New international programme to attract the best Industry 4.0 startups to the Basque Country

 

The Basque Government and major corporations have got together behind BIND 4.0, a public-private initiative that offers selected startups the possibility of working on projects in collaboration with ABB, CAF, CIE Automotive, Danobat Group, Euskaltel, Iberdrola, ITP, Mercedes-Benz, Michelin, Microsoft, Repsol-Petronor and Siemens. The initiative was presented on 6 July at the Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park by the Basque President, Iñigo Urkullu, the Basque Government Minister for Economic Development and Competitiveness, Arantxa Tapia, and its Director for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and the Information Society, Aitor Urzelai.

The Basque Government and several of the most important companies located in the Basque Country will be present on Wednesday, 6 July at the Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park initiative StartUP! Basque Industry 4.0 (BIND4.0), a public-private startup accelerator in which major companies in the Basque Country will collaborate to attract innovative business initiatives from around the world. The startups will receive advice and financial support, but above all the commitment of ABB, CAF, CIE Automotive, Danobat, Euskaltel, Iberdrola, ITP, Mercedes-Benz, Michelin, Microsoft, Repsol-Petronor and Siemens, which will work together on the growth, acceleration and market placement of these recently-created companies.

With the launch of this initiative, the Basque Government and the 12 partner companies aim to contribute to the improvement of the Basque entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as to position the Basque Country as an advanced industrial country and a magnet for international talent. This will be done with the coordination of the Basque Business Agency (SPRI) and with the collaboration of the BICs -Business Innovation Centres- and the Regional Governments.

To achieve this, in addition to the usual services of training, mentoring and funding, BIND4.0 will provide selected startups with the opportunity to develop their projects in line with the demands of their partner companies. In other words, the relationship between companies and startups will be established as a customer-supplier format, which will give them, in addition to actual billing with a large client, top-level references and access to new markets and distribution channels.

In addition, together with the Basque technology parks and Business Innovation Centres-BIC, these entrepreneurs will have access to environments and workspaces to develop their projects, as well as to training, mentoring and financial aid. For the partner companies involved in BIND 4.0 that work with the selected startups, participation in the program will offer them the chance to track, identify and attract talent, technology and solutions, both in the Basque Country and abroad, to improve their competitiveness and position them at the forefront of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0.

The registration period to enter the project selection process will start on the same day as the presentation of BIND 4.0 (6 July). On 31 October, the list of selected startups will be published and they will start work on projects in collaboration with the partner companies over the next 24 weeks, from 14 November to 12 May. The terms and conditions of the programme will be posted, as of 6 July, on the website, and registration for the presentation day is already open.