Andalusian delegation at the event

The European project INTECMED held the ‘Mediterranean Innovation Days’ from 26 to 28 May in Patras (Greece), an event attended by 28 start-ups from Spain, Greece, Egypt and Tunisia in search of funding. Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA) and the Chamber of Commerce of Seville have accompanied the Andalusian companies Cultural Fit Solutions, Smart Chair, Nueva Efi-Dehesa, Graniot and Voicit Technologies, incubated within the INTECMED project, in their participation in this meeting. 

The ‘Mediterranean Innovation Days’ of INTECMED, organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Achaia and the University of Patras, began with the visit of the ex-Greek President Yorgos Papandreou, who was able to meet the Andalusian delegation and their business models first hand. This was followed by the pitch day, where the startups presented their businesses in person or online to Spanish, Greek, Egyptian and American investors.  

In addition, the agenda included B2B meetings and conferences, the demonstration of the ‘e-Bazaar of Innovation’ platform, the visit to the Regional Innovation Point of the INTECMED project at the University of Patras and the award ceremony of the Greek Innovative Business Ideas Competition, with a total value of 60,000 euros.

Andalusian incubated companies

Winners of the Greek Innovative Business Ideas Competition

The main objective of the Mediterranean Innovation Days was to put the companies incubated in INTECMED in contact with international investors. Therefore, the pitch session was the protagonist of the event, in which 28 business ideas were presented, organised in six thematic blocks.

Two Andalusian companies took part in the Service block: Cultural Fit Solutions and Voicit Technologies. Cultural Fit Solutions is a spin-off from the University of Seville whose mission is to reduce recruitment and talent promotion errors through science-based software that identifies people’s values to determine whether they are suitable for the job and the company. Its tool also supports cultural transformation processes through data.

For its part, Voicit has created software that automatically summarises meetings. This tool based on artificial intelligence makes it possible to improve the efficiency and quality of company services thanks to automatic documentation adapted to work meetings, interviews with candidates and clients, podcasts, training sessions, etc. Its use is compatible with the main video call platforms through its Google Chrome extension.

In the area of Social Responsibility, Smart Chair was presented, a business idea that emerged from the University of Seville. The Smart Chair team seeks to develop an electric wheelchair that uses Artificial Intelligence and semi-autonomous navigation mechanisms to facilitate the quality of life of dependent people who cannot steer their own chair. Its aim is to improve the quality of life of the user and their caregiver, as with Smart Chair they can walk together safely and effortlessly.

Finally, in the Agriculture block, the Andalusian delegation presented two business models: Graniot and Nueva Efi-Dehesa. Graniot is a startup from Granada based on precision agriculture that integrates satellite remote sensing to monitor the state of crops remotely. Through its web application, field technicians and agronomists can consult images of their plots to make decisions on irrigation or fertilisation and save inputs.

For its part, Nueva Efi-Dehesa has its origins in research carried out by the “ENCINA-SMS” operational group of the Andalusian Regional Government, financed with EAFRD funds from the European Union. Its team proposes a system for the remote management of agricultural and livestock farms. The devices they develop send alerts on the status of the farm to the user’s mobile phone, without the need for the user to install additional applications.

About INTECMED

INTECMED is an initiative of the ENI CBC MED programme for cross-border cooperation in the Mediterranean area, funded with 3.6 million euros and ending in 2023. The project promotes the development of incubators to accelerate business innovation and knowledge transfer between research centres and the industrial fabric of four countries: Spain, Greece, Egypt and Tunisia.

It has 9 partners, including the Achaia Chamber of Commerce (project leader), the University of Patras, the Confederation of Euro-Egyptian Business Associations (CEEBA), the SEKEM Foundation, the Cap-Bon Chamber of Commerce, the National Agency for the Promotion of Scientific Research of Tunisia, the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME), the Chamber of Commerce of Seville and Technological Corporation of Andalusia.