EIT Digital together with BGI (Building Global Innovators, IUL MIT-Portugal Accelerator) have selected a number of startups from Greece and Portugal to attend the prestigious Web Summit taking place in Lisbon this week.
The chance to participate in whats described as "Europe's largest technology martketplace" was offered as part of EIT Digital's Arise Europe programme which seeks to stimulate digital innovation and regional growth in EU countries, where EIT Digital does not have a regional presence, by connecting local innovators with EIT Digital's pan-european innovation and education ecosystem. BGI is one of EIT Digital's seven ARISE Europe cooperation partners.
The purpose of the competition was to find and offer support to startups from the ARISE Europe territories who already have an innovative product or service but who need help in accessing wider European markets. Over 20 startups from countries including Portugal, the Balkans and CEE states vied for tickets to attend the conference - in the end one venture from Greece and three from Portugal were selected by a panel.
"We were delighted to see so many startups applying" - said Gonçalo Amorim, Executive Director BGI. "Web Summit is a great opportunity to network and meet investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world. With the help of EIT Digital, we focus on helping startups to grow and get access to international markets through EIT Digital's pan-European network. The winners were selected based on their innovative approach and their readiness to enter the market. They all seem to be very promising and we're looking forward to discussing future cooperation with them at the Web Summit conference.".
