S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: CRIAM
CRIAM is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Afonso Pinheiro, Biomedical Engineer and Researcher at CRIAM, to learn more about how they've grown this Portuguese medtech startup from a PhD research project to create a portable and fully automated device for blood testing, and their ambitions to make this technology accessible to patients and medical professionals around the world.
https://youtu.be/3ezuVn2cRV8?feature=shared
Hi Afonso! Tell us about CRIAM, the mission behind the business and the technology you’ve developed.
CRIAM — which stands for Chemical Reaction and Image Analysis for Mobility — was founded in 2016 at University of Minho, in Braga (Portugal). It started as a PhD thesis on blood grouping, while exploring different ways of using automation for emergency services to have a fully mobile, fast, and accurate way of testing a patient’s blood, anywhere.
The key ingredient is the ability to take this device anywhere, no cables required, and to have a fully automated test; while the reaction is taking place inside the device, the medical practitioners can be confident that their results will be as accurate as on the lab bench.
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
Our main objective with the S3E Charge accelerator is to get in contact with more funding opportunities so we can reach our final device requirements, while getting to know where our technology can be of most use in the EU. We're also excited about meeting upcoming startups and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, outside our field.
What are the key ambitions for CRIAM? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
In five years, I see our device and testing cartridges being fully optimised, ready for large-scale manufacturing, and a small set of units being used around the world to collect feedback on its usability. I also envision a broader portfolio of patents, and clinical trials, for infectious diseases of several kinds — from sexually-transmitted infections, like syphilis, to respiratory diseases, like tuberculosis, covid, and other inflammatory conditions.
Our goal is to scale blood testing services to those most in need, by bringing a reliable and affordable diagnostic solution closer to everyone, be it in a city, a rural area, or remote villages in a developing countries. That is our vision.
Drawing from your own experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who’d like to launch their own startup?
During our journey we've had a lot of opportunities to meet incredible people, to partner with them, to hear their stories and learn from them. That would be my main advice for someone looking to grow their startup, to go out there and connect with people — from end users and stakeholders, to practitioners and experts in the field; it's always valuable to have a diverse range of feedback on your ideas and ambitions. Communication and humanism, that's my main takeaway from my experience with CRIAM.
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S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: QX
QX is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Zoran Nasteski, CEO and Co-founder of QX, to learn more about how they're using blockchain and Web3 technology to create safer online retailing spaces, their reasons for joining S3E Charge and their ambitions to grow the business in the next 5 years.
https://youtu.be/9yAPVzMVOzA
Hi Zoran! Tell us about QX, the mission behind the business and the technology you’ve developed.
QX is a Web3-based platform that helps brands and retailers connect and engage with their customers without using their data. We use a combination of blockchain and cloud technologies to enable brands to become more effective at managing their customer engagement and experiences.
Trust has been declining on the consumer side, so we're utilising blockchain because it's the only proper technology that helps brands re-build trust and improve their connections within the retail space.
How would you define your entrepreneurship journey so far?
For us, launching a deep tech startup focused on an industry as big as retailing and e-commerce has felt like venturing into total uncertainty. So it's been a very bold move from everyone involved in QX!
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We're now at the point in our business where we need to start making some important decisions. Most of our financing has come from ourselves and from some early-stage accelerators, but now we have to decide if we want to pursue a private investor path or seek public funding; as a deep tech startup, we're not necessarily 100% dependable on external funding, but it makes our odds better to succeed in our venture. We want to be more knowledgeable about the funding opportunities that exist out there, and learn what's possible and accessible to us, not just run to the money.
We want to be very strategic in terms of what type of capital we bring into the business. And I believe S3E Charge will help us move forward in this area so we can make the right decision for our startup.
What are the key ambitions for QX? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
When I think about QX in the near future, I see as a small company that supports a very heavy industry that has become extremely dependant on data and is now suffering a huge fall-off in consumer trust because of that.
Our mission is to become the go-to experts on e-commerce innovation who understand consumers' needs and, in turn, are able to create safe online retailing spaces by protecting shoppers' data.
Drawing from your own experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who’d like to launch their own startup?
