The project ‘EmPowering Industrial eCosystems to boost clustEr facilitated greeN and digiTal tRansition in Europe’ -EPICENTRE- (SMP-COSME-2021-CLUSTER-01) proposes an holistic approach in accelerating market placement of business solutions brought by innovative SMEs.

EPICENTRE assists innovators to fast-track their ideas to market by identifying the real industrial opportunities based on societal needs, providing across the board technological/ business support services, access to corporate test beds and to external public and private funding.

It envisages the support of innovation in SMEs, fostering their green and digital transformation, enabling the emergence of new cross-border and cross-sectoral value chains in the Health, Agri-food, Digital-ICT and Fintech sectors.

The development of cross-border and cross-sectoral value chains will be facilitated setting up 3 geographical poles of activity in different regions across Spain, Italy and Lithuania. This innovation poles will be managed and energized by 3 regional representative Clusters in the target sectors. The clusters involved in EPICENTRE are: Associacio Cluster Digital de Catalunya (Spain), Distretto ad Alta Tecnologia Campania Bioscience – CBIOS- (Italy) and Lietuvos Maisto Eksportuotoju Asociacija -LITMEA- (Lithuania).

EPICENTRE launches 2 call for proposals to offer SMEs the possibility to join the EPICENTRE Acceleration Program, a 3-phase funnelled program with the aim of fostering the collaboration between SMEs (including start-ups) and Corporates; and the EPICENTRE Academy, providing SMEs will a training program, mentoring and coaching services, competences due diligence, matchmaking events and investment forums, amongst other initiatives. These initiatives include financial support. The beneficiary SMEs will receive up to EUR 42.400 for participating in the EPICENTRE Acceleration Program and up to EUR 6.850 for participating in the EPICENTRE Academy.

The EPICENTRE Acceleration Program is a 3-step funnel acceleration programme divided in the LAUNCH, SUSTAIN and DRIVE phase. Each phase looks forward to advancing SMEs projects to achieve at least TRL 8, in collaboration with Corporates and by enhancing their hard and soft skills and competences, with an innovation and entrepreneurship approach.