European Startup Village alliance – serious commitment putting it into practice

On the 7^th of February 2023 in Vilnius, Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Scientific Research, Culture, Education and Youth of the European Union will participate in the largest international StartUp Village networking event for Innovative and Resilient Regional Development. The Cluster and Digital Innovation Hub “AgriFood Lithuania” will bring together stakeholders – science, business, startups, policy makers – to sign the Memorandum for European Startup Village Alliance and agree on practical actions to further contribute in the long-term development of EU regions, including rural areas.

Startup Village as a role model for modern, digital, and innovative rural areas

Startup Village initiative plays a key role in a larger and innovative vision for rural areas in the EU. In 2021, the European Commission set out the Long-Term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas. The Vision identifies several areas of action toward stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas and communities by 2040. The Vision recognises the enabling role of innovation to empower citizens and entrepreneurs to seize the opportunities offered by current societal, environmental, and digital transformations. The main goals of the Startup Village are to encourage the creation of start-ups and innovation in rural areas and to create a space for debate and knowledge sharing to solve regional issues.

The host of the event and the director of the digital innovation hub AgriFood Lithuania DIH Kristina Šermukšnytė-Alešiūnienė highlights the importance of this initiative:

“The purposeful direction of the Startup Village could ensure the economic development of the regions, wider application of digital solutions, easier inclusion of young people and women, implementation of the goals of the European Green Deal, and successful adaptation to changes for different businesses. In addition, the implementation of the Startup Village concept would stimulate research and innovation in rural communities and could help create more innovative entrepreneurship that would attract more talented people”.

 Ongoing initiative with active involvement and strong support

Startup Village initiative is also an important element of the New European Innovation Agenda to help ensuring that regional innovation ecosystems will take rural areas into account. Organizers of this conference with the support from European Commission have continued to contribute towards this important goal. In November of 2021, AgriFood Lithuania director Kristina Šermukšnytė-Alešiūnienė was invited by the European Commission as a speaker to the first StartUp Village Forum. In February of 2022, AgriFood Lithuania had its first local regional event on the StartUp Village topic as a part of the EU Industry week. Later in the year, AgriFood Lithuania was asked to organise the international hackathon “HACK Startup Village 22”, under the patronage of Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Education, Youth and Culture.

StartUp Village networking event for Innovative and Resilient Regional Development

Commissioner Gabriel will participate in the upcoming Startup Village networking event in Vilnius. The Commissioner recognises the innovation potential for rural areas and the startup based innovation ecosystems of these areas to create high value.

“We need to overcome the belief that innovation takes place only in cities or metropolitan areas. It is of utmost importance to revitalise rural areas and mobilise their innovation potential for growth and wellbeing of all EU citizens. With this aim, the New European Innovation Agenda, adopted by the European Commission last July, includes a flagship action to support innovation ecosystems and include innovation cohesion across Europe. The Startup Village initiative will contribute to this goal” says Mariya Gabriel.

Next stage in the ongoing initiative – European Startup Village Alliance

The networking event is a next step in the agenda for regional development to gather all key stakeholders and agree on the further action plan. Collaboration is required to support funds and investments, build the infrastructure rural entrepreneurs need to succeed, assist them in developing new skills, provide chances for test-before-investment, and provide businesses the chance to test their ideas in real-world settings. It is important to include local businesses, farmers, research organisations, local governmental officials, and citizens to establish a startup environment with shared values in rural areas. To bring together key stakeholders to share insights on obstacles and potentials for rural innovation and rural innovators, the European Startup Village Alliance will be launched at the event.

Among the Startup Village Alliance members – EIT Food, Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted. The presence of EIT Food CEO, Andy Zynga, marks the power that this alliance will have on the regional development process.

“The alliance will enable all countries to unite in working towards a common goal – to develop rural areas by making them attractive to innovators who would create wealth and jobs. The startups play a very important role in this process while bringing new technologies and products that could be a game changer in rural areas. I strongly believe in leveraging our organizations community members and expertise to empower startups to have the broadest possible impact and unlock new opportunities on regional development this way.”

Other members of the alliance are SmartAgriHubs, DIH’s network of Networks, European Clusters Alliance.

This conference is free of charge and will be broadcast live across Europe. Participants are invited to register and participate remotely or live here.