Incubator Academy Model for Green Economy as Peer Learning Action for Innovation Agencies
Start date: 01/02/2021 | End date: 31/01/2022
Supporting entrepreneurs in all steps of the process: from idea to market penetration
The rise in start-up initiatives in EU Member States represents a real driver for innovation and sustainable growth, and opens up new spaces for green processes. However, a wide range of supporting actions are needed, including training. The EU-funded I AM GREEN project will co-design an extensive incubator and start-up academy model that will support entrepreneurs in all steps of the process: from business idea development to market penetration. The project includes tailored training and an incubation path with a particular focus on green business and sustainable development. I AM GREEN will develop an integrated method to incubate start-ups, also with support from well-established companies, and introduce them to the market. The project aims to create a more fertile environment for new business ideas and opportunities.
Objective
The overall objective of the I AM GREEN project is to co-design a widespread incubator and start-up academy model addressed to support entrepreneurs in all steps to take from the business idea design to market penetration, passing through a tailor-made training and incubation path that gives special attention to sustainable development and ways to “greening” the business.
The project aims to contribute to the qualitative improvement of services offered to start-ups thanks to an integrated approach that guides entrepreneurs along all steps of the entrepreneurial path with a special focus on training and financial needs. The designed incubation model will be a virtual and physical space where Innovation & Development Agencies, Research & Training Centres and Start-up Incubators work together to assist the entrepreneur with a 360-degree approach. The idea is to develop an incubation model where start-ups are incubated in a well-settled company that introduce them in the market. The rationale of incubation is the sharing of the same value chain and/or the possibility to create synergies such as industrial symbiosis projects.
The general objective is to offer a more fertile environment for new business ideas birth and growth as well as creating new business opportunities leveraging on potentialities to greening processes, supporting their development at EU level acting as a real driver for innovation and sustainable growth for Europe. This will be done by improving the support that is available to them, functioning as a think-tank that identifies needs and prepares new directions within start-up creation support as well as available training and consulting services.