SmartUp Accelerator – Innovation Ecosystem to foster consumer cleantech markets in the Baltic Sea Region

SmartUp Accelerator

PROGRAMME 2014-2020

priority

1 Innovation

objective

1.3 Non-technological innovation

SmartUp Accelerator

The Interreg project SmartUp Accelerator improved conditions for business ideas in consumer cleantech sector and supported start-ups, intermediaries and investors across the Baltic Sea region.

The opportunity

Cleantech traditionally springs from innovations in the industry sector. Cleantech start-ups began to emerge in the consumer market. The growth logic of cleantech companies is changing: more and more companies start addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by resource scarcity, rising energy and fuel costs, digitalisation, automatisation and user-centred design. This is called consumer cleantech. As housing, mobility and food consumption stand for approximately 70% of the natural resource consumption of households, there is a potential for increasing sustainability by replacing current non-efficient practices and products with resource efficient solutions that consumers also find attractive.

The innovation intermediaries would benefit by strengthening their transnational networking and accelerator skills and open up for new business possibilities. Small national markets and fragmented organizational landscape trigger the need in engaging in transnational ecosystems. Due to costly and sometimes unfamiliar to the users, acceleration opportunities stay unused or underutilized.

Aimed to strengthen innovation capacity in consumer cleantech the project SmartUp Accelerator intended to help innovation organisations to identify ideas and establish new businesses. By using testbeds, or transnational training programmes and supporting activities, the project supported small and medium sized enterprises and start-ups.

details

Budgets

SmartUp Accelerator
in numbers

2.22

Million

Total
1.50

Million

Erdf
0.23

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

New knowledge gained through trainings

To help intermediaries gain knowledge about consumer cleantech and support so-called “smartups” (a term coined by the consortium to describe a ‘smart’ or digitalised startup), the project developed training program using a foresight method. The method would enable intermediaries to identify opportunities and challenges, as well as apply digital tools (Slack, online conferencing). Through the training program the partners got introduction to foresight methods and inspiration to designing new concepts and business models. The project partners shared their best practices integrated in methods used for bootcamp and acceleration phases, e.g. scoring cards to guide smartups in choosing a new market. Another example is learning how smartups can attract funding via mentorship from investors/crowd-funding expert during bootcamps. Smartups and intermediaries jointly looked into new funding opportunities and applied to open calls.

Smartups get support when entering new markets

The project supported smartups on their journey towards a new market entry in the Baltic Sea region. By spreading knowledge about consumer cleantech, matching smartups with relevant stakeholders and supporting intermediaries to learn more about how to support consumer cleantech companies, the project enhanced the knowledge among the target groups. Among the themes, the project identified business support, sustainable consumption, distribution of new innovations internationally.

Building transnational consumer cleantech innovation actor ecosystem

The project reinforced the idea that internationalisation of innovation processes creates opportunities and challenges, as well as the perception that companies with a greater diversity of international partners tend to innovate more and introduce more radical innovations.

In transnational innovation ecosystems companies and other innovation actors have strengthened opportunities to access complementary knowledge located in other countries and to respond to new market needs through collaboration with international partners. Smartup Accelerator project has gathered together the intermediaries on the field in order to jointly identify, stimulate and brand the innovation actors across the region.

Outputs

SmartUp Accelerator network platform

The project developed a platform to host the SmartUp Accelerator network (SMA network) driven by mostly intermediaries, smartups, investors and big companies. The network has a database of knowledge consisting of the project reports. The website serves both as a hub for public information about the consumer cleantech business, and as a member portal where members can find other sources of information. The following organisations can serve as examples of who benefits form joining the network: Dalarna Science Park (SE), Inclusive Business Sweden (SE), Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park (LT), Saint-Petersburg Cleantech Cluster for Urban Environment (RU), Cleantech ForEst (EE), Business Angels Union (RU).

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SmartUp Accelerator Model

The report creates a long term/self-sustaining model for growing consumer cleantech innovation ecosystems capacity in the Baltic Sea region. The SmartUp Accelerator Model enables impact and capacity building in the emerging consumer cleantech, providing innovation support tools. The SmartUp Accelerator interactive platform provides the necessary connections between startups, intermediaries, investors and other stakeholders involved in the consumer cleantech field. In essence, the SmartUp Accelerator model is about establishing an innovation community for smart and clean consumer business.

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SmartUp Accelerator Testsbeds

This report guides smartups, intermediaries and investors in a virtual form that can be regularly updated with new cases and information, and feed into the ongoing SmartUpAccelerator Model. Using this guidance, the smartups can find key learnings from successful efforts to achieve a new market entry and testbeds. Similarily, intermediaries can learn what the best practice is, allowing them to shape their support efforts for smartups. As regards corporations or investors, they can better understand the aspects and strategies relevant to smartups in the Baltic Sea region, which can be valuable for increasing knowledge as investments in smartups or collaborations is something smartups often look for.

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