CREATING ACCELERATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPANIES

BIND 4.0, led by the Basque Government & SPRI Group in collaboration with the Business Innovation Centres of the Basque Country (Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia), is an international initiative created with the aim of becoming a meeting point for innovative startups, large companies and agents of the Basque and Industry 4.0 ecosystem. 

BIND 4.0 is part of the Basque Industry 4.0 Strategy and represents the Basque Government's commitment to positioning the Basque Country as a benchmark for technological and advanced entrepreneurship. 

The Open Innovation Platform encourages the immersion of startups in the Basque industrial ecosystem, through dynamics and activities aimed at connecting participating startups with other startups, local companies and scientific-technological agents in the territory, promoting synergies and encouraging the development of new digital transformation projects.  

BIND 4.0 is based on 'The Venture Client Method' wherein large companies work with startup teams by contracting them to implement solutions for real Industry 4.0 projects. This is a win-win approach leveraging the flexibility and expertise of young startups with the experience and resources of corporate clients. 

During the implementation of the program, it has been possible to design, coordinate and consolidate an agile and dynamic meeting space between large companies and startups, making totally different, but at the same time complementary, business cultures compatible. It has also been possible to promote and specify the development of projects with a high impact for both parties. 

BIND 4.0 has clearly been established at an international level, as a benchmark platform for open innovation, realising disruptive Industry 4.0 projects and growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.  It was awarded the first prize in the Improving the Business Environment category at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards at the SME Assembly 2020. Additionally, the International consulting firm Gartner declared BIND 4.0 as  one of the best platforms driving innovation in industrial ecosystems.  

PROCESS

BIND 4.0 is aimed at promoting the development of the best startups, with solutions based on the new technologies of Industry 4.0, (Big Data, Virtual/Aggregate Reality, Collaborative Robotics, Cybersecurity, Internet of Things, 3D printing, etc.), and applied to the fields of Intelligent industry, Clean energy &sustainability, Health and Food. 

The involvement of startups in the open innovation platform consists of the development of at least one project with one of the collaborating industrial companies (partner companies), together with a 24-week acceleration program where startups take part in  an intensive program of support and activities aimed at promoting their commercial development and their immersion in the Basque Country, one of the most dynamic industrial ecosystems in Europe. 

Related to partner companies, BIND 4.0 has the active participation of 65 global reference companies which, thanks to the program, have access to the best world talent and the most innovative projects, which are implementing the latest technologies to the sectors of Intelligent industry, Clean energy &sustainability, Health and Food. 

BIND 4.0 initiative provides startups with the best services to facilitate their launch, consolidation, and growth, encouraging all this to happen in the Basque Country, energising the local business environment, while maintaining a clear international vocation. The accelerator program includes workspaces and technological support, mentoring, networking, training, visibility and positioning, access to financial aid and logistical support for non-local startups. 

IMPACT

BIND 4.0 impact is evidenced by the development of 4.0 industry projects between startups and partner companies, promoting the growth of new companies and by driving the competitive improvement of partner companies through  strengthening their traction capacity and employment generation. 

Since BIND 4.0 was launched in 2016, more than 140 startups from all over the world have been accelerated throughout the five editions of the programme; more than 200 Industry 4.0 projects have been developed with more than 6.5M€ of real turnover being generated for the participating startups. 

These figures are in addition to the good results obtained by the companies after the program has ended. 76% of enterprises continue working with the partner companies after completing the program and 6 out of every 10 startups renew their contract with them. 

In this way, after five years, BIND 4.0 has been consolidated as a unique initiative, capable of driving digital transformations within industries and, in turn, accelerate and consolidate innovative initiatives through the validation of technologies in reference customer scenarios. 

Leyre Madariaga

Director for Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship at the Basque Government