Don't chase the money! Think long and hard about what you're trying to do because, at the end of the day, what you design and develop is what will bring value, both to your business and to your customers. You don't want to go into the market with a mediocre product that no one will pay for, so you need to start by focusing on building your product or service and the problem that you want to solve.
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S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: ivoluntry
ivoluntry is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Andreas Kountouras, CEO and Co-founder of ivoluntry, to learn more about how this Greek startup is building an online community platform for volunteering activities, their reasons for joining S3E Charge and their ambitions to grow the business in the next 5 years.
https://youtu.be/9mt18jPItmc
Hi Andreas! Tell us about ivoluntry, the mission behind the business and the technology you've developed.
Antypas Azoidis and I co-founded ivoluntry in January 2023 with the aim to digitally organise and maximise volunteering activities around the world. The idea came from my personal experience volunteering as a lifeguard.
We've created a digital platform that connects volunteers with opportunities provided by NGOs and non-profit organisations, creating an online space where they can explore available activities and people interested in contributing to them. It also helps to digitally capture and maximise the volunteer footprint of companies, maximises the sample of scientific research in this area, and contributes to develop voluntourism.
We are currently in the development stage of our website and we are looking for volunteers and NGOs who would be interested in connecting through our platform.
How would you define your entrepreneurship journey so far?
Being an entrepreneur is an exciting adventure. It constantly forces you to get out of your comfort zone which, in turns, make you grow professionally and personally.
In our case, we're always willing to learn and collaborate from other professionals and fellow entrepreneurs, and we're constantly evolving to get the business to the stage where we'd like it to be.
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We'd like to introduce our platform to volunteers and NGOs based in many different countries, and we believe this accelerator can help us achieve that goal. Through the help of our mentor, we hope to get feedback on our plans of expansion and start growing an international network; we're also very interested in improving our pitch presentation for when we're ready to introduce ivoluntry to investors and new audiences.
What are the key ambitions for your DataFruit IIoT? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
In the next 5 year, we want to achieve our set financial goals and reach European citizens and organisations looking to develop their volunteering activities. We also plant to integrate educational interaction features within the platform to continue spreading the ivoluntry philosophy.
Drawing from your experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who'd like to launch their own startup?
My advice would be to observe the national ecosystem to be aware of what's happening at a social, economical or even cultural level and see how it all ties in with your business idea, and to take part in entrepreneurship programs which can help develop your startup. And don't be afraid of failing — it's all part of the journey!
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S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: DataFruit IIoT
DataFruit IIoT is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Miglena Dogan, Head of Business Development, Marketing and Sales at DataFruit IIoT, to learn more about how this Bulgarian startup is building an integrated platform to enable automated manufacturing that promotes sustainable practices, their reasons for joining S3E Charge, and their ambitions to grow the business in the next 5 years.
https://youtu.be/CUNxEM0TZfQ
Hi Miglena! Tell us about DataFruit IIoT, the mission behind the business and the technology you've developed.
DataFruit is a deep tech company based in Bulgaria and it's several years old, but only in the last few months we've been developing the business side — so you could say it's a baby startup!
Our technology is based on advanced Internet of Things (IoT) and we are developing a fully open and integrated platform that enables successful automated processes across the whole workflow for businesses operating in the energy, manufacturing, logistics and transport sectors. In my role, my main focus now is to show our current partners and potential customers what kind of advantages they will have with our product.
How would you define your entrepreneurship journey so far?
Challenging, yet very exciting, of course!
As a small deep tech company, what makes it challenging is people having this misconception that the technology we've created will make their lives harder, but it's right the opposite — our platform is intuitive, extremely user friendly and it has the capacity to become a huge asset to help companies save lots of money and time, and to adopt greener day-to-day practices.
We are a small but very powerful team, and we're led by our drive and passion for what we do as we believe our technology will make a big impact in the way manufacturing companies operate. We're very excited about the journey we've embarked on!
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We've seen similar programs but they're mostly focused on offering funding to startups, and that's not what we're looking for right now.
What we need is access to expert know-how on topics like marketing and business development but related to our particular needs as a startup, which is what S3E Charge offers. So far, I've really enjoyed the meetings with our mentor, Svetlana Stotskaya, who has been given us many ideas on how to improve and grow our business - I'm learning every day!
