News

August 1^st, 2024

Welcome of the first two interns

Our first two interns from Bulgaria arrived on July 30^th in Gelsenkirchen. They will do a two-month internship at the Ruhr startups XingSys and AWARE7. At the end of August, two further interns from Slovenia will arrive to work at the startups MeiCla Design and Fairnica. We hope they will learn a lot about founding a company, get insider information on what it is like to be a founder and get to know the Ruhr area.

Start of Buddy Program

With the arrival of the internationals, our Buddy Program for students of the Ruhr area started to match with the interns and get to know the local startup ecosystem. We provide a nice program, including startup events and social activities. If you are interested in becoming a Buddy, please let us know. Also, if you need some further information, please let us know.

More information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/buddy-program-ruhr-2024/

Registration: via Email to info@ecosys4you.eu

Mind Mining Ruhr Hackathon

AWARE 7 is organising the Ecosys4you Mind Mining Ruhr Hackathon starting September 21^st, 10 am to September 22^nd 10 am in the Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen. During the 24 hours, solutions for startups and further local ecosystem challenges will be developed by different teams. Students and young alumnae are warmly welcome to join the exciting 24-hour hackathon (no coding needed). The hackathon is free, and we will provide inputs, tutors, food, drinks and a quiet place to roll out a sleeping bag. Teams will pitch their solutions on Monday night (after a break for recreation) at the ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party. Attractive prizes await the winners. In addition, you will benefit from getting to know local startups and other people interested in founding a company, learn to work with an (in)known person in a short time and become part of the Ecosys4you community.

More information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/mind-mining-hackathon/

Registration: https://aware7.typeform.com/to/pd3fHvLJ?typeform-source=www.ecosys4you.eu

ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party and Mind Mining Pitches – Save the date

The "ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party and the Mind Mining Hackathon Pitches" will take place on Monday, September 23^rd, 2024, at 4.30 pm in the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche Gelsenkirchen.

The event offers inspiration and networking opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, the business community, and the Ruhr ecosystem in the open atmosphere of the brick-expressionist Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Gelsenkirchen.

The event officially kicks off at 5 pm with a welcome by the organisers, the Economic Development Agency Gelsenkirchen (Simon Nowack, Stadtrat Gelsenkirchen), and the Ecosys4you project (Dr. Anna Butzin, IAT), followed by the introduction of the jury experts. Subsequently, the "Mind-Mining Ruhr Hackathon"-teams will present their innovative solutions to the challenges of local startups developed during the 24-hour Hackathon.

While our jury deliberates, a buffet and drinks invite you to network and exchange ideas. The highlight of the evening will be the award ceremony and the recognition of the international Ecosys4you interns who completed an entrepreneurship internship at Ruhr startups. Chris Wojzechowski, founder and CEO of AWARE7, will start the evening as the first DJ for the opening party.

The event is free of charge. Please register now so we can plan accordingly.

More Information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/event-party-pitches/ruhrstartupweek-opening-party-mind-mining-pitches/

Registration: https://www.iat.eu/termine/veranstaltungen/2024/online-anmeldungen/ruhrstartupweek-opening-party-mind-mining-pitches-online-anmeldung.html

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Ruhr Area (Germany) - quo vadis?  

The Ruhr region in Germany has a long coal and steel industrial history. The last decades marked a restructuring era for the Ruhr from heavy industry to knowledge-based sectors and innovation development. The Ruhr region's entrepreneurial ecosystem evolved in the early 2000s and has, according to dealroom data, generated more than 500 startups until now. A notable milestone of the entrepreneurial ecosystem was the foundation of the ruhrHUB in 2016, promoting startups and collaboration among supporting ecosystem infrastructures and municipalities. Some of the entrepreneurial ecosystem's key sectors are green technology, health-tech, cybersecurity, urban transformation, new industries, IT services and intelligent logistics.

According to interviews with ecosystem intermediaries conducted in Ecosys4you, a big strength in the Ruhr ecosystem is a diverse and complementary support infrastructure for entrepreneurs and startups. It includes the municipal level, for example, through business idea competitions, the university level, for example, specialised incubators like CUBE5 for cybersecurity at the Ruhr University Bochum, and region-wide events such as the ruhrSUMMIT or the ruhrSTARTUPWEEK. However, a weakness is a lack of available support in the scaling phase compared to the multiple support for entrepreneurial beginners. While opportunities lie in shifting the regional mindset, enhancing cooperation among the cities in the Ruhr, and ensuring the availability of role models (successful founders and fast-growing scaleups), concerns were raised regarding the project-based funding of the supporting infrastructures. This is considered a threat to the ecosystem's development since many of the supporting infrastructures, especially some of the major incubator programs, are only funded until the end of 2024. Furthermore, uncertain employment effects, challenges posed by double structures across municipalities, and competition with more established regions like Cologne and Düsseldorf are viewed with concern. A detailed presentation of our results on the Ruhr ecosystem can be found here (German only): Im Ruhrgebiet tut sich was: Stärken und Schwächen des Gründungsökosystems Ruhr

Varna Project Meeting

The second project meeting of all Ecosys4you partners took place in Varna (Bulgaria) on Mai 16^th to 17^th 2024. With the excellent organisation of the intensive meeting by RAPIV and in the inspiring atmosphere of wollow's co-working space, the team worked out the activities for the year ahead. The Ecosys4you team also met the local ecosystem and got an impression of Varna's opportunities for dynamic startups.

