The prestigious BIND 4.0 Open Innovation and Acceleration program announced today the results of the Finalists in this year's competition. The list includes three startups from Poland, including REBREAD, whose mission is to save bread around the world and thus contribute to reducing the amount of food that goes to waste.
Spain's BIND 4.0 program has been supporting startups in the categories of Intelligent Industry, Clean Energy & Sustainability, Health Tech and Food Tech for 7 editions so far, in which startups from all over the world have competed to qualify. It's no surprise - the program helps them enter the market, establish themselves, get funding, mentoring, accelerator and business support. However, that's not all.
Most importantly, BIND 4.0 provides selected startups of the program with real cooperation with the biggest major market giants based in the Basque Country, Spain like Unilever, Coca-Cola, Siemens, Okin and Eroski. Both parties benefit greatly from this arrangement. Startups get a chance to make their mark on the market, establish themselves with a paid client and start implementing ideas on a wider scale. Large corporations, on the other hand, can use in their own factories the solutions of the startup they partner with and thus reduce emissions, save energy, minimize waste and create an even more sustainable industry in the future. So the result of real cooperation between a startup and a company is the implementation of real changes with the investments made.
A Highly Innovative International Program
To take advantage of the program you need to pass several qualification stages, which are evaluated meticulously and substantively. Last year only 28 startups were selected to develop one or more projects and participate in the BIND 4.0 program.
Applications for this year's seventh call started in July and closed in September. More than 700 startups from 70 countries submitted their applications. After the first evaluation, the jury admitted only 125 companies to the second stage. The next step was a sales presentation in front of corporate clients. During a Pitching Session, you had to present your startup and convince your audience of the value of your solution. This was the decisive moment, after which the large Industry leading companies named the Finalists, the young entrepreneurs they wanted to invite to work with them during the next Open Innovation & Acceleration Program.
Basque Trade & Investment Poland & Ukraine office have carried out numerous targeted promotional campaigns in Polish and Ukrainian markets. REBREAD, Surveily and Silencions, three startups from Poland, made it to the finals of BIND 4.0 thanks to all the promotional activities carried out. The Basque Country is home to some of the world’s most influential manufacturing companies and it is of mutual benefit that disruptive Polish startups are given an opportunity to accelerate growth and immersion into the Basque Industrial Ecosystem.
Overall, the list of finalists announced by BIND 4.0 includes 67 startups from 32 countries. The BIND 4.0 Coordination Team stated that “This year BIND 4.0 received the largest number of International applicants in 7 editions so far, proving once again that the BIND 4.0 Open Innovation & Acceleration Program has established itself as an international platform of reference with the potential to impact startups worldwide to the Basque Industrial ecosystem. We are proud to have REBREAD, Surveily and Silencions among the Finalists.”
Circular Economy and Sustainability are the Future
Reducing emissions, sustainable use of raw materials, reducing waste and green supply chains are what will determine how quickly we deal with climate catastrophe. It's no longer an option, but a necessity, which is why more and more companies are reaching for the use of advanced technologies and innovative solutions. Rebread has attracted the attention of several market giants who are working on incorporating more sustainable solutions into their facilities.
“Rebread has been chosen as a finalist and its potential has been highly valued by the Corporate Partners participating this year”, says the BIND 4.0 Coordination team.
"We are working on technologies so that unsold, unused bread, instead of going into the trash, goes back into circulation as raw material for new, non-obvious products. If these solutions start to be used by companies in different parts of the world, it will help us solve the global problem of food waste," says Katarzyna Mlynarczyk, Co-Founder of REBREAD, who presented the idea during the second stage of the BIND 4.0 Startup Selection process.
"We are proud that our idea has found understanding and recognition abroad. This shows that our vision for change is understood, needed and real. Unsold or stale bread is not waste, but raw material. The fact that among the finalists from all over the world the potential in a Polish startup has been recognized and also adds wind to the sails," continues Katarzyna.
Over the coming weeks, meetings will be held between startup representatives and company representatives to discuss specific activities and details of paid projects via Startup-Corporate collaboration. The final results of the agreements between partners and international startups in this year's BIND 4.0 Acceleration Program, will be announced in January 2023.
- For more information about the BIND 4.0 Program: https://bind40.com/
- Information about the startups competing in this year's edition: https://www.spri.eus/es/emprendimiento/500-startups-europeas-y-200-de-energia-sostenible
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- The list of 67 Finalist Startups can be found here: https://bind40.com/2022/11/09/startup-finalists-7th-edition/
- More information about the Basque Trade & Investment services: https://basquetrade.spri.eus/