The Activa Startups program offers grants to SMEs to innovate. ACCIÓ

Grants to SMEs to innovate with startups

The Activa Startups program offers SMEs grants of up to 40,000 euros to drive digital transformation through collaboration with startups. This initiative aims to promote open innovation and help them incorporate or develop new technologies or move towards more sustainable business models.

For established SMEs, startups are a unique source of inspiration and innovation, as well as a great opportunity to make leading projects a reality: developing new products through disruptive technologies or carrying out initiatives in green and circular economy, among others.

The Activa Startups program, promoted by the EOI and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, can help you make it happen. If your business involves a challenge that can be solved through collaboration with startups, submit it now!

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What is the Activa Startups program?

The Activa Startups program is aimed at SMEs and emerging companies with the aim of promoting the company’s digital transformation through collaboration and open innovation.

To this end, each SME will pose an innovation challenge to be solved with the help of startups, seeking innovation through solutions based on disruptive technologies. At the same time, startups can also submit their solutions.

These grants of up to 40,000 euros will be awarded to finance the expenses arising from innovation processes of SMEs through collaboration with startups. The actions to be financed may be any of the following:

Actions based on the validation and adoption of disruptive technologies that can be used to develop new products, processes or services.
Actions based on the digitization of SMEs, knowledge and technology transfer, proof of concept or production of prototypes, among others.

The assessment criteria for the Activa Startups grants are based on the suitability of the challenge and the proposed resolution, the degree of innovation of the proposed solution, the team involved in the project and the socio-economic and environmental impact.

Do you have a technological challenge? Would you like to connect with the startup ecosystem? Propose your challenge and find your new tech partner!

Get the presentation of the Activa Startups program 2023

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Are you an SME?

If you are an SME and want to develop an open innovation project, you can now submit your challenge on the Catalonia Open Challenges platform by following the steps below:

Register your company on the platform and describe your challenge. Find out in this guide (.pdf document) how to define your challenge.
Once you have submitted the challenge, ACCIÓ’s team will review it and inform you that it has been published on the platform.
As startups submit their solutions, you can request virtual or face-to-face meetings.

Do you have a technological challenge or would you like to connect with the most innovative ecosystem? Submit it now on the Catalonia Open Challenges platform!

Are you a startup?

Just like SMEs, if you are a technology startup, you can now submit your solutions on the Catalonia Open Challenges platform as follows:

Register your startup on the platform and describe your technology solution. Find out in this guide (.pdf document) how to define your solution.
Once you have registered your solution, ACCIÓ’s team will review it and inform you that it has been published on the platform.
From here on, you will be able to hold virtual and face-to-face meetings with the companies you are interested in.

Submit your solution now on the Catalonia Open Challenges platform and connect with your new partner!

News about the Activa Startups Program

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Activa Startups Program: experiences and publications

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Activa Startups Program