Save the Dates 

• 09.2024, 10:00 to 22.09.2024, 10:00 (CET): 24-hours Mind Mining Hackathon with co-creation challenges from local startups, participation open for students and everybody else who is interested in developing solutions, Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen, Munscheidstr. 14, 45886 Gelsenkirchen
• 09.2024, 17:00-22:00 (CET): ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party & Mind Mining Pitches, Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Bochumer Straße 115, 45886 Gelsenkirchen

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February 20th, 2024

Call for internship-providing start-ups and scale-ups  

The development of the Ecosys4you Internship Programme is in full swing. We will arrange first-hand start-up insights for ambitious students passionate about entrepreneurship. Several young ventures have already agreed to offer such internships. Thank you! 

• The first batch of students from Slovenia and Varna will come to the Ruhr for at least 60 days starting in August or early September 2024.  
• The second batch of students from the Ruhr or Slovenia will go to Varna in late Spring 2025.  

We are looking for further start-ups and scale-ups to take part. If you are a start-up or scale-up from the Ruhr or Varna Region and would like to offer an internship, please contact Anna Butzin. 

 

Ecosys4you co-creation workshops 

Four co-creation workshops were held in January and February 2024 to develop the Ecosys4you activities of Joint Classes, Mentoring, Internships and Co-creation Challenges. Stakeholders from all three ecosystems engaged in intensive dialogue and further developed the activities based on their different experiences. The workshops definitely had a cross-ecosystem character and were truly inspiring. Around 60 people took part in the workshops. Thank you to all participants for their time and insights.  

Now it's time to concretise and roll out the activities! We will start the internship programme and the co-creation challenges this summer. The joint classes and the mentoring programme follow in autumn. If you would like to take part in one of the activities as a start-up or student, please get in touch with the Ecosys4you team. You are most welcome.  

 

Slovenia’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – small and international 

In this newsletter, we present our second entrepreneurial ecosystem - Slovenia. Slovenia is known as a small country with a picturesque nature. Despite the small market, the countries’ entrepreneurial ecosystem maintains a global perspective with high demand and well-distributed key players across 12 regions. Starting in the early 1990s the ecosystem evolved through a series of public initiatives, followed by private sector involvement, consulting companies, mentors, and the introduction of seed capital in 2014 (e.g. Slovenian Enterprise Fund). Ever since the actors’ and events’ landscape has only diversified.  

The digitalized SPOT Points platform – a comprehensive system of support and free state services for business entities – arrived in 2017 as a successor of VEM points to bolster support. The Podim Conference in Maribor has emerged as one of the top startup events for tech companies in the EU, the next one taking place in May 2024 from the 13th to the 15th. 

Furthermore, business angels have invested over €8 million in 40 undisclosed ventures, while various funding mechanisms fuel early-stage company growth. Notable actors within the Slovenian ecosystem include innovative start-ups such as Zemanta, DeWeSoft, BellaBeat, Chipolo and many more, along with organizations like the Ministry of Economy, Tourism, and Sport (MGŠT), SPIRIT, SPS (Slovenian Enterprise Fund), SID Bank, GZS (Chamber of Commerce), AmCham, and regional development agencies, university incubators (e.g. LUI, Inkubator Sežana), accelerators like the ABC Accelerator and technology parks (e.g. TP Ljubljana, Primorska TP, Tovarna podjemov). 

Slovenia's ecosystem serves as a model for collaboration and networking among ecosystem actors, efficient European funding navigation, and balanced regional development. With its solid support infrastructure, global recognition, family business legacies, and a focus on education and talent development, Slovenia presents a promising environment for innovative ideas. Nevertheless, spatial constraints, centralization tendencies, and limited capital access present some challenges for the new companies. There is still an underutilized potential for knowledge sharing in specialized sectors, rural entrepreneurship support, global expansion, diverse funding models, and regulatory enhancements to enhance competitiveness and sustainability. 

 

Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen supports Ecosys4you with a donation for the internships and prize money for the first co-creation challenge. 

We are happy to announce that Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen – a local bank of Gelsenkirchen – supports our interns with a generous donation. In addition, they donate €1000 in prize money to the winners of the first co-creation challenge that takes place in Gelsenkirchen in September 2024. Thank you very much Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen.  

We are looking for further support to scale the impact of Ecosys4you. Please contact Franz Flögel if you can support us as a sponsor or supporting venture. 

