 and 2016.
He is also an accredited trainer of
Education for Entrepreneurship and a
published author of papers on
entrepreneurship, innovation, creation of
technology-based companies, cooperation
and internationalisation.
During his career at NET - BIC Porto,
José coordinated the implementation of
several national and European projects on
cooperation, innovation and technology. He
also helped in developing and
implementing several projects for new
enterprises and SMEs. In 2012, NET- BIC
Porto received a prestigious award within
the EU|BIC community being named the
‘Best Soft Landing Incubator’.
For the past two years, José has also
served as an Editorial Board member of
i9magazine, a Portuguese-based magazine
on innovation.
During his
career at NET - BIC
Porto, José
coordinated the
implementation of
several national
and European
projects of
cooperation,
innovation and
technology
“
Upon his retirement, José expressed
deep gratitude to all the partners he
collaborated with over the years, and
expressed his satisfaction with his career
in entrepreneurship support. “During these
20, truly rewarding years of my
professional life, I had the opportunity to
serve this landmark institution in the North
of Portugal, nationally and abroad. I always
worked with a large group of
entrepreneurs, companies, economic and
innovative agents, institutions, with EBN
and its complement of full and associated
members who were very supportive of my
work in furthering NET’s mission.”
José has been an integral part of the
EBN community and his presence will be
missed.
EBN wishes luck and success to some of the family who have moved on after years of service and to others who have recently joined us
thePeople
Summer 201758
Opening and closing the Gate
After almost 14 years as a Managing
Director of Gate Garching, Dr Franz Glatz
decided to take up a management position
at WERK1, a coworking centre for digital
startups in Munich, which he had been
involved with since 2013. Christian
Heckermann took over as MD in his place,
and his enthusiasm and talents will
undoubtedly build on Franz’s successful
work in branding Gate Garching as one of
the leading incubators in the Bavarian
startup scene.
Dr. Franz Glatz holds an MSc in
Chemistry and a PhD in semiconductor
technology. From 2000 to 2002 he worked
as a senior consultant for the investment-
banking arm of a German bank and was on
the founding team of a VC company.
In 2002, he became Managing Director of
Gate Garching, and from 2007 onwards he
was active in several EU-funded projects,
and a key enabler in the first and only
media incubator in Germany, b-neun Media
& Technology Centre in Unterföhring. In
2010, Franz also joined EBN’s quality expert
group and became an EBN Board member,
representing the German EU|BICs. He is
currently also a lecturer at the Munich
University of applied science for innovation
management and methodology of idea
generation. His motto is, “Simple ideas are
usually the best.”
Christian Heckermann, the current
Managing Director of Gate Garching,
EU|BIC, based in Munich, was appointed as
the Managing Director in March last year.
Previously holding management positions
in sales, Christian has brought his expertise
in sales and marketing to Gate Garching,
with the aim to expand Gate Garching’s
network and opportunities and market it as
a high-tech startup centre. Ultimately, his
vision is to create a positive climate for
young entrepreneurs in Bavaria, making the
region one of the most attractive
innovation hubs in Europe.
After a business management degree in
Munich and Rotterdam, Christian
Heckemann initially worked as an equity
analyst in investment banking at
Bayerische Landesbank before switching
to a Munich startup company, where he
was responsible for the development and
distribution of capital market software.
Christian’s association with Gate
Garching started during that time:
and between 2010 and 2011, he
rented one of Gate Garching’s startup
centres to grow his own startup.
After an intermediate position as a
division manager with a Munich real
estate service provider, his passion
for startups and entrepreneurship
saw him return to Gate Garching: ”I
am thrilled by the dynamism of
startup companies and the wide
variety of ideas and business models,
I cannot imagine a more exciting job.”
Commenting on the new position,
Christian believes cooperation with
other key actors in Bavarian scene,
and with the tenants themselves, will
build Gate Garching’s brand as a
leader in the Munich scene. His vision
is to help as many young
entrepreneurs as possible who will
later be able to say: “We started at
the Gate, which was a very helpful
ecosystem and an important
milestone in our company history.”
We started at
the Gate, which was
a very helpful
ecosystem and an
important
milestone in our
company history
“
thePeople
Summer 2017 59
EY(e) on Bruno Wattenbergh
Bruno Wattenbergh, popularly known in
Brussels as ‘Mr Entrepreneurship’ for his
vital role in building the entrepreneurship
scene in the Brussels Region, joined EY, as
Senior Advisor in February this year.
