Serving as an offshoot of the Interreg Baltic Sea (BSR) SmartUp Accelerator project – a collaboration project between eight countries around the Baltic Sea with the focus on building – the SmartUP Acceleartor Platform is now live. Through a virtual platform, the self-sustaining network gathers passionate ‘’smartups’’, or startups focused on alleviating climate change through smart means (e.g. digitisation), who want to make business out of smarter solutions in the consumer cleantech field around the BSR.
The SmartUp Accelerator virtual platform, launched in November 2020, brings together consumer cleantech front-runners and opens up new opportunities and powerful collaborations by joining forces across sectors and borders. The first digital network meeting, which took place in January 2021, was held to establish an agreed-upon structure, or governance, for the network moving forward. Currently the network is led by Chris Ashe, project manager a aconium GmbH.
The platform and the network it hosts will give access to other organisations that are prepared to support, collaborate or invest in innovative and sustainable solutions that show promise for market success. As such, the platform will allow both public and private relevant organisations to become more effective in supporting regional stakeholders/companies through access to financing or funding opportunities geared towards consumer cleantech innovations, connections to testbed opportunities for various projects/stakeholders and the identification of international partners. Access to the network also allows access to market studies and research, case studies and exposure to trends or market-related information in the realm of consumer cleantech across the BSR. Core to the benefits of the network are European-level exposure and strong ties/network opportunities with relevant consumer cleantech i.e. digitisation, low carbon/energy efficiency and potential European project partnerships.
Currently, members of the SmartUp Accelerator Network include science parks, innovation centres, startups, think tanks, universities, large companies and other agencies from across the Baltic Sea Region – for example, aconium GmbH, Johanneberg Science Park, Innovatum, the Centre of Industry Development of the Leningrad Region, Enterprise Estonia, BuildIt (Latvia), HubHub, and more. Each prospective member must apply for registration online.
A LinkedIn page for the SmartUp Accelerator Network has already been established to keep prospective members in contact during the time period in which the virtual SmartUp Accelerator Network Platform was under development. Check out our video on LinkedIn explaining the SmartUp Accelerator Network to potential members here.