In Europe, the need for internationalization arises early on, given the relatively small size of countries and their cultural and regulatory differences. For female-led start-ups, international growth presents additional unique challenges, resulting from limited access to funding and networks compared to their counterparts. And that´s where Supernovas, the leading female entrepreneurship support organization of the EIT, jumps in!

The Rocket Up programme, a comprehensive 15-week initiative under the umbrella of Supernovas,  offers tailored support from mentors with expertise in market expansion and strategy development, along with individualized guidance from industry experts, and valuable introductions to stakeholders.

Among the selected start-ups, we have four mobility-focused ventures in this year’s batch:

• Go Jauntly (UK): Free, award-winning, community-based app which promotes walking for leisure, active travel and nature connection. 

• ProperGate (Poland): Smart logistics platform for construction sites. Streamline operations, optimize resources, and drive sustainability.

• GAYA (France): GAYA is a French smart-bikes brand, dedicated to make urban families life brighter. 

• BitaGreen (Belgium): For healthier and happier cities, BitaGreen helps risk managers identify best locations for investment in climate-proof urban nature.

The complete batch includes the following start-ups:

1. Gaya Bike

2. Ani Biome

3. Fermata

4. Corbiota

5. BitaGreen

6. Scaled

7. GoJauntly

8. ProperGate

9. Li-tech

10. Resourcly

All participating start-ups in the Rocket Up programme are committed to the goals of EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Food, or EIT Manufacturing, aligning their efforts with sustainability and economic development.

Throughout this intensive programme, participating start-ups will achieve the following outcomes:

• Identify the most suitable market for expansion and develop a well-defined go-to-market strategy with an actionable to-do list for successful market entry.
• Connect with key stakeholders and potential partners to establish fruitful collaborations.
• Expand networks through interactions with industry experts and experienced mentors providing valuable guidance.
• Foster meaningful connections with other women-led start-ups, creating a supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Stay updated on the progress and achievements of these outstanding start-ups by connecting with us on our social media channels. For more information about the Rocket Up programme, please visit the Supernovas website.       

“For European start-ups, international expansion is vital due to the continent’s diverse countries. Yet, expanding internationally is not so easy, as it requires consideration of various regulations, languages, and cultures. Especially for women-led ventures, which are often held back by additional barriers. With the programme, start-ups will define a successful expansion strategy. The start-ups selected have shown a strong team, remarkable product innovation focusing on sustainability, and the potential for international expansion.”

Celeste Reglá, Rocket Up Programme Officer

Out of 470 applications received, 86 promising start-ups were selected to participate in the seven Accelerators and Scale-up programmes, resulting in an 18% success rate for applicants. The high number of applications provides evidence of the rapid growth and immense potential of the urban mobility and transport sector. For the 2023 cohorts 21 European countries are represented in the start-ups selected. Among the selected ventures in the 2023 promotion, over 30% are led by female CEOs or founders, in line with EIT Urban Mobility’s dedication to narrowing the start-up gender gap and fostering an inclusive ecosystem. In 2022, the thematic accelerators and Scale-up programmes provided support to 74 start-ups.

EIT Urban Mobility’s Accelerators and Scale-up programmes will provide the selected start-ups with an extensive array of services and support spanning over a six-month period. This support includes personalised mentoring, enabling start-ups to tap into the expertise and guidance of professionals. Additionally, living lab testing of solutions allows for real-world validation and optimization of their innovative offerings. The programmes also facilitate valuable matchmaking opportunities with cities and industry partners, fostering collaborations and strategic partnerships. Furthermore, start-ups gain access to important industry events, enabling them to showcase their solutions, network with key stakeholders, and gain crucial visibility.

Raül Feliu, Impact Ventures Programmes Manager:

“The European transport sector has undergone significant changes driven by technology and a global shift toward sustainable and accessible choices. EIT Urban Mobility is on a mission to facilitate this paradigm shift to build a long-lasting sustainable change while supporting start-ups whose solutions provide a positive impact. Through our accelerator and scale-up programmes, we provide crucial support to early-stage companies, foster valuable connections within a unique urban mobility ecosystem, and curate a funnel of top performing companies to our investments. We aim to change the present of urban mobility while fostering innovation and entrepreneurship; This is the key to shaping a better future for all of us.”