With over 25 years of experience as a
business consultant, Bruno has had a
dynamic and varied career ranging from
business consulting, coaching, teaching, to
even starting his own reality show on
entrepreneurship. Additionally for the past
five years, Bruno has been sharing his
expertise on business and entre-
preneurship every morning on Bel RTL
radio in French-speaking Belgium.
He graduated from ICHEC and ULB in
Brussels, where he studied labour
sciences. In recent years he attended
programmes at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business
School (Advanced Management
Programme). He teaches an Entre-
preneurship and Strategy course as a part
of the MBA programme at Solvay Business
School in Brussels, where he also holds the
position of Academic Director for two
Advanced Master’s degree programmes in
Business Management.
Up until the end of last year, Bruno was
CEO at impulse.brussels, (previously
known as Agence Bruxelloise pour
l’Entreprise) founded by him in 2003, after
the merging of two public institutions
(Technopol & Ecobru). While acting as CEO,
Bruno set up many innovative initiatives to
support entrepreneurs in the region.
Besides specialising in SMEs and
entrepreneurship, Bruno also has
considerable expertise in re-engineering
and development of public institutions
supporting businesses, as well as strategic
management.
Shortly after joining EY, Bruno expressed
his excitement with his new position. “After
15 years in the public sector, I am looking
forward to a new challenge in the private
sector. What convinced me to take this
step is that, like me, the people of EY are
fired with a passion for innovation and
entrepreneurship. This is a crucial point for
me, because I am convinced that these are
two vital factors in enabling Belgian
companies to stay competitive.”
Source: EY website
He teaches an
Entrepreneurship
and Strategy
course as a part
of the MBA
programme at
Solvay Business
School in Brussels
“
thePeople
Summer 201760
Design’s Role In Innovation
Rozina Spinnoy emphasises why design in innovation is vital to creatingbetter solutions at the community level and beyond
Rozina Spinnoy champions the value of
design strategy and innovation, as an
approach to improving processes,
environments, businesses and com-
munities whilst advocating the benefits
of collaboration. She thrives on sharing
her creativity and tackling challenging
social and political systems and
traditions. A passionate entrepreneur,
Rozina is the Founder and Director of
the Belgium Design Council and
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Belgium, which is a non-profit
organisation, that promotes collab-
oration in communities between private,
public and civic society for socio-
economic growth. In her most recent
venture she contributed as a co-
organiser of the Civic Innovation
Network and the Creative Director for
Design2Style, a branding and interior
design agency.
Innovation - what does this mean to us in
practice?
This got me thinking about the design
process, creativity and the role individuals,
teams and networks have concerning
innovation. By definition we mean ‘doing
things differently’ equating with innovation,
rather than ‘doing things better’ equating to
adaptation. Over the last year I have been
looking at the variety of contexts this can
cover; from products, organisations,
institutions and cities. Also people within
organisations, who have an entrepreneurial
spirit with being defined as an
‘intrapreneur’ - someone who is an
innovator within an organisation.
At the Belgium Design Council (BDC) and
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Belgium, we looked at the combination of
design-led innovation and social
innovation/entrepreneurship along with
applying ‘design thinking’ methodologies in
creating or ‘designing’ our projects and
communities, for BIDs Belgium. We did this
by placing the customer first and being
‘user centric’, co-creating partnerships with
a variety of stakeholders - private
companies, public administration, civic
organisations - along with being inclusive
of citizens and taking a bottom-up
approach.
With an educational and professional
background stemming from design, it
became a positive ‘occupational hazard’ to
have this thread of design strategy as the
base line. I do believe creativity, and
innovation especially, are often team
efforts and go hand-in-hand. I believe some
of the most profoundly innovative people in
history had large groups of people working
with them, from Thomas Edison to Steve
Jobs. No doubt innovating within their own
hives of creativity-enabling environments.
Brussels has become a hive of
innovation and creativity over recent years.
The rise of grass-roots organisations in the
city, are now coming together in various
forms. The Civic Innovation Network (CIN)
is a Brussels-based lab to foster
unforeseen collaborations that can tackle
the systemic challenges of the city by
connecting people, projects and
communities. It was obvious for both the
BDC and BIDs Belgium, to contribute and
be one of the co-organisers of such a
network.
The achievements and successful
projects of EBN show the value of
collaboration and continuation to innovate.
What EBN is to business, CIN can aspire to
be for civic grass-roots organisations.
Brussels, is a starting block to build upon
while looking to other cities within Europe,
and perhaps beyond, connecting with
multi-level, cross-sector stakeholders.
