On Thursday 19 September, the Bofill Foundation's Social Hub space in Barcelona hosted the event "Innovative Solutions: Advancement of the European Program EPICENTRE", a key day for the future of European innovation that coincided with the end of the Sustain phase of the EPICENTRE program. Vitum Technologies was one of the three companies selected to move on to the next phase of the program.

The meeting was attended by around fifty people from all over Europe, including investors, mentors and representatives of companies interested in discovering cutting-edge technological solutions.

EPICENTRE, an Acceleration program for SMEs and startups

The  EPICENTRE project, funded by the European Union and coordinated by Clúster Digital in collaboration with Campania Bioscience - CBIOS (Italy) and LitMEA (Lithuania), aims to promote small and medium-sized companies and startups. It does this by addressing the challenges of large and medium-sized companies in the health, agri-food, fintech and digital sectors throughout Europe, among which are large local companies such as Banco Mediolanum, Oracle or Bodegues Torres. The project consists of two calls through which SMEs and Startups are invited to present innovative solutions that respond to these challenges.

Of the 80 projects received in the first call (July 2023), 25 were selected to participate in the program and enter the first phase (Launch). After 4 months, 12 moved on to the next phase (Sustain) which lasted a total of 9 months and culminated in the event of last September 19.

The main objective of the event was for these 12 startups and SMEs to have the opportunity to present their innovative solutions to an audience composed of key innovation players, investors, corporations and potential partners interested in future pilot projects. In addition, these presentations served to get to know the projects better and assess which ones were most ready to move on to the next phase of the program (Drive).

A journey towards European innovation

The day began with a welcome from Joan Puaté, Manager of the Clúster Digital , followed by an opening speech on the initiatives of the European Commission by Valentino Izzo, Project Manager at the European Commission. Then, Isabel Botey, Project Manager of Epicentre at the Digital Cluster presented the project emphasizing the financial support that participating SMEs receive thanks to the Acceleration Program with which they can obtain up to €42,400 for the development of the solution, as well as training and mentoring up to €6,850 from the Epicentre Academy.

Afterwards, Raúl Pareja, Innovation Manager at SIRT, a company associated with the Clúster Digital , went online to explain his experience as a corporate participant in the EPICENTRE project. Afterwards, the debate panels began, which played a fundamental role in highlighting the challenges and opportunities for innovation in the key sectors of the program as well as to learn about the participating solutions from the hands of their protagonists.

Panel 1, on challenges and solutions in the Digital-Fintech sector, was moderated by Isabel Botey of the Clúster Digital. The companies GRECA Finance GmbH, Frizbit Technology, S.L. participated. and Qpick Z.O.O.

Panel 2 on innovation in the Agrifood sector, was moderated by Laura Uturyte from LITMEA, and ENISMARO, Soluzioni Tirinnanzi srl, Vitum Technologies SL, FOODOC SRL and UAB REDIGA participated.

And panel 3, on the challenges and solutions for the Health sector, was moderated by Roberta Lauro from CBIOS, and the companies IamHero Srl, MB Skaitmeninis, MB Socialines inovaziosos, MB Augaliniai vailii participated.

All of them agreed that participating in the EPICENTRE program has not only allowed them to get funding and evolve their idea, but also to train to 'think bigger', expand contacts and meet companies that may be interested in their product.

The three winning companies: IamHero, Frizbit and Vitum

The culmination of the event came with the announcement of the three projects that advance to the third and final phase of the program (Drive) after having demonstrated exceptional readiness to collaborate with large corporations. This choice was the result of the votes of an evaluation committee made up of corporates who, throughout the gala, were waiting for the contributions and presentations of the projects and who evaluated each of the 12 proposals.

The winning companies were IamHero, Frizbit and Vitum Technologies.

• IamHero stood out for its focus on training professionals in the digital sector through gamified platforms that combine education and technology. 
• Frizbit, a company specializing in automated marketing based on artificial intelligence, impressed with its ability to personalize digital communication with clients. 
• Vitum Technologies, a company associated with the Cluster Digital, captivated the audience with its IoT and data analysis solution applied to asset management in the agricultural sector, a project that will now have the opportunity to be tested in real corporate environments.

These three companies will move on to the final phase of the program, where they will have the opportunity to develop pilots with large European companies and validate their technologies in real scenarios.

An event that drives the future of innovation

The event "Innovative Solutions: Advancement of the European Program EPICENTRE" was not only a platform to present innovations, but also a crucial meeting point for companies, investors and European companies and institutions. In addition to the presentations and round tables, attendees enjoyed the networking generated during the coffee break and lunch.

With this day, the Clúster Digital  reaffirms its role as a catalyst for innovation in Europe, facilitating the connection between small and medium-sized companies and corporations.