What are the key ambitions for your DataFruit IIoT? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
Our dream is to see our customers improving their efficiency rates and their manufacturing costs thanks to our product. We want them to think about our technology as a tool that's accessible for everyone and which supports our clients to grow steadily; so, in the next 5 years, we hope to see many happy customers using DataFruit!
Drawing from your experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who'd like to launch their own startup?
Passion, motivation and patience are key to push the entrepreneurship journey forward. If you have those three embedded within your attitude and your mindset as an entrepreneur, everything is possible.
Connect with the DataFruit team on LinkedIn and visit their website to learn more about their technology.
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S3E Open Call 2 for Experts: join our mission to boost deep tech innovation in Southern Europe
The South3E consortium is thrilled to launch the second Open Call for Experts who would like to join our mission — to build a robust deep tech innovation ecosystem in Southern Europe. This a unique opportunity to actively contribute towards the EU's ambition to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in these key regions, by sharing your valuable knowledge to support startups and researchers shaping a more sustainable and forward-thinking future for Southern Europe.
🚀 Apply now to join our community of S3E Experts!
How can you contribute towards the S3E mission?
You can be a part of our community of S3E Experts in different ways, depending on your professional experience and how you would like to contribute towards South3E's mission:
- Evaluators will be responsible for assessing proposals submitted by applicants for our S3E Open Call #2 - you will help to select the research teams and TTOs that get to join the S3E Start program and which startups will make into the S3E Charge accelerator program.
- Mentors for deep tech projects will guide research teams selected for the S3E Start program to develop a business case for a product, service or process grounded on a scientific discovery or a meaningful engineering technology.
- Mentors for deep tech growth startups will assist the selected participants in the S3E Charge program to develop an investment-ready business plan that will help access dilutive and non-dilutive funding opportunities.
* On 15 November we will also launch a separate call for Deep Tech Brokers for the S3E Reverse program, to help to match corporate challenges with the solutions offered by scaling startups. !
What type of profiles are we looking for?
To be eligible to apply, experts must meet the following criteria:
- You have a high-level of expertise in supporting technological innovation, preferably in deep tech projects developed by researchers and startups
- You have vast knowledge in the following scientific fields: agricultural sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences and natural sciences
- You are able to efficiently communicate in English (the official language of the program), both speaking and writing
- You are familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations
- You are passionate about providing innovation support, and are experienced in evaluating, mentoring and/or coaching
Note: The selected Experts will act as individuals and not as representatives of a specific organisation.
What do you get in return?
There are many personal and professional benefits to gain from helping others by sharing your own experience and knowledge. On top of the 'feel good factor', you will also get to take advantage of the following opportunities that come from joining the S3E community:
- Being publicly recognised for playing an active role in building the Southern European deep tech ecosystem
- Expand your professional network by connecting with other innovation leaders and relevant EU institutions and stakeholders
- Gain exclusive exposure to new ideas, approaches, and perspectives shaping the present and future of Europe
- Enhance your professional profile by gaining recognition for your skills, experience and contributions towards S3E
- Be at the forefront of the South European deep tech revolution!
How to apply and key dates to keep in mind
To apply to become an Expert for S3E, simply download the guiding materials we have prepared, where you will find all the key information you need to know, and then submit your online application form via the F6S platform.
The deadline closes on 30 November 2023 at 17:00 CET. Once our internal team evaluates all applications, we will announce the selected Experts on 11 December 2023. Depending on the role you have applied for, you will be expected to commit to the program for the following timeframes:
- If you are selected as Evaluator for S3E Open Call 2: You will be reviewing S3E Charge applications between 18 December 2023 – 8 January 2024, and S3E Start applications between 12 – 26 January 2024
- If you are selected as Mentor for S3E Start: You will be mentoring your designated research team between 6 February – 6 June 2024
- If you are selected as Mentor for S3E Charge: You will be mentoring your designated startup between 18 January – 26 April 2024
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us! You can email the S3E Team at info@south3e.eu
We look forward to welcoming you into our community of Experts!
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S3E Start Open Call 2: all you need to know!
