It’s a match! During the online Groningen OPEN event last Wednesday November 18, three startups were selected: Cloetta will start collaborating with LEF, FC Groningen will continue with Rockfeather and MercachemSyncom with Gecco Biotech. During the event, the four larger companies presented themselves and the challenge they formulated for Groningen OPEN. Six selected startups gave a short pitch, in which they presented their solution. The three startups that matched with a larger company, will each receive 1500 euros and start a pilot project together with the company.
The goal of the new initiative "Groningen OPEN" is to connect established companies and startups in the region in an accessible and effective way. Groningen OPEN is organized by Campus Groningen, Founded in Groningen, VentureLab North and Flinc (part of NV NOM).
Paul de Rook, Alderman of the City of Groningen, opened the online event and underscored the importance of contacts between larger companies and startups: “This way, we can find solutions for challenges that companies face and at the same time work on creating new jobs and stimulate entrepreneurship.” This first edition of Groningen OPEN is made possible by the ‘Akkoord van Groningen’.
Start collaboration program
For this first edition of Groningen OPEN, four companies from the Northern Netherlands have formulated challenges: Cloetta, FC Groningen, MercachemSyncom and Krinkels. Three of the four companies announced a match with a startup during the Groningen OPEN Event.
LEF will come up with a fun way for Cloetta to bring the positive effects of Xylitol on oral health to the attention of the Dutch consumer. Rockfeather will help FC Groningen to provide insight into the KPIs in a (live) dashboard. And Gecco Biotech will supply specific enzymes for MercachemSyncom. These three matches will start a pilot program of 6 to 12 weeks. If the company then agrees with the proposal / prototype of the startup, the actual collaboration will start. The Groningen OPEN partners will provide support for this pilot project.
Krinkels’ Bert-Erik Remmelink indicated they have not yet found a complete match for their challenge. During the preliminary rounds, Remmelink spoke with parties that can offer a partial solution for the challenge. So now he appeals to other startups who may be able to offer a solution to sign up for Groningen OPEN. In addition, the partners of Groningen OPEN are committed to finding parties for the Krinkels challenge.
Check out the full stream (largely in Dutch) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tevOHeNKBY&ab_channel=CampusGroningen
OPEN for innovation
Groningen OPEN is a new initiative by Campus Groningen, Founded in Groningen, VentureLab North and Flinc (part of NV NOM). After this first edition, an evaluation will be made of how the program can be set up as effectively as possible in the future. Established companies that want to participate in a next edition of Groningen OPEN can contact us via the information on the website www.groningenopen.nl