The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), a Public Business Entity, answering to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, leads the European project INNOWWIDE, in which it also participates the Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA) as partner. 

INNOWWIDE had its kick-off meeting in Madrid on the 10th and 11th of January and it was attended by the General Manager of the CDTI, Javier Ponce. The project is supported by the European program H2020 and it aims to provide funding to European innovative SMEs and start-ups to conduct Viability Assessment Projects (VAPs) in markets outside Europe.  

The project has a budget of € 7.2M to finance at least 120 VAPs of international business opportunities from innovative SMEs, with the aim of placing them in the forefront of international markets. 

The first INNOWWIDE call will be launched in April 2019 and will grant € 60,000 for a non-refundable project under the lump sum formula. The second and final call will be launched in 2020. 

The objective is to fund viability assessment projects related to innovative business models in close collaboration with entities and companies from developed, emerging and developing countries. 

The projects funded by INNOWWIDE should address the technical, commercial and financial feasibility of the proposed business models. In addition, they will have to identify key practical aspects to ensure their subsequent technological and commercial development and their successful implementation in cooperation with entities in the countries of destination. 

Models based on open innovation, co-creation and technological assimilation will be especially valued, and preparatory activities for this type of actions and projects of international technological cooperation may be included in the studies. 

This project involves 11 partners from 7 European countries, gathering 6 financing agencies, including CDTI, 2 R&D consultants, a network of business accelerators, a business cluster (CTA) and an international association (Eureka Secretariat). 

CTA participates in the design of the funding instrument that the INNOWWIDE project will launch, as well as in the impact assessment and in the formulation of R&I policy recommendations to the European Commission and the member states. 

The project partners are: 

• Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) – Spain 
• BPI France Financement SA – France 
• Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat (RVO) – The Netherlands 
• Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) – Germany 
• Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft MBH (FFG) – Austria 
• Innovaatiorahoituskeskus Business Finland (BF) – Finland

• Steinbeis 21 GmbH – Germany 
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovaçao (SPI) – Portugal

• European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN) – Belgium

• Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA) – Spain

• Eureka Secretariat – Belgium