The idea is to build collective frameworks
on CIN initiatives, gaining formal support
and momentum. At CIN we have 'Impact
Joint Ventures' or ‘IJV's’. Ventures that
address local and global challenges like
food surplus, whilst simultaneously
managing unused spaces and utilising
sustainable transport and delivery
systems.
Another IJV is the ‘Care in the
Community’ initiative, looking at a variety of
mental health challenges for vulnerable
and challenged children. It bridges the
creativity and technology skills gap along
with a bit of fun, with our ‘Analogue and
Digital’ project. Inclusivity and entre-
preneurship is vital for our communities
and future workforce.
CIN thrives on the creative opportunities
that co-creation and working on cross-
sector collaborations can bring with such
innovating and high-impact projects. I
believe this innovative approach is what
Brussels and other cities need to further
foster and stimulate socio-economic
growth across Europe.
If you feel motivated to know more and
want to know how you can get involved
with some high-impact projects, or wish
know more about how you can
successfully implement creative ideas
within your organisation, don't hesitate to
reach out via EBN or the CIN website.
theOpinion
Summer 2017 61
Budapest Enterprise Agency (EU|BIC) – Hungary
Established by the Municipality of Budapest, the agency focuses
primarily on innovative SME development and non-profit micro-
financing. Women and young entrepreneurs are the two main
target groups of the services of the BEA.
www.bvk.hu
New Generation Mindset (EU|BIC) - South Africa
NGM’s mission is to promote a new mindset towards economic
and social innovation, embracing the ‘act local – think global’
mindset, ensuring South African businesses are globally
competitive.
www.ngmindset.co.za
Science Park Graz (EU|BIC) - Austria
Home of European Space Agency's BIC in Austria, they support
technology-based startups in Graz and Styria. Their team
supports university graduates, students, researchers and
entrepreneurs from all fields by providing professional
counselling & coaching, infrastructure and financing during the
pre-startup phase.
www.sciencepark.at/en/
T-Hub (EU|BIC) - India
India’s largest and fastest-growing startup engine based on a
partnership between the government of Telengana and three
premier academic institutes – IIIT-H, ISB, and Nalsar.
Expertise: Fintech, Healthcare, Agritech, Smart Cities,
Transportation and Logistics, Sustainability and Social
Technology capturing Big Data, IOT, Analytics, Sensors, Cloud
and Mobility.
www.t-hub.co
Aerospace Valley - France
Created in 2005 and located in Toulouse, Aerospace Valley is the
most significant innovation cluster in France, with over 840
members from both the industry and the academia.
Expertise: aeronautics, space, embedded systems.
www.aerospace-valley.com/en
B-Hive - Belgium
A pan-European fintech initiative connecting major established
financial institutions, technology and knowledge providers, as
well as universities and business schools.
Expertise: IoT, AI, external innovation, growth company scaling,
regulation.
www.b-hive.eu
New ArrivalsA warm EBN welcome to the new members to our growing network
Baden-Württemberg: Connected e.V. - BWCON – Germany
A leading business initiative for the promotion of the high-tech
sectors in the region with offices in Stuttgart and Freiburg. They
connect more than 600 member companies and research
institutions.
Expertise: ICT, mobility, production, health care and energy.
www.bwcon.de
Business Region Goteborg – Sweden
A non-profit company representing the 13 municipalities of the
Göteborg region. They have developed a specific programme -
Expedition Forward – to support high-potential companies from
any sector to grow in international markets.
Expertise : internationalisation
www.businessregiongoteborg.se/en
Consorzio Arca - Italy
A consortium for the application of research and the creation of
innovative enterprises, working in partnership with the University
of Palermo and a private entrepreneurial group committed to
industrial research and technological transfer.
www.consorzioarca.it
Fondation pour l’Université de Lyon - FPUL - France
FPUL is the result of a partnership between actors from the
business world, the University of Lyon and stakeholders from the
public sector. The FPUL is very active as a founder member of
Lyon French Tech.
www.fondation-pour-universite-lyon.org
Gate 1 – France
Located in Grenoble, in the heart of the Rhône-Alpes region,
GATE 1 has become a resource centre for young innovative
companies. Launched in 2010, their acceleration programme
ACS+ offers startups of the region the best conditions to grow
rapidly and to access targeted markets. Since inception, they
have actively contributed to the creation of 200 companies.
www.gate1.fr
Innovation et Développement Economique Trois-Rivières-
IDETR - Canada
IDETR offers one-stop, front-line service to business people
through six strategic development hubs: metal processing and
equipment manufacturing, aeronautics, ICT, life sciences,
logistics and transportation, and telecommunications and
electronics.
www.idetr.com/fr
theMembers
Summer 201762
MTIYA - South Africa
MTIYA manages the National Gazelle programme, an
acceleration programme that provides support to SMEs with
growth potential in line with the country’s National Development
Plan.
