BioeconomyVentures project set ahead an ambitious goal: creating a sustainable and pro-active entrepreneurial environment for the bio-based industry in Europe and beyond. To make this goal realistically achievable, BioeconomyVentures gathered a heterogeneous, yet complementary pool of entities to compose the BioeconomyVentures Consortium.

The project, funded by the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (GA N° 101023260), involves 9 partners spread across 8 different countries.

The consortium’s added value consists of their extensive background experience within the bioeconomy and its business fields, as well as in sponsoring entrepreneurship programmes. Partner’s diversity does not only stem from the wide geographical coverage, but also from their areas of expertise and core activities.

Five out of the nine partner companies are clusters organisations. They come along with their well-established networks that constitute an essential added value to the project.

• The Irish Bioeconomy Foundation, Ireland´s national bioeconomy association and innovation cluster, experienced in facilitating relations among bio-based businesses, will coordinate the project and ensure its smooth implementation.
• FOOD+I, a well-established food industry cluster in Spain, fosters collaboration between the agro-food businesses and key innovation stakeholders. It will put forth its experience and network to build the Ambassadors Network for BioeconomyVentures.
• Flanders’ FOOD is another agri-food cluster that fosters the innovativeness of food processing companies and helps them grow. FF will develop a state-of-the-art evaluation framework for the assessment of the project stakeholders’ needs.
• FSH, an Impact Venture Studio delivering sustainable, profitable growth for impact-driven food and bioeconomy founders.
• F6S, as a global start-up community gathering about 2 million entrepreneurs, is going to contribute with its expertise in managing the project open calls and engaging the stakeholders.

Two innovative SMEs bring along their many years knowledge building and experience in providing services and training to entrepreneurs.

• ENCO, a R&D consulting company with decades-long experience as business facilitator, will lead the Communication and Dissemination activities of this project to maximise its overall impact.
• alchemia-nova GmbH, an interdisciplinary research and innovation institute, is charged, in part, with defining an economically viable business model, strategy and set of sustainability criteria to ensure the long-term continuation of the impacts created by the platform.

Finally, the two technological partners come in to lend completeness to the consortium.

• AITIIP, a technological centre in the plastic manufacturing industry, will periodically monitor the market trends for BioeconomyVentures to make sure the project is always up to date with the latest technologies.
• BBEPP is a pilot plant to upscale or optimize new bio-based processes and products. Within the project BBEPP will nurture essential synergies with external actors and as coordinator of the pilots4U database, establish links with the network of open access multipurpose pilot and demo infrastructures within the European bio-economy.

The eclectic background of BioeconomyVentures partners is the ultimate added value to the project. By joining efforts and working together it will be possible not only to overcome geographical boundaries, but also to build bridges between scientific innovation and industrial competitiveness.