After wrapping up a very successful first edition of the S3E Program, the South3E consortium has launched the Open Call 2 to continue supporting deep tech innovation in Southern Europe and contribute to bridge the lab-to-market gap. As you may have heard by now, the S3E Program is built around three tracks of bespoke services, tailored to the needs of different groups; in this article, we hear from Claudia Barbosa and Cristina Simoes from HiSeedTech, the team behind the S3E Start track, on how this program can help research teams and technology transfer offices (TTOs) turn their deep tech solutions into commercially viable products or services.
https://youtu.be/0ku1o-xZ9LM?feature=shared
Hi Claudia! Tell us, what is the mission behind S3E?
We set up this project between the four partners with a clear mission — to boost deep tech innovation coming from Southern Europe.
To reach this, the S3E consortium designed three clearly defined tracks: S3E Start, a hands-on training program on technology commercialisation for research teams and tech transfer offices (TTOs); we also have S3E Charge, which is a mentoring and networking program for growth startups to help them develop an investment-ready business plan; and last, but not least, S3E Reverse is our brokering program that matches corporate challenges with SMEs as solution providers.
Who is the S3E Start track for?
For S3E Start specifically, we’re looking for research teams based in Southern Europe, with 2 to 5 members, currently working on a deep tech project that tackles one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
To comply with the S3E Start criteria, these deep tech products, processes or services must be rooted on scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation and be capable of fulfilling market needs across any sector or industry.
For the first open call, we selected 14 research teams and 12 TTOs from different countries, including: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Romania and Turkey. To learn more about the type of projects we support, I'd encourage anyone interested in applying to download the that features all the participants form the first cohort.
Cristina, as the head of training for S3E Start, can you explain what participants can expect from this program?
We offer an 18-week immersive experience that involves weekly online tutorials to guide the research teams in the development of a strong business case for their technology, and a series of webinars on diverse topics to help them build up relevant skills in key topics such as intellectual property, technology commercialisation, how to pitch for funding, etc.
Each team will have a dedicated mentor who will guide them through the market validation for their deep tech research project, offering 1-1 support for the development of their business case. The participating researchers will also receive bespoke advice to fine tune their final presentations for the S3E Start Open Day, an online pitching session with international investors to mark the end of the program.
What is the application process to join the S3E Start Program?
For those research teams and TTOs interested in applying, the first step is to check all the information about the Program available on the Apply Now section of the S3E website. Then, they need to and make sure to read them carefully before starting filling up their application on the F6S online platform, using this link for research teams and this link for TTOs.
Once we receive all applications, our panel of experts will review them; the selected teams will be publicly announced at the end of January 2024 and the program will officially start on 6 February.
If you and your research team believe your innovation can contribute towards building a better and more sustainable future for all, we’d love to welcome you into the S3E Start Program. Apply before the 12 January 2024 and join the Southern European Deep Tech revolution!
Do you have any questions you’d like to ask Claudia or Cristina directly? Come along to one of our Info Webinars! Check all the upcoming sessions and register via Eventbrite.
We look forward to creating long-lasting collaborations!
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S3E Charge Open Call 2: everything you need to know!
Now that the South3E consortium has officially announced , you may be wondering which of the 3 available tracks is the right one for you. We spoke with Christina Deligianni, Policy and Programmes Director at Institute for Sustainable Development at EPLO and leader of S3E Charge, to share all the key insights about this accelerator program created to support Southern European startups at their growth stage.
https://youtu.be/bTghkt-nhHU
Hi Christina! Tell us, what is the ethos behind S3E?
Our mission is to foster innovation and an entrepreneurship mindset in the South of Europe.
We want to do this by accelerating and incubating research teams and startups, and brokering deals and agreements between big corporations and SMEs. We focus on technologies that are grounded on either scientific discovery or meaningful innovation, so we can contribute towards deploying all those deep tech solutions that come from Southern European countries.
Social impact and economic growth are also two very important factors for us — all the nurturing we do within the European innovation ecosystem aims to build a more sustainable future. Therefore, all the projects, all the startups that are part of the S3E Program also have to be aligned with at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.
What does the S3E Charge track offer to startups?
This is an acceleration program, so we’re looking for startups that have a product or a solution based on deep tech research and sustainability, and that wish to be accelerated.
The S3E Charge track is 14-weeks long, which requires a big commitment from the participants; in return, each startup is paired up with their own mentor - someone chosen from a pool of experts in their sector - and they get to attend our series of tailor-made webinars where they learn about a variety of topics: from marketing and sales, all the way to sustainable business models and strategies.
