Digital
AI-BOOST
AI-BOOST will establish a prominent open challenge prize programme that will serve as a benchmark for the European Artificial Intelligence...
FIWARE FINODEX (Future Internet Open Data Expansion) is a European business incubator and accelerator. It offers free funding and professional support for the development of new applications, products or services based on the two key elements of the project: FIWARE free software technologies and open data.
CHALLENGE
FIWARE is a set of free software technologies whose development has been supported by the European Commission and large companies in the technology sector since 2011, through the Future Internet Public-Private Partnership (FI-PPP). FIWARE is composed of a set of technologies that facilitate the creation of new applications and software services based on recognised standards and through a multitude of software pieces that can be integrated with each other. Through FINODEX and the other FWIARE Accelerate accelerators, an open innovation ecosystem has been generated, which favours the growth of Internet services and European presence in the ICT sector.
SOLUTION
The EU has made 80 million euros available to small ICT companies and entrepreneurs using FIWARE tools. This funding is granted through 16 accelerators across Europe, including FINODEX. To this end, Zabala Innovation, as FINODEX Coordinator, has a fund of 4.64 million euros to support SMEs and ICT entrepreneurs across Europe to create new innovative services and products based on FIWARE and open data. Several of these projects are already in their launch phase.
RESULTS
One hundred innovative projects have already been selected by FIWARE FINODEX through two open calls. After the selection, an acceleration process is being carried out to support SMEs and entrepreneurs to improve their business plans and facilitate their access to other financing networks. After a pre-selection of 50 project ideas per call, the participants will have to overcome different phases until they reach a final phase, in which only ten projects will present their business idea to future investors and will receive up to 170,000 euros in non-repayable funds.
