The first MME open call for startups and scaleups closed on the 17th of July, with 86 finalised applications. The 20 top deeptech innovators have been selected for MME’s first support cycle and are already starting the MediaMotorEurope adventure.
Where are the startups based?
The 20 selected startups are based in 14 different countries, both European and H2020 associated countries. This shows the wide reach of MediaMotorEurope, and allows for a better diversity. The countries with more representation are Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Greece. In the infographic above, the map shows the widespread of the selected startups and scaleups, across Europe and beyond.
Which media challenges are the selected startups targeting?
Five main media challenges were defined to be part of the application form of the MME’s open calls, with the intention to help organising the candidate’s solutions, give a scope of action to the applicants, and ensure that the presented solutions targeted some of the biggest challenges that the media industry faces nowadays.
“Facilitating transition to a data-driven media industry 4.0” was the most common choice, with a whopping 30% of all answers. A great amount of the startups also fall under the “Advancing human-machine interaction” and “Fight against misinformation and fake news” categories. The challenges least targeted at this cohort are “Improved accessibility to media outlets” and “Better protection of personal data and data in general”. To note that the answer “Other” was also possible, to allow for more flexibility and include solutions that did not fit any of the presented challenges, but were adequate for the programme.
What’s to come?
The top startups and scaleups have been assigned to one of MME’s four hubs:
- the Brussels hub – VRT, Belgium
- the Bergen hub – Media City Bergen, Norway
- the Sofia hub – Cluster Sofia Knowledge City, Bulgaria
- the Thessaloniki hub – THERMI – Business Incubator
Each startup will be assigned a dedicated coach chosen by their hub, that will help guide their path within the programme. Nevertheless, every startup will benefit from the complete range of opportunities within the MME ecosystem.
The startups and scaleups are now embarking the MediaMotorEurope journey, where they will be benefiting from several services: dedicated coaching to support upscaling the business and soft-landing to new markets, tailored support and guidance to their needs and challenge, matchmaking with media and creative corporations and public procurement support, meetings and networking opportunities with investors, pitching and showcasing at major media events, the chance to win tickets to relevant international conferences of high impact, and vouchers of up to EUR 600 to support travel costs to events.
Stay tuned
The Open Call for MediaMotorEurope’s second support cycle is now open! Learn more about the intensive mentoring programme and apply to the MME journey!
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