Scale-up Programme 2023

The Scale-up Programme will be a precursor and will support 12 start-ups during 2023 with a
cross-thematic focus so that they develop and implement innovative solutions in the field of
urban mobility.

• IMPARGO
• SparkPARK
• Ridergy
• Hybrid Lidar
• Roadia
• Triply
• Luna Systems
• Parkunload
• Comodif
• Lade.de
• Walkingtalking
• AviBike Kft. (BLOCK)

The Scale-Up programme consortium partners managing the programme are CARNET – UPC Technology Cente, Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Niedersächsisches Forschungszentrum
Fahrzeugtechnik (NFF), PowerHUB and UnternehmerTUM (UTUM).

Accelerate2MOVE – Future Mobility 2023

Accelerate2MOVE will provide support to start-ups generating solutions (TRL4 to TRL7) in advanced technologies and concepts that contribute to the sustainability of urban mobility, more specifically in AI, blockchain, 5G, vehicle-2-everything (V2X) and IoT.

• Asistobe AS
• BB Boreal Bikes GmbH
• CycleAI, Lda
• Drop DAO
• Fruittorg
• GaiaHub OÜ
• Link Robotik Teknolojileri Makine Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
• Moveree
• TechNovator
• UDX Research s.r.o.
• Urban Monkeys GmbH
• Vivadrive

The Accelerate2MOVE consortium partners managing the accelerator are Innovation Centre Nikola Tesla (ICENT), LMT, Ljubljana University Incubator (LUI), North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency (REGEA), Poslovna inteligencija (BIRD Incubator) and VEFRESH.

Better Mobility Accelerator – Inclusive Mobility 2023

The Better Mobility Accelerator will be a precursor and will support 12 start-ups during 2023
with a focus on inclusive mobility so that they develop and implement innovative solutions in the
field of urban mobility.

• .lumen
• 3FINERY LTD
• Artificient Mobility Intelligence GmbH
• Bellavi Software AB
• Cocoon Airbag Protection AB
• Cyclebee GmbH
• EOOS NEXT
• LendoCare
• Nemi Mobility Solutions
• Omni Audio Ltd.
• White Jacket Global S.L.
• Workride

The Better Mobility Accelerator consortium partners managing the accelerator are Impact Hub Vienna, Productized and Punkt vor Strich.

E+ Mobility Accelerator 2023

The E+ Mobility Accelerator proposal is a continuation of the EIT Urban Mobility Hub South Acceleration Programme, with a specific focus on the mobility & energy, micro-mobility and shared mobility thematic fields.

• Andronebula SL
• Closebattery Logistics SL (full&fast)
• DeepVolt
• ecoDeliver
• Electric Vehicle Ecosystem
• Iomob
• Meredot
• QOOB
• SWITCH
• Wikimove

The partners of this programme are Barcelona Activa, Carnet, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Connected Mobility Hub (CMH), Automotive Technology Center of Galicia (CTAG), Italian National Agency for New Technologies Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Ferrovial, Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF).

Energy & Public Realm Accelerator 2023

The EIT Urban Mobility Public Realm Accelerator provides support for innovative mobility solutions, focusing on creating a better public space and improving the well-being of residents by addressing energy- and mobility-related aspects.

• 2C s.rl
• Campfire Solutions GmbH-
• Cellgrid
• Deveci Tech
• Future Power Fund UG (i.G.)
• Go Rolloe Ltd. (GoRolloe)
• INRES Yenilikçi Yenilenebilir Enerji Sistemleri Anonim Şirketi
• RWInnoTec GmbH
• SurplusMap
• WeCreate GmbH

The partners of this programme are Zone Cluster, PowerHUB and SpinLab Accelerator GmbH.

