The Alpine Space includes top innovative area in Europe with great potential to grow an innovative entrepreneurship. Yet, as a transregional space, it is not living up to its potential – in terms of competitiveness, it lags behind other EU hubs. By establishing the Alpine Space (AS) as an innovative hub on the international level, the AS will attract startups, and through this, the economy in the AS will be improved.
The main aims of the SCALE(up)ALPS project are to foster the scaling up of Alpine Space (AS) startups and to brand the AS as a cooperative area for innovative businesses and job creation. The project is about improving funding opportunities, finding the talent and a skilled workforce, developing leadership and facilitating access to markets.
The project’s main outputs will be:
1) connecting AS ecosystem policies & communities of practice;
2) selecting policies that expand the quantity and the quality of AS serial entrepreneurs and fast-growing scalable ventures;
3) producing a mid-level feasibility plan with high level recommendations on start-up ecosystems’ growth and reducing fragmentation and therefore increasing collaboration across disciplines & stakeholders;
4) designing & testing innovative public-private support schemes, matching corporates and capital, attracting talent, opening up market access and improving innovation within the entrepreneurial life cycle.
SCALE(up)ALPS uses an innovative, integrated approach derived from START UP GENOME and lean start up methodologies to scale business ventures. The project draws inspiration from the action plan already developed by the Piemonte region in Italy. A dedicated, cooperative, participatory, inclusive workflow based on the EU Start up Manifesto will be produced in an open AS web platform.
Optimal framework conditions that will support startups on a practical level in the following areas will be developed:
1) Attracting talent
2) Taking advantage of market opportunities
3) Obtaining funding
The AS will arise out of this project as an ecosystem with a systematic way of supporting scaleups and act as a best practice model.
We believe that an integrate, well-connected and dynamic innovation ecosystem working at the Alpine Space level can increase the chanches of success for young, scalable companies, (scaleups), by creating a cooperative network of key players in policy making economics, administration and academia.
More information: Scale(up)Alps!