 

Thank you very much to all persons we interviewed in the last few months! 

Since the start of the project in June 2023, we have spoken to numerous intermediaries and start-ups in all three entrepreneurial ecosystems. We got highly exciting, honest, and reflective insights into the ecosystems and the adventure of founding a company. We started to publish the start-up stories on our website with the agreement of the companies. More stories to follow in the upcoming weeks. 

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November 7th, 2024

Hello from the Ecosys4you project team! 

We are a project partnership committed to connecting the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Varna (Bulgaria), Slovenia, and the Ruhr (Germany). The ecosystems are represented by RAPIV, the Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Varna, DOBA Business School in Maribor, the Institute for Work and Technology of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, and the start-up AWARE7, both located in the Ruhr. Our aim is to establish flows of innovation resources between the ecosystems by developing a joint cross-ecosystem education program for young people passionate about entrepreneurship. In our first newsletter, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce our early activities and Varna as one of our three entrepreneurial ecosystems.

 

Ecosys4you-Kick-off meeting in Gelsenkirchen 13th – 15th of September 2023 

Beautiful fall days served as the perfect background for our work-intensive kick-off meeting. In two days, we discussed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOTs) of the three ecosystems and the next steps to roll-out the project. The kick-off meeting was hosted by the Institute for Work and Technology of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences located in the Science Park Gelsenkirchen. As evident by the picture, we took the time for a small excursion to the “Himmelstreppe” from which we could oversee the entire Ruhr region (the weather was simply too nice to stay inside the entire day).  

Varna (Bulgaria) - a vibrant ecosystem at the Black Sea coast 

This month we introduce to you the ecosystem of Varna, Bulgaria according to our discussion and first field work. Varna is located on the Bulgarian coast and is the second most innovative place in the country after the capital – Sofia. The city is part of Bulgaria's emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem, initiated in 2013 and fortified by robust digital infrastructure and several key strengths. The country boasts a low cost of living and one of the EU's lowest personal and corporate tax rates. The government actively encourages entrepreneurship through agencies like Invest Sofia and initiatives such as the Startup Visa. A unique company model that allows flexible capital infusion, akin to the US, further stimulates business development.  However, being located 440 km east of the capital Varna’s ecosystem faces its own challenges like a heavy reliance on EU funding for training and mentoring, limited financing mechanisms, and the concentration of venture capital and business angels in Sofia.  

Nevertheless, Varna hosts six universities, nurturing a growing young population of around 40,000 students. Additionally, the start-up scene is populated by diverse actors as business support organizations like Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovations – Varna (RAPIV), Smart Varna Foundation, Business Agency Association, Beehive, ICT Cluster – Varna and national VC funds like LaunchHub and Eleven Ventures. The city is home to thriving sectors, including fintech, artificial intelligence, healthtech, and logistics around the port, creating jobs and bolstering the economy. 

Furthermore, various activities like Startup Weekend Varna, ABLE Weekend Activator, EIT Food Challenge Lab Bulgaria and Innowave Summit, though with limited municipal support, drive startup ventures and innovation. The ecosystem fosters interactions among its actors, offering specialized programs such as Varna Deep Tech Innovation Port, University of Economics Varna Accelerator, Women Entrepreneurship Centre, and D-Care Smart Care Labs. Innowave Summit, taking place this year in November from the 17th to 18th serves as a platform for networking and knowledge exchange worth visiting if you happen to be nearby.  

‘Ecosys4you – to be continued‘  

Start-up skills biographies 

After considering the perspectives of incubators and stakeholders, we are now conducting interviews with start-ups to understand which ecosystem activities have been particularly beneficial for their development and what can be improved. If you know of any start-ups we should interview or if you work in a start-up yourself and would be willing to talk with us, please let us know. We still have a few available slots.  

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who have already participated in this endeavour. 

Co-Creation Workshops for our activities 

You have an idea how to develop or improve activities like Joint Classes, Internships, a mentoring program or co-creation challenges for international students and young entrepreneurs? Then become a part of our Co-creation workshops starting January 2024!  

Save the Dates 

• 23.01.2024, 10:00-13:00 (CET): Joint Classes “Entrepreneurial Mind in Action”, which will attract the attention of those who want to stand out and learn more about entrepreneurship (organized by DOBA)  
• 30.01.2024, 13:00-16:30 (CET): Internships at start-ups in the Ruhr area for students from Varna and vice versa (online; organized by WH GE)  
• 13.02.2023, 13:00-16:00 (CET): Mentoring: young entrepreneurs as Mentees get Start-ups from the three ecosystems as mentors (organized by RAPIV)  
• 22.02.2024, 10:00-12:00 (CET): Hackathon with co-creation challenges from local start-ups, participation open for everybody (organized by AWARE7) 

If you are interested in participating in the Co-Creation Workshops you can register via e-mail. 

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