The Society for the Development of Cantabria (SODERCAN) has selected the 20 projects that will take part in the second edition of the program for the creation and scaling of innovative technology-based companies (EIBTs), which includes training, mentoring, and funding.
A total of 44 projects from a wide range of sectors applied for this second edition. The 20 highest-rated projects in the preliminary selection phase will participate in the training stage scheduled for late April and early May.
Of the twenty participants, 17 are already established as companies, and five projects are led by women. By sector, Industry 4.0, automation, and healthtech stand out.
Cantabria’s Regional Minister for Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade, Eduardo Arasti, highlighted the quality and potential of the selected projects, as well as the high number of applications received, which he said reflects the strong interest in SODERCAN’s program and the dynamism of Cantabria’s technological entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is “in motion, growing, and developing.”
“We do not want any good project to be left without support at such delicate stages as their launch and initial scaling,” he stressed.
The list of selected initiatives reflects the diversity and technological focus of the program, with projects ranging from biotechnology and blue economy to environmental asset valorization and management, platforms for automated data extraction and structuring, Industry 4.0 and automation, healthtech and medical technologies, digital transformation solutions for organizations, artificial intelligence and business process automation, software and services for sports training, parental control tools for mobile devices, platforms for new rural tourism experiences, digital learning communities in data and AI, high-performance acoustic systems, and edtech solutions based on guided practice and AI-assisted role-play.
The second edition of SODERCAN’s EIBT creation and scaling program will begin at the end of this month with a 20-hour training phase focused on the following topics:
Included in the First Cantabria Digital Agenda and the Self-Employment Support Plan, SODERCAN promotes the EIBT program to support and recognize the best technological entrepreneurship initiatives and innovative companies in Cantabria, facilitating their launch.
In addition, this initiative is part of the TECH FABLAB project within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan funded by Next Generation EU funds. Cantabria participates in this interregional project, through SODERCAN, together with Aragón, Navarra, the Valencian Community, Catalonia, and La Rioja.
In the first edition of SODERCAN’s EIBT program, the top three prizes were awarded to the startups Manfacter, Banbu Cosmética Natural, and Panssari. Runner-up prizes were also awarded to Valientes, Envisad, Idresa Services, Phytobatea, Deduce Data Solutions, BoloTrack Technology, and Takumi Parts.
The program has a budget of €150,000 and is structured in three phases: group training workshops covering core business areas and key entrepreneurial skills for startup success (current phase, with 20 places); individual mentoring aimed at providing guidance and specialized support to develop or refine the business plan (10 places); and the awarding of prizes to the projects with the greatest potential.
A maximum of 10 prizes may be awarded to the highest-rated initiatives: three main prizes of €30,000, €25,000, and €20,000, and seven runner-up prizes of €10,000.
Awarded projects will also receive a certificate and support for presenting themselves to private investor networks and public funding entities.
The program aims to boost research and technological development, promote the transfer of technology from universities and research centers to the business sector, and create a favorable environment for the creation of new innovative companies with growth potential, in line with Cantabria’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3): Blue Economy and offshore industry, Health and Wellbeing, Cultural Industry and Sustainable Tourism, Bioeconomy and agri-food sector, and Smart Industry.
Innovative technology-based companies are those with highly qualified personnel that produce high value-added goods and services and generally show rapid growth indicators.
They serve as a vehicle for technology transfer and commercialization of R&D results, both internal and external, and act as an effective mechanism for driving innovation and socio-economic development.
These companies contribute to the sustainability of technology transfer to the local productive system (and therefore society) and operate across multiple sectors with a global outlook from the outset.
Image: Award ceremony of the first edition of the SODERCAN EIBT program.
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