Startup Europe Awards 2022

"Next Textile Generation" is the Finnova Foundation's initiative for the dissemination of relevant information for the sustainable fashion and textile industry. Through this platform, information regarding the four COSME projects approved in the circular fashion call is shared: press releases, events, and calls for proposals.

Friday 29 April - In a unique moment for the European project CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster, the international awards ceremony for entrepreneurial excellence, executive leadership and innovation at the Jean Baptiste Say Euro-Latin American Business Schools, NextextileGeneration Startup Europe Awards 2022 has been announced. This is an initiative based on the cooperation between the four projects co-funded under the COSME programme of the European Commission - Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises - in the field of circular economy in the fashion and textile sector.

The CEO of the Spanish-Belgian foundation, Finnova, Juan Manuel Revuelta, has made the official launch of the European NextextileGeneration Startup Europe Awards 2022, within the framework of the Startup Europe Awards, an open innovation initiative of the European Union implemented by Finnova in collaboration with Startup Europe since 2016. The announcement was made at a ceremony in which the CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster project, led by the Istituto Europeo di Design, was awarded for its commitment to entrepreneurship in the world's second most polluting sector, fashion and textiles.

Participants, juries and ceremony

Although the call will be open only to the entities accelerated under the four projects, anyone interested in entrepreneurship, fashion and the circular economy can participate as a jury or spectator. Throughout this year, different events will be held to get to know each of the accelerated proposals, the bases of the European competition and the final ceremony.

About COSME

COSME is the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). This programme assists SMEs to develop their business models, to obtain funds and to internationalise. This scheme also supports public administrations to enhance the entrepreneurial environment and to facilitate the economic growth of the EU. During the funding period of 2014-2020, this programme allocated €2.3 billion to support SMEs.

About Startup Europe Awards

The Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) is an initiative promoted by the European Commission, supported by the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament and implemented by the Finnova Foundation in collaboration with Startup Europe. It is an open innovation tool that allows companies to identify talented startups capable of solving current challenges in multiple areas. Our mission is to help Startups and Scaleups become more efficient, smart and successful. These awards are an extremely useful tool to promote knowledge sharing, to add value to the entrepreneurship ecosystem and to help startups grow and position themselves in the market. Entrepreneurs with successful ideas will be crucial for local authorities to define tailored programs aimed at energizing their local ecosystems and improving public-private collaboration. The Finnova Foundation has a technical team (SEUA team) that has already supported the celebration and implementation of several successful editions of these awards

Nextextilegeneration: four European projects united

The four projects funded under the COSME programme, SmallButPerfect, Fashion for Change, S4Fashion and CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster, promote sustainable, circular and regenerative entrepreneurship. Currently, they implement acceleration programmes to mentor, finance and give visibility to the most disruptive ideas in fashion and textiles. Their alliance and synergies have led them to cooperate on a larger scale, promoting the Nextextilegeneration platform, organising events within the framework of the EU Green Week and the Circular Economy Forum, and launching these European awards.

With the launch of the NextextileGeneration Startup Europe Awards 2022, the four projects want to enrich and enhance the visibility of these proposals in the European entrepreneurship ecosystem through the Startup Europe Awards, giving recognition to the most innovative ideas. The four together have a total of 108 potential candidate projects for transnational partnerships within the European Union, working together to shift the economic model from the linear economy to the circular economy.