Smart Mobility – DMS Accelerator 2023

The DMS Accelerator focuses on smart and sustainable mobility so that they develop and implement innovative solutions in the field of urban mobility.

• Carbmee
• Brightmerge
• i4drive
• Luchs security
• Anyroutes
• The Tyre Collective
• Terra sp. z o.o.
• Clearly
• XENSE Vision AB
• Novac s.r.l.

The partners of this programme are Drive TLV, MobilityXLab and Startup Autobahn, powered by Plug and Play.

Sustainable City Logistics Accelerator 2023

The Sustainable City Logistics Accelerator will support you to transform your sustainable city logistics solution from local to global.

• ANET360 – British-Hungarian Road Safety PLC
• BAVERTIS
• BUDDY Service Iberia SL
• CommuteSaver
• Keet
• IntegrtiyKEY S.R.L.
• Omniloop AB
• REVOLTZ LTD
• Sade
• SHARE

The partners of this programme are UnternehmerTUM, Polihub, AZO, DTU Science Park’s Futurebox, TU Munich and ISBAK.

UAM Plazza Accelerator 2023

The UAM Plazza accelerator programme aims to help start-ups in the field of Urban Air Mobility boost the introduction of their solutions to the market.

• ABzero
• ARC Aerosystems
• CRSA – Connect Robotics Sistemas Autónomos Lda
• DM-AirTech GmbH
• PrimeCor Systems S.L.P.
• Skycharge
• StratoWave Connect
• THE EDGE COMèPANY
• UP&CHARGE
• VOLARE GmbH

The partners of this programme are Toulouse Métropole, Aerospace Valley, CARNET and Ferrovial.

To follow the progress and results of the programmes, connect to our social media channels. In case of interest to apply for the next open call for the accelerator programmes, please register here.

All over Europe, entrepreneurs are working on innovative solutions to cope with urban mobility challenges. However, circumstances differ across the continent resulting in unequal number and quality of funding opportunities for locally emerging businesses.

Through the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS), EIT tackles such disparities by spreading its activities more evenly. More precisely, the RIS region defines a group of countries with a low performing innovation capacity. Despite the talent and entrepreneurial mindset available in such countries, change and innovation in the RIS region tend to slow down due to the conservative and risk avoiding policy making, as well as the drawbacks of engaging in an entrepreneurial career and the limited mechanisms to support start-ups.

By setting up a dedicated budget to invest in start-ups incorporated in RIS countries, EIT Urban Mobility is now contributing to the faster development of their innovation ecosystems and, more importantly, to the fundraising process of their local start-ups. As an impact investor, EIT Urban Mobility fosters positive social and environmental change across Europe, which among other things translates into paying special attention to those vulnerable innovation ecosystems.

To date, EIT Urban Mobility has invested in more than 20 start-ups from the RIS region like Mosaic from Czech Republic, Meight from Portugal, and Deeptraffic from Greece, and keeps looking for the most prominent entrepreneurs to disrupt the European mobility industry in those countries. If your company is incorporated in a RIS country seeking for capital, we highly encourage you to apply to our open investments call!

Check out EIT Urban Mobility’s investments landing page for more information or apply directly through the AwardsForce platform.

Urban Radar, a French based start-up supported by EIT Urban Mobility,  was selected to run a pilot project on curb management and urban logistics in Barcelona, one of the leading European smart cities. Urban Radar’s platform fits in Barcelona’s strategy by enabling communities and city managers to take an accessible data-centric approach.  Thanks to this solution, carbon emissions, pollution, and congestion will be reduced, thereby contributing to more sustainable mobility of people and goods.

Following EIT Urban Mobility’s mission to improve mobility to make cities more liveable places, Urban Radar’s pilot proposal focuses on enabling sectoral collaborations and tailoring tools to improve the way city logistics is currently understood, coordinated, and regulated. The coordinated work with the city of Barcelona has delivered insights on how the current network of loading zones (AreaDUM- Area of Urban Distribution of Goods) is utilised, and what policies and changes could be made to the network to better address the needs of citizens and industry.