We also bring the selected statups closer to dilutive and non-dilutive funding opportunities, as well as networking with industry leaders and other innovators and entrepreneurs.
The participating startups will work on two deliverables: a business-ready plan and a professional pitch deck, which they will get to use when they pitch in front of potential investors at the celebratory open day that marks the end of the program.
How can startups apply to join the S3E Charge Program?
The first step would be to read all the information about the Program available on the Apply Now section of the S3E website. Those interested in applying need to and make sure to read them carefully before starting filling up their application on the F6S online platform.
Once we receive all applications, our panel of experts will review them; the selected startups will be publicly announced on 12 January and the program will officially start on 18 January.
If you are a startup in the growth stage and are looking for new opportunities to learn how to pitch your business to investors and access networking opportunities, I strongly encourage you apply for the S3E Charge Program. Remember, the application deadline is 15 December 2023. We look forward to, hopefully, welcoming you into the S3E Charge cohort of 2024!
Do you have any questions you’d like to ask Christina and the S3E team directly? Come along to one of our Info Webinars! Check all the upcoming sessions and register via Eventbrite.
We look forward to creating long-lasting collaborations!
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Five projects, one mission: Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems in the European Union
Five projects, one mission: Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems
Incubators, accelerators and different types of ‘company-builders’ play a crucial role in providing start-ups with growth support. Due to the diverse innovation landscape in Europe, start-ups from better-connected innovation ecosystems benefit from more local accelerators with greater funding opportunities and more qualified business support services compared to their counterparts elsewhere.
This geographical gap often requires start-ups from less connected ecosystems to move to more established hubs elsewhere in Europe. Consequently, there are fewer scale-ups in less connected innovation ecosystems, creating unbalanced business activity and employment opportunities. The European Commission, launched the ‘Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems’ mission, as part of the European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) work programme, with the purpose to reverse this flow by making ‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems more attractive to international companies interested in setting up their businesses outside the established centres and tapping into the potential of local ecosystems.
In light of this, around one year ago, five projects kicked off to support the European Commission fulfil this mission: sharing business acceleration related best practices, knowledge, tools and methods; exchanging promising start-ups and SMEs; exchanging accelerator programme experts; establishing links between local actors in developing ecosystems, among others, and one of these projects is S3E – The Engine for South European Deep Tech.
S3E has developed an engine of growth to contribute to improving the connectedness and efficiency of the southern European countries’ innovation ecosystems. Our focuses on the acceleration of deep tech research projects, growth startups and scaleups, contributing to closing the innovation gap between these countries and more advanced innovation ecosystems. S3E is supporting south European innovators to develop into deep tech and procure funding for the early stages of development through three innovation programmes: START, CHARGE and REVERSE.
However, S3E is not alone in this mission and four other projects were selected with complementary action plans to expand acceleration ecosystems. Let’s discover them in this blog’s post!
AccelerAction: A pan-European Networked Acceleration Programme to expand acceleration ecosystems and foster the scalability potential of European business
The diverse innovation landscape in Europe and the geographical gap among the "innovation leaders" and the less-connected ecosystems highlights that the latter suffer from weaker entrepreneurial activity and scarcer investments. The EU-funded AccelerAction project aims to improve the quality and outreach of business acceleration services in weaker innovation ecosystems in the field of DeepTech by creation of new pan-European Networked Acceleration Programme (EU-NAP) that will be tested in 3-months blended exchange programme for 10 promising start-ups with special focus on gender dimension. To its end the project will encourage entrepreneurial activities, stimulating cooperation among innovation actors generating alliances and strengthening less connected ecosystems to increase their competitiveness & connectivity also thanks to the creation of the virtual platform with match-making feature.
ACCELERO: Accelerating Local Innovation Ecosystems in Europe
ACCELERO has the ambition of creating a pan-European community of business support organisations (BSOs) as the onestop shop for all BSOs and its “customers”, the startups and SMEs, as well as for peer-to-peer exchange, networking and connectedness for all stakeholders engaged in the broader innovation ecosystem. This will be achieved with an initial ACCELERO extended community apart from consortium members to co-create and pilot-test high-quality business acceleration services with European BSOs from emerging and moderate innovators together with experts from strong and leader innovation regions or Member States, followed by the launch of the community inside Euroquity platform.