Expertise: strategies and research for enterprise and skills
development, publishing.
www.mtiya.co.za
Paul Wurth InCub - Luxembourg
Paul Wurth InCub is devoted to developing successful
entrepreneurs in the Industrial Technologies sector, by providing
Paul Wurth’s international expertise and explore new market
opportunities together.
http://incub.co
Poznan Science & Technoloy Park - PSTP - Poland
Established within the Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation,
PSTP is Poland’s first centre of this kind. They initiated many
activities in the field of science and economy cooperation, and
development of new technologies. PSTP has gained recognition
as a leader of the science park community in Poland.
www.ppnt.poznan.pl
Technopole Brest-Iroise – France
A French Tech+ stamped organisation in West Brittany that
supports 200 members from the business community, research,
higher education and municipalities.
Expertise: maritime, digital, biotech
www.tech-brest-iroise.fr
WAGRALIM – Belgium
A cluster dedicated to the food industry, they support 130
enterprises and 50 laboratories and have developed partnerships
in Europe through the European Food Alliance and with Brazil,
Canada and South Korea.
Expertise: health-nutrition, industrial efficiency, organic packaging
and sustainable supply chains.
www.wagralim.be
WERK 1 - Germany
A leading digital incubator for startups based in Munich. They
have developed a specific acceleration programme for InsurTech
startups in partnership with famous insurance leaders such as
Allianz, ARAG, die Bayerische and Generali .
Expertise: Insurtech, acceleration.
www.werk1muenchen.de
theMembers
Summer 2017 63
An Open World
Philippe Vanrie looks at the relevance of open ways of thinking and doing business in an increasingly complex geopolitical context
Thinking out-of-the-box, acting out-of-the-
place! This might well be the baseline of
any networked organisations, or any open
and interacting communities, which have
deliberately been built on the power of
collective intelligence.
It is about intelligence!
And you may have recently observed that
a worrying proportion of our political
leaders are not exactly behaving as we
would expect or want. Instead there seems
to be much thinking inside-the-box; and an
assumption that closing doors (and
building walls) would eventually bring
better solutions to combat societal and
economic challenges.
Our theory, however, backed by massive
evidence and anchored in decades of field
experience, is the opposite one. Intelligence
is not only built by our individual cognitive
skills, but grows thanks to ideas and
experiences brought out by, and shared
with, others. These others being citizens
and business objects often living outside of
the village/the valley, working in different
ecosystems, active in another business
sector, adopting disruptive economic
models, inventing new organisational
patterns, reconnecting small and big
businesses (yes, we’re talking open
innovation), twinning public and private,
etc.
And guess what? This connected and
collective intelligence generates innovation,
competitiveness, welfare, and, more often
than not, happiness.
Our vision, fed by imagination and action,
is also nurtured by discovery - scientific
discovery, entrepreneurial discovery, and
territorial discovery. Geography is
everything. Next door (in other European
regions), or further afield in other
continents, adopting an open international
vision is a critical success factor, and can
make the difference. International
Networks (such as EBN and EUREKA) are
perfect examples of what can be done
when you combine the networked
community mode with the international
vision.
The power of the Open Eureka, Eurostars
and Global Stars concepts, and the bridges
created by EBN and its partners with the
new EU International Centres (NearUS,
ERICENA and CEBRABIC) are creating
virtuous connecting platforms between
European countries, and countries like the
US, Canada, Israel, India, China, South-
Korea, Japan, South Africa, Chile,
Argentina, etc.
Our strengths also rely on the effective
decentralised pattern of our networks,
irrigating the geographies throughout
place-based operational nodes, at regional
and local levels; think the EU|BICs of the
EBN network, and at national levels, the
national funding and innovation agencies
of the EUREKA network.
And yes, this enables thousands of
innovative startups, spin-offs, SMEs and
larger firms to grow, expand, and create
wealth, in multiple places, with multiple
partners, and multiple socio-economic
impacts.
Wishing you an inspiring journey across
our ecosystems’ geography and its
diversity.
Philippe Vanrie
Head of the EUREKA Secretariat
Former CEO of EBN
This connected and
collective intelligence
generates innovation,
competitiveness,
welfare, and, more often
than not, happiness
“
theLastword
64 Summer 2017
