Jumpstarter

Dec 12, 2022

News 12/12/2022 Over a hundred innovators from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe gathered in Krakow, Poland to turn their ideas into businesses at EIT Jumpstarter. The most promising early-stage start-ups won nearly EUR 200K. On November 29, the sixth EIT Jumpstarter came to an end with pitches from 42 finalists in seven different categories – health, food, raw materials, energy, urban mobility, manufacturing, and New European Bauhaus (an EU initiative to create sustainable and inclusive living spaces). For the last couple of years, we noted an increasing interest from teams from the Western Balkans. But this year was exceptional in terms of innovators coming from this part of Europe. Many Jumpstarters joined the programme with clear and feasible ideas, and some had already funded their company, even before the Grand Final. Dóra Marosvölgyi, Director of the EIT Community’s Regional Strategic Innovation Projects Bulgarian start-up Green Kilometers won the Best Cross-Thematic Business Idea prize, a special award for impactful innovators. Green Kilometers worked with local municipalities to create a social-benefit system that rewards inhabitants for using non-motorised, “green” urban transportation. Those rewards include cultural event tickets, art classes, and even tax reductions. Start-ups were not the only ones getting awards. The University of Warsaw, Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Hub for EIT Food, was named Best RIS Hub. The institution actively participated in all stages of the programme, supporting the teams throughout their development with high efficiency, since many teams they trained made it to the Grand Final. With the award, we would like to recognise their very professional, precise, and inspiring attitude and work. Anna Mihok-Peli, Programme Coordinator of EIT Jumpstarter Jump-starting market success EIT Jumpstarter is a programme run by six EIT Knowledge & Innovation Communities (KICs): EIT Health, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Food, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Manufacturing, and EIT Urban Mobility. The goal is to help early-stage innovators from emerging European regions turn their scientific ideas and innovations into successful businesses. For seven months, selected start-ups work with mentors in local trainings on business modeling and business planning. Start-ups are then evaluated based on the quality of the business plan they created during that time. The six best plans are qualified for the Grand Final – this year hosted in Krakow, Poland – where they compete for the prize of EUR 10 000 in each of the seven categories. More than 750 innovators have joined the programme during the last six years, and there are several success stories, including the further financing they received. While some of the alumni keep refining their business idea, over 45 have formalised companies and continue to expand. Dóra Marosvölgyi, Director of the EIT Community’s Regional Strategic Innovation Projects The Winners of the EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final 2022: EIT Health