On the pilot project, Raül Feliu, Business Creation Manager at EIT Urban Mobility, explained that this project is at the core of EIT Urban Mobility’s mission to create more liveable urban spaces by tackling the logistics and curb management challenges faced by the city of Barcelona and by many other European cities.

According to Philippe Rapin, CEO of Urban Radar, this pilot is a win-win. “Our technology can combine multiple data sets to build measurable impact solutions in a quick, affordable, and secure way together with the city of Barcelona”.

The pilot project is one of the first steps on Barcelona’s mission towards a new governance model in urban logistics, founded on public-private collaborations and the digitalisation of logistics activity and loading zones.

Àngel López, Director of Mobility Strategies at the city of Barcelona considers the project a key turning point to better manage the last-mile logistics and the continuous flow of vehicles and packages across districts. This collaboration between Barcelona, Urban Radar, and EIT Urban Mobility will positively impact citizens’ life by lowering congestion, improving air quality and promoting more sustainable urban logistics.

We are happy to announce that we reached a significant milestone by improving the integration of shared mobility services in the city of Milan thanks to the platform created by the startup Vianova.

EIT Urban Mobility supported the implementation of this platform to help Milan’s streets to be safer and more efficient. This is a good example of how EIT Urban Mobility contributes to making urban spaces more liveable for the benefit of European citizens.

The EIT Urban Mobility’s business acceleration services enabled Vianova to strengthen its connection with AMAT, a mobility and environment agency owned by the municipality of Milan, and to investigate the possibility to pilot the Vianova technology in Milan. In October 2020, EIT Urban Mobility invested € 45.000 in Vianova to implement a pilot in Milan together with AMAT.

The data platform developed by Vianova consists of a digital layer between cities and connected transportation services, enabling better integration and collaboration between the two. It will now be fully scaled to supervise shared mobility services in Milan, such as e-scooters, bikes, mopeds and shared cars. While doing this, Vianova will also provide digitisation of all regulations of AMAT and it will work on the development of an audit feature to verify operators’ compliance.

The pilot has already kicked-off and it will run throughout 2021, including the platform customisation to the needs of the city of Milan and the integration with the city’s shared mobility operators.  

‘’Thanks to the collaboration with Vianova, the city of Milan will be able to equip itself with a useful tool to better monitor the demand for shared mobility and plan specific interventions to ramp up the mobility offer with new services. This will allow to achieve the goals of EIT Urban Mobility to integrate user-centric mobility services and products and give a significant boost to the market growth’’, stated Valentino Sevino, Director of Mobility Planing and Monitoring Area at AMAT.

BACKGROUND

About Vianova

Vianova, a French start-up based in Paris and founded in 2018, is one of the leading European data platform providers for enabling cities to manage connected, shared and autonomous mobility in the urban public realm. Some facts: 15 major European cities are using Vianova; 25 mobility operators integrated; € 500 000 revenue generated in 2020; 70 000 vehicles supervised/day; 2M rides/month; 100M data points ingested/day.

Vianova has been part of several of programmes supported by EIT Urban Mobility: it was granted with € 15 000 for technology and market validation under the EIT Urban Mobility Accelerator programme running from July to December 2020, followed by its participation in the GoGlobal programme, which promotes start-ups’ global outreach by connecting start-ups to the EIT Urban Mobility network and ecosystem. 

About AMAT

AMAT (Agenzia Mobilità Ambiente e Territorio) is a wholly owned agency by the Municipality of Milan that focuses on mobility, environment and territory. Since 2000, AMAT has been providing services in support of municipal functions in the fields of planning, programming, design, management, monitoring and control related to the mobility, transport and public space activities in the City of Milan.

Contacts / useful links:

www.vianova.io; Thibault Castagne, co-founder of Vianova: thibault.castagne@vianova.io 

www.amat-mi.it; Valentino Sevino, Director of Mobility Planning and Monitoring Area Director at AMAT: valentino.sevino@amat-mi.it