FIWARE: 80 million euros for European SMEs and entrepreneurs

By , 17 September 2014 at 11:10
FIWARE: 80 million euros for European SMEs and entrepreneurs
Business

FIWARE: 80 million euros for European SMEs and entrepreneurs

By , 17 September 2014 at 11:10

The European Commission allocates 80 million euros through 16 accelerators, to SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs developing apps on the Internet of the Future. 

17 September 2014, Munich: The European Commission (EC) has launched the FIWARE Accelerator Programme, which is about to invest 80 million euros in businesses and entrepreneurs to help them develop projects based on FIWARE technologies. FIWARE is a standard and open platform that has been developed over the past 3 years by the European Commission and key ICT players, investing a total of more than 400 million euros.

More than 1,000 enterprises, who can present their projects through open calls, are about to benefit from this funding phase being announced today, each one of them receiving between 50,000 and 150,000 euros. “Our goal is to have at least 300 successful start-ups at the end of the programme”, explained Mario Campolargo at the ECFI’s press conference.

Europe expects FIWARE to generate a profit of 28 million euros in just six years by investing in the strongest startups across the continent.

Applicants projects will be able to make the most of FIWARE technologies, whose open source specifications are public and royalty-free and they will also benefit from technical support and coaching to help them develop their business model.

Mario Campolargo, director of Net Futures said  “we believe that the best tool of all to combat the crisis is innovation”. The European Commission expects growth of 28,000 million euros in the European GDP in a period of six years. The programme’s goal is to promote 1,300 start-ups and SMEs. “The ambition of this programme is precisely to build a European accelerator’s success story, to invest into entrepreneurial skills of young Europeans”.

The way to make your business grow

Sixteen accelerators have been selected to develop this ambitious project. These entities will be in charge of distributing the funds to SMEs, entrepreneurs and start-ups and will also mentor and support the different projects.

Thanks to the accelerators, SMEs and start-ups will benefit from a more direct access to European funds, as these entities will be in charge of managing the process. The other strength of the programme is its internationalization.

The best tool to combat the crisis is innovation. We must invest in the entrepreneurial skills of young Europeans.
Mario Campolargo, Director of Net Futures

“Participants can work in international environments”, explains Olaf Gerd Gemein, chair of the SpeedUP! Europe FIWARE Accelerator Programme,“launching their businesses globally”. Once this phase is over, accelerators will provide selected enterprises with other investors and they will act as intermediaries for the start-ups to access new investments. “This is an outstanding opportunity to kick-start an everyday business”, says Gerd Gemein.

How to get involved

Candidates must submit their project to the accelerator that best suits it, as they focus on different domains of digital economy: Smart Cities, eHealth, transports, energy & environment, AgriFood, Media & Content, Manufacturing & Logistics, and Social & Learning. Apart from defining their business potential and the impact on the area, SMEs and entrepreneurs must use FIWARE technologies. “FIWARE is an excellent example of pooling resources between the private and public sectors”, explains Ilkka Lakaniemi, chairman of the Future Internet PPP (FIWARE PPP) Programme. “It takes the best of both worlds, fast business implementation pace from the industry and the cohesive power of the European Commission”.

 

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