Food-scalEUp: Expanding the European digital agri-food acceleration ecosystem
Expanding the European agri-food digital innovation ecosystem’s capacity is a priority for 10 organisations that form Food-scalEUp, an EU-funded project that is focusing on emerging and moderate innovator regions. Its objective is to help these innovator regions become better connected, effective, impactful, resilient and recognised around the globe. To succeed, it will develop optimal business acceleration services in agri-food digital innovation ecosystems; foster connections and transfer knowledge regionally and beyond; and balance the capacity of agri-food digital innovation and acceleration ecosystems in the regions in question.
BEYOND: Boosting pan-european Exchange between acceleration ecosYstems for improving quality and Outreach of business acceleration services in Developing innovation ecosystems
Introducing the new Virtual Accelerator Marketplace (VAM), designed to support joint business accelerator activities for Europe’s startups. It also aims to advance investment flows from net contributor regions towards ‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ ones. Developed by the EU-funded BEYOND project, VAM will test a self-sovereign digital identity scheme (funding passport) available to startups independent of which accelerator they join. Moreover, a joint platform will allow online acceleration and provide a framework for the efficient development of startups. BEYOND will also focus on sharing specific offers from the different project participants and resources; it will develop an incentive structure where all partners benefit from high-quality startups developing their services, and create a cross-region marketplace for fundraising.
Looking forward to exploring synergies and creating a long-lasting collaboration.
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How S3E supports the new European Innovation Agenda
The New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) is a comprehensive strategy put forth by the European Union (EU) to promote innovation and competitiveness. It was adopted in July 2022 and aims to accelerate the digital transformation of the EU economy and society.
One of the key components of the NEIA is the EU’s focus on deep tech and their potential to drive innovation. Another important aspect of the NEIA is the EU’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and small businesses. The agenda includes initiatives to support the creation and growth of new companies, particularly in the areas of clean energy, digital technologies, and health care.
In addition, the NEIA aims to increase the collaboration between the private sector, research institutions, and governments to foster innovation. This includes the creation of new partnerships and the development of new funding opportunities to support joint research and development projects. One of these projects is S3E – The Engine for South European Deep Tech.
The S3E project aligns perfectly with the goals of the New European Innovation Agenda, positioning Southern Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep tech innovation and start-ups. S3E’s mission is to support moderate and emerging innovators to develop new technologies to address the most pressing societal challenges and improve the market connectedness & efficiency of research teams, startups & SMEs working on Deep Tech.
Europe wants to be the place where the best talent work hand in hand with the best companies and where deep tech innovation thrives and creates breakthrough innovative solutions across the continent. S3E is one of the projects working towards this purpose and that is why we have invited by the European Commission to participate in the workshop ``How Horizon Europe European innovation ecosystems projects support new European Innovation Agenda´´ next Thursday 26th January, 2023.
Event and Web-streaming link:
How S3E supports the new European Innovation Agenda
New European Innovation Agenda |
S3E – The Engine for South European Deep Tech |
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Improve access to finance for European start-ups and scale-ups, for example, by mobilising untapped sources of private capital and simplifying listing rules |
S3E has created three types of progams to accelerate Deep Tech projects and solutions coming from research teams, start-ups and SMEs that can impact social development and economic growth for a more sustainable future. |
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Improve the conditions to allow innovators to experiment with new ideas through regulatory sandboxes |
As part of these three innovation programs (START, CHARGE and REVERSE), S3E upskills researchers to fast-track science to the market, S3E supports growth stage startups in business development, S3E brokers access to investment and S3E facilitates Open Innovation with industry. |
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Help create “regional innovation valleys” that will strengthen and better connect innovation players through Europe, including in regions lagging behind |
S3E is focused on a group of countries (Southern Europe) that are lagging behind in terms of innovation-led social and economic growth and that, because of their geographic location, share some common socio-economic traits that may contribute to facilitate the deployment of this growth engine. |
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Attract and retain talent in Europe, for example by training 1 million deep tech talents, increasing support for women innovators and innovating with start-up employees’ stock options |
Through several open calls, S3E will support 150+ Deep Tech ventures to develop disruptive solutions built around unique, protected or hard-to-reproduce breakthroughs, and embodies products, processes or services capable of fulfilling currently unmet (or ill-met) market needs. S3E will unlock the untapped innovation potential of Southern European Deep Tech, targeting scientific and technical excellence in the fields of agricultural, life and physical sciences, engineering and technology. |
| Improve the policy framework through clearer terminology, indicators and data sets, as well as policy support to Member States |
South3E alignment with EU priorities and strategies strengths our commitment to improve the market connectedness & efficiency of research teams, startups & SMEs working on Deep Tech through the acceleration of Deep Tech projects coming from research teams, and deep tech solutions coming from start-ups and SMEs that can impact social development and economic growth for a more sustainable future. |
The rationale behind South3E: the Engine for South European Deep Tech
S3E – The Engine for South European Deep Tech is a European project with the ambition to develop an engine of growth to contribute improving the connectedness and efficiency of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in Southern European countries.
