The SmartUp Accelerator 2020: Smart Consumption (the “Accelerator”) is organised and conducted by the BSR SmartUp Accelerator Consortium (the “Organiser”) and shall be open for submissions to participate from 15 Jan 2020 to 12 Feb 2020 (the “Entry Period”). The Accelerator is part of a project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund aiming to strengthen the innovation system for consumer cleantech companies in the Baltic Sea Region.
1. Mission
The Accelerator will provide acceleration services to startups and SME’s that provide consumer-oriented products and/or services that reduce environmental impact and resource usage from private consumption.
2. The Proposed Solution
We are inviting Smart Consumption companies with solutions that fulfill the following criteria:
Solutions shall address the field of Smart Consumption, excluding the Smart Homes (covered 2018) and Smart Mobility (covered 2019) themes.
Applications are invited in the following sub-categories
- Reducing/eliminating food waste
- Examples: “rescue” apps, pantry management, nonprofit/donations, waste monitors, etc
- Reducing climate impact from food consumption
- Examples: Diet trackers, Alternatives to meat and dairy products, etc
- Circular economy solutions
- Examples: Apps for trading used stuff, household waste processing, Subscription business models, etc
- Sharing economy solutions
- Service platforms, rentals, financial services, crowdfunding, etc
- Awareness raising/nudging solutions
- CO2-trackers, training, etc
The business model can be one or more of the following:
B2C = business to consumer
B2B2C = business to business to consumer;
Priority will be given to B2C business models.
Business models not applicable: B2B (business to business)
3. Receipt of Entries and Eligibility
a) The Accelerator is open for submissions from startups SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises according to EU regulation http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en) registered in one of the BSR countries Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, northern parts of Germany (only the States (Länder) of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Niedersachsen (only NUTS II area Lüneburg region)) or Russia (only St.Petersburg region).
b) Submitting companies shall have a product or service that fits within the scope described in section 2 above (the “Proposed Solution”)
c) The Accelerator will be open for submissions during the Entry Period. Entries are made by completing an online form available on the project website.
d) Incomplete or inaccurate submissions shall be invalid. Submissions after the Entry Period may be valid only after the express permission of the Organiser.
e) The right to permit or restrict participation lies exclusively with the Organiser.
4. Incorrect information
If a participant has committed irregularities, fraud or has made false declarations, the Organiser may exclude the participant from the Accelerator.
5. Evaluation of Entries
The Proposed Solutions will be screened by a jury consisting of industry experts, organizers and project partners. The following topics will be covered in the evaluation (percentages indicate relative weight of each property):
- Market potential (Solution, Customers & Impact + Market + Technology) – 35%
- Environmental benefits (Solution, Customers & Impact) – 25%
- New market entry readiness (Maturity + Motivation & Priorities) – 40%
A scorecard will be used to assess the entries according to the above topics. Submitting companies will be informed about their scores within 14 days after the Entry Period.
Based on the evaluation, 7 companies (one from each eligible country) will be selected to join the Accelerator. Decisions made by the jury are final. No correspondence will be entered into. The composition of the jury may vary.
6. Participation in the Accelerator
The Accelerator consists of three phases during a four-month period (spanning from March 2020 to June 2020) according to the following (time frames may be subject to change)
a) Pre-Bootcamp phase (1st of March 2020 – 23 March 2020)
- Face-to-face meeting between selected team and local partner
- Online activities
b) Bootcamp (24-25 March 2020)
- 2-day International Bootcamp in Berlin, Germany
- During the Bootcamp, teams draft a roadmap for market entry for their product or service in the market of choice within the Baltic Sea Region
- The 7 teams will get support from international mentors, gain insight about consumer cleantech and understanding customers in different markets
c) 1-on-1 acceleration phase (26 March 2020 – 30 June 2020)
- After the bootcamp and during the next 4 months, teams will get 1-on-1 support from local SmartUp Accelerator partner to execute the roadmap for internationalisation
- The support will include opening doors to valuable contacts, arranging meetings with clients or investors, scanning for potential testbeds for piloting and various other types of support in accordance with the teams’ needs
7. Reimbursement
Teams that are accepted into the Accelerator will have their expenses for travel to/from Berlin and accommodation during the Bootcamp covered. Admission to the Bootcamp will be granted on the condition of the successful completion of Pre-Bootcamp activities.
Additionally, teams may be reimbursed for travel costs up to a total of €10 000 (including reimbursements for Bootcamp related costs) to meet prospective customers,partners, etc. in their selected BSR market during the 1-on-1 acceleration phase. Requests for such reimbursement must be made to the Organiser before the cost has been incurred. The Organiser decides at its sole discretion whether to reimburse these costs.
8. Cancellation
The Accelerator can be cancelled – without any obligation to compensate participants – if any of the below listed items would occur:
a) none, or too few, applications are received
b) the evaluators do not find any suitable candidates for the Accelerator
If a participant is deemed ineligible for the Accelerator after the admittance in the Accelerator, the Organiser has the right to withdraw any reimbursement or promised service towards the participant.
9. Intellectual Property Rights
a) You confirm by entering the submission process that, to the best of your knowledge, you own all Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”) subsisting in your entry to the Accelerator and that your entry does not infringe any third party’s IPRs. You are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission from third parties to use their IPRs in your submission. The Organiser reserves the right to disclose your identity to any third party claiming material posted or uploaded by you to the Accelerator website constitutes a violation of their IPRs, or their confidentiality/privacy rights. The Organiser reserves the right to ask for additional evidence or documents to validate that all information you supply is true and complete.
b) All, if any, generated intellectual property throughout the participation in the submission process and the Accelerator belongs to the legal entity who had part in the development of such. SmartUp Accelerator does not retain any equity or ownership of the idea upon application. You retain full and exclusive ownership of your information and intellectual property rights. Any idea you submit will only be used for the purpose of evaluating your application to the Accelerator.
c) The Organiser holds no responsibility to assess any intellectual property infringement for submitted contributions and cannot be liable if such infringement would occur. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that no infringement or breach of intellectual property has been done regarding their submitted Proposed Solution.
10. Liability
a) The Organiser cannot be held liable for possible deficiencies of the submission system, including problems regarding computers, networks or any other reasons that may lead to lost, damaged or late entries.
b) The Organiser cannot be held liable for any damage caused to the participants or to third parties as a consequence of the participation in the submission process including for gross negligence
c) The Organiser cannot be held liable for any damage caused by any of the participants in the context of participation in the Accelerator.
11. Language
The working language of the Accelerator is English.
12. Personal data
a) Unless stated otherwise, information (including personal information) submitted in any entry will be used by Smartup Accelerator.
b) By submitting your entry to the Accelerator, you give the Organiser permission to use the information provided by you in your entry and during your participation in the submission process and the Accelerator (including your personal details, logos and photos uploaded by you and taken during events) for the purposes of administering and judging the entries, for any purpose connected to the Accelerator and for promotional purposes. The Organiser may share this information with our jury members, our partners, and anyone who is involved in the Accelerator.