Rise Europe European start-up ecosystem builders join forces

Munich, May 17, 2023. With the new "Rise Europe" initiative, leading ecosystem builders from 14 European countries* are teaming up to empower the next generation of game-changing and transformative start-ups to secure long-term prosperity in Europe. Addressing transitions and global challenges such as climate crisis and scarcity of resources demand a joint effort. The ambition is to match the innovativeness of countries like USA and China by helping European start-ups to scale and become sustainable global market leaders.

Last week, 20 ecosystem builders from leading universities and start-up hubs** accepted the invitation of UnternehmerTUM - the center for innovation and business creation at Technical University of Munich - to attend the first Rise Europe summit in the Bavarian Alps. A powerful alliance of international players that shares a common vision of strong innovations "made in Europe" has emerged with the convening of Rise Europe.

Crises require European collaboration

The current geopolitical and economic uncertainties and crises underline the urgency of an alliance that accompanies the European businesses of tomorrow. Innovative companies solve grand challenges, create jobs, prevent brain drain and thus ensure prosperity.

Although the members of Rise Europe share these aspirations and goals with regard to a technologically and economically sovereign Europe, they have so far been mostly acting separately from one another. The group is now joining forces to firstly improve the environment for entrepreneurs in Europe together with industry, family offices, policy makers and investors, secondly create more visibility for emerging "start-up champions" and thirdly provide start-ups with easy access to talent, customers and capital across Europe. The initiative will combine the individual local ecosystems into one - in order to contribute to faster and better solutions to major societal challenges.

Three days of exchange

During the three days of the summit, the members of Rise Europe formulated the cornerstones of future cooperation: Firstly, the group will actively support each other to reach a top level in the focus areas of Education, Open Innovation and Acceleration. Rise Europe agreed on publishing an annual list of Europe’s most meaningful start-ups and on accelerating those promising European teams with all their individual networks and support mechanisms for quicker scaling. Starting in the coming months, members will help start-ups entering the markets of their respective countries by direct support and connection to high-quality market entry offerings. Additionally, Rise Europe plans to arrange matchmaking events between start-ups, corporates and investors on a European level and a format specifically to increase female entrepreneurship by matching female co-founders across countries. The next major summit is planned for April 2023 in Madrid.

Prof. Dr. Helmut Schöneberger, Founder and CEO of UnternehmerTUM says: "With Rise Europe, Europe has a new impulse generator that will contribute to overcome global challenges and shape a transnational understanding of the importance of sustainable entrepreneurship. In everything we do, we want to put people and Europe's values at the center. I am very pleased to be able to work so closely together with our friends and dedicated colleagues as part of Rise Europe.”

For more information visit: https://www.unternehmertum.de/landingpages/rise-europe

* Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom

** Rise Europe is a collaboration of leaders from: Aalto University, Agoranov, Beta-i, Campus Founders, DLD, DTU Skylab, École Polytechnique, ETH AI CENTER, ETH Zurich, HighTechXL, IE University, Imperial College London, INiTS, KTH Innovation, EnSpire Oxford at Oxford University, Sting, TalTech, Tangent at Trinity College Dublin, UnternehmerTUM and Vento