S3E focuses on the acceleration of deep tech projects, start-ups, and SMEs that, by providing solutions towards a more sustainable society and economy, can impact social development and economic growth in these countries and contribute to the timely achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with the EU Green Deal, the EU Digital Agenda and the Recovery Plan for Europe.
Why Southern Europe?
All Southern European countries are Moderate and Emerging Innovators, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard and to close the innovation gap, to the countries that are Strong Innovators, they need to improve on several dimensions, namely the spill over to society of the knowledge produced by research activities. Because deep tech start-ups are fostered by research that, in most cases, is developed within the scientific ecosystem (e.g., universities, tech transfer offices), the acceleration of deep tech projects, start-ups and SMEs facilitates this knowledge spill over and, thus, it is a significant contribution to change the socio-economic development paradigm in countries with less developed innovation ecosystems.
A recent study, carried out under the umbrella of the European Startups project, supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament, clearly shows a divide between Innovation Leaders and Strong Innovators and Moderate and Emerging Innovator both in the origin of the deep tech start-ups as well as in the funding of these start-ups. It is precisely this divide that the S3E project aims to address, by providing services to improve the quality and the outreach of business acceleration services in the targeted developing innovation ecosystems and by uncovering high-potential deep tech projects, start-ups and SMEs and connect them to the more advanced innovation ecosystems.
Why Deep Tech?
At S3E, we define Deep Tech as the umbrella term for all those technologies grounded on either scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation. Deep Tech nurtures the development of disruptive solutions built around unique, protected or hard-to-reproduce technological or scientific advances and drives the creation of products, processes or services that fulfill unmet (or ill-met) market needs.
On July 2022, Europe adopted the New European Innovation Agenda with the objective to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep tech innovation, supporting start-ups to develop new technologies to address the most pressing societal challenges and to bring them on the market. S3E, in line with the above, echoes this ambition and it is committed to be the place where the best talent work hand in hand with the best companies and where deep tech innovation thrives and creates breakthrough innovative solutions across the EU.
Several aspects contribute to set South3E apart.
In the first place, the fact that S3E is focused on a group of countries (Southern Europe) that are lagging in terms of innovation-led social and economic growth and that, because of their geographic location, share some common socio-economic traits that may contribute to facilitate the deployment of this growth engine.
In the second place, because S3E is focused on deep tech for sustainable development which may lead to start-ups that can have more impact on growth than the business model innovation-based start-ups, that usually are catered for in this type of projects.
Last, but not the least, the project nurtures the root that enables the offspring of deep tech start-ups, which it is a very important endeavour that, sometimes, it is taken for granted in countries with more advanced innovation ecosystems and, thus, perfectly functioning support to technology commercialization, but extremely needed in countries with developing innovation ecosystems.
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All in all, South3E alignment with EU priorities and strategies strengths our commitment to improve the market connectedness & efficiency of research teams, startups & SMEs working on Deep Tech through the acceleration of Deep Tech projects coming from research teams, and deep tech solutions coming from start-ups and SMEs that can impact social development and economic growth for a more sustainable future.
Learn how we are going to accomplish our mission through our three innovative programs (START, CHARGE and REVERSE) and get ready to APPLY to the Open Call #1 to join the SOUTHERN DEEP TECH REVOLUTION.
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