19 March 2018, London - NACUE, proudly becomes a “Startup Europe Ambassador” in the UK. The Startup Europe Ambassadors are a group of key influencers in the European startup ecosystems who provide information and advice about the European Commission's Startup Europe initiative. The objective is to democratise the startup phenomenon so that every citizen has a fair chance to become a successful entrepreneur wherever they are located in Europe. The ambassadors will also help startups in their growth phase to have access to all the opportunities offered at European level. All Startup Europe Ambassadors are publicly presented today at the “Startup Europe Campfire” held in Paris.
Throughout the years, the European Commission’s Startup Europe initiative has become a top reference in the European startup related field, by supporting directly around 60 local ecosystems and over 750 startups to grow beyond borders. The mission of Startup Europe is to build a Startup Continent by connecting pools of talent. The initiative encourages entrepreneurship, startup creation and growth, connects startups, investors, accelerators, corporates, universities and the media through an array of grassroots initiatives or networks.
NACUE is involved in the European Commission’s MY-GATEWAY project. MY-GATEWAY is an initiative of Startup Europe that aims to strengthen the capacities of high-tech start-ups and innovative SMEs in the CEE region to become better connected, gain higher market exposure, and have improved, streamlined access to funding opportunities and talents.
In an ever-changing European startup ecosystem the Startup Europe initiative has designed the group of its Ambassadors to democratise the startup phenomenon so that every citizen has a fair chance to become a successful entrepreneur wherever they are located in Europe. The role of the ambassadors is to provide information and advice about the European Commission's Startup Europe initiative with the objective that every European entrepreneur has access to all the opportunities offered at European level. In addition, the ambassadors will also help startups in their growth phase to have access to all the opportunities offered at European level.
The Startup Europe Ambassadors will actively contribute to the visibility of Startup Europe activities at the local level by acting as a key information point in their countries and also as a connector for the local ecosystem with the other startups ecosystems across Europe. The first members of this group are the organisations who have been selected through the evaluation of proposals for the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 ICT 32 call, as well as partners of European funded projects WeB-UP or OpenMaker.
The complete list of Startup Europe Ambassadors is published here: http://startupeuropeclub.eu/startup-europe-ambassadors/ and you can meet us during future Startup Europe events organised in 2018: STARTUP OLÉ 2018 (17-19 April, Salamanca,10000 startup stakeholders, free registration), EUROPEAN MAKER WEEK 2018 (18-27 May, 300 maker events in 28 countries), Startup Europe Summit 2018 (European Commission's foremost technology policy conference for startups. 15 October, Sofia, BG).
About Startup Europe
Startup Europe is an initiative of the European Commission which falls under its priority of the “Digital Single Market”. Startup Europe’s goal is to democratise the startup phenomenon so that every citizen has a fair chance to become a successful entrepreneur wherever they are located in Europe. In addition, Startup Europe helps startups in their growth phase to scale-up across Europe and internationalise worldwide. Startup Europe’s first priority is to develop high quality ecosystems based on talent and high level of connectedness among the players of the ecosystems at EU level.
Startup Europe has mobilised the tech entrepreneurship ecosystem and helped them to have their voice heard at EU institutions. It has helped to gain a better understanding of this environment and has raised political awareness on the subject. Within the Horizon 2020 framework, 2018-2020 timeframe, 7 projects are working together in terms of financing, skills, entrepreneurial events and growth advice. Startup Europe’s programmes focus on helping startup communities, increase collaborations between startup ecosystems, encouraging entrepreneurship, startup creation and scaling business.
Learn more on the single point for startups (One Stop Shop) and to access all the information startups need to grow and thrive: http://startupeuropeclub.eu/
About NACUE
The National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) is the leading charitable organisation for engaging students in enterprise. Launched by students in 2009, we work with college and university students, to develop an enterprising and entrepreneurial generation. Providing young individuals with opportunities to boost their skills, confidence and aspirations through student-led enterprise societies, practical programmes and inspiring events, we are dedicated to supporting, connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide. It does so by supporting the development of student-led enterprise clubs and societies in over 200 colleges and universities across the UK.
NACUE has secured government funding of £3million, has corporate partners such as BVCA and Tata and distributed more than £400,000 directly to student-led enterprise initiatives. NACUE runs some of the largest student enterprise events in Europe, such as the Student Enterprise Conference and is recognised by UNCTAD as a 'global best practice in youth-led enterprise models'.