The third Twinning Meeting of I AM GREEN project took place on Monday 22 of November, and it was hosted by Israeli Partner III – Israeli Innovation Institute. The main goals of the event were:
- Analysing the feasibility and the sustainability of the business model of the incubator developed in the context of the I AM GREEN project.
- Identifying the best practices supporting the implementation of the model.
- Creating a Business Model Canvas template for the I AM GREEN incubation model and envisaging a roadmap for its implementation.
- Carrying out a SWOT analysis and understanding how the model is positioned according to the results of the value proposition analysis.
- Collecting feedback for the draft of the last chapters and conclusion of the Design Option Paper.
The main topics of discussion
The meeting opened with Liam Dunne, CEO of Klearcom Ltd, who listed the main factors of success for a start-up from his point of view: a shared culture among the founders, fast execution, identifying the unknowns beyond key competences, the local element to create confidence locally among customers and investors, finding suitable Partners.
He was followed by Aisling O’Neill, Manager at ArcLabs R&I Centre, an accelerator ecosystem established in 2005 in Ireland, whose final goal is to create high quality jobs in the region. She stated that one of the main challenges is communicating the mission of the Centre and its capacity of putting researchers and entrepreneurs together for innovation purposes.
The third speech was held by Annamaria Fiore, responsible for the INCUBA project at ARTI. The project aimed at supporting enterprises of the agrifood sector through the provision of relevant services to new entrepreneurs in Puglia and Western Greece regions. One of the main goals of the project was also to create cross-border partnerships between incubators, in order to offer training & counselling support services for start-ups, but also to develop an ideal business model for collaborative ideas.
The last intervention from the morning was the one from Yishai Binnes of LABS02, an early-stage venture capital and incubator. He stressed the importance of local specialised knowledge for creating cutting-edge, high value companies, especially in a country like Israel where government agencies correctly respond to changes in the market.
In the second part of the meeting, three more speakers were invited to present the entities they collaborate in and to debate on a number of specific topics. The firs tone was Eammon Sayers, Manager at Guinness Enterprise Centre, one of the largest and most successful innovation centres in Ireland.
Stefano Marastoni followed and shared the mission and the values of ARTI – Regional Technology and Innovation Centre for Puglia region in Italy. Established in 2004, ARTI supports the regional government in designing and managing economic development, innovation, education, training and job policies. In particular, he focused on the initiative “Estrazione dei Talenti” (Talent Mining), through which ARTI funds customized paths supporting teams of aspiring entrepreneurs in multiple innovation areas.
The final statements were made by Eliran Keran, who stressed the importance of having an overarching strategy and making choices for specific areas, and who also touched upon many successful examples of innovation agencies and experiences in Israel.
The meeting also featured three interactive workshops aimed at creating the Business Model Canvas for the business model of I AM GREEN incubator:
- The first one aimed at a collaborative definition of the unique value proposition
- During the second session, high-level activities strategy was identified (i.e. Key Partners, Key Activities and Key Resources).
- The third one was focused on cost structure and revenue streams of the model