#StartupsKillTheVirus: Online event to support tech innovators in time of COV19 crisis with European funding and support services
#StartupsKillTheVirus is the new meeting point for all the European startups interested in the resources launched recently by the European institutions and initiatives to battle the coronavirus outbreak with innovative solutions. An online event, on 28th of April, is aimed at the entrepreneurs and organizations that want to have access to these funding opportunities and other support services. The approach to the different fields of the startup innovation ecosystem will be offered through four different sessions: The first one will be dedicated to the EIC Accelerator, the programme lead by the European Innovation Council that supports the European top-class innovations. The main features of the EIC Accelerator and its state of play will be explained by Luis Sanchez Álvarez, representative of the DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission (European Innovation Council). Furthermore, Luis Guerra, from CDTI (Spanish Delegate H2020 SME and Access to Risk Finance Programme), will present the ACCESS2EIC and the role of National Contact Points (NCPs) to support SMEs on their way to success. The second session will be devoted to SMEs and startups contributing to a more human-centric internet under the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative. Stefano Foglietta, the officer of the NGI Unit (European Commission, DG Connect), will present the details of the initiative and how startups can take advantage of the resources of this initiative. Coordinators of the projects NGI DAPSI, NGI Atlantic, NGI Pointer, NGI Zero and eSSIF-Lab will complete the panel. Startup Europe and the future of disruptive technologies like Blockchain and topics focused on Artificial Intelligence will be the topics of the third session, with the participation of Bogdan Ceobeanu, European Commission - Entrepreneurship & Innovation Unit. This slot will also have onboard the main programmes with support to SMEs, startups and innovators (X Europe, B-hub for Europe, BlockStart, and BlockIS). The final panel will situate SMEs at the forefront of Data economy and cyber-physical systems, with the opening by the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), and the support programmes in this area: Data Market Services Accelerator, European Data Incubator, HUBCAP and DIGIFED. Alberto Sierra and Sara Mateo, from ZABALA Innovation Consulting, will introduce the sessions as funding experts on the sector, and coordinators of the Data Market Services accelerator and NGI DAPSO, respectively. AGENDA Session 1: EIC Accelerator, what to know about the instrument that supports top-class innovations, by the European Innovation Council – Register here: bit.ly/2yd3pqa Session 2: SMEs and startups contributing to a more human-centric internet under NGI – Register here: bit.ly/2K8YxVM Session 3: Startup Europe and the future of blockchain, led by SMEs – Register here: bit.ly/2K8o0i0 Session 4: SMEs at the forefront of Data economy and cyber-physical systems – Register here: bit.ly/2VujKyH Participants in the webinar will receive a booklet with all the open calls and services launched by the different initiatives. Likewise, the collaboration in the definition of next actions will be encouraged with a survey that may be completed by the attendees. Accelerators for startups and SMEs ZABALA Innovation Consulting offers strong expertise in the ICT sector with projects focused on cascade funding and support services for startups, SMEs, and innovators. Currently, ZABALA coordinates initiatives as NGI DAPSI, Data Market Services, and Blockchers. It also participates in the European Data Incubator (EDI) and DIGIFED. In the past, ZABALA has coordinated other successful initiatives such as IRSUS y FINODEX accelerators.