ACCelerating EuropeaN Deeptech scale-ups

The overarching goal of ACCEND is to establish capabilities and processes that enable the project partners to conduct impactful and exemplary cross-border startup accelerator programmes in Europe - to initiate and establish a long term cross-border startup acceleration service ecosystem. It brings together and enriches a diverse and complementing array of deep tech acceleration services: support in access to finance; advisory in the use of testbeds and living labs for business development; matchmaking with key public procurers of innovation; and global growth coaching advisory targeting global scaleup pathways with go-to-market activities.ACCEND builds shared understanding and trust between the project partners by collaboratively designing joint, distributed Cross-border Startup Accelerator Services that builds on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of each partner and their regional ecosystems; It conducts a pilot programme named ACCEND Accelerator where these complementing services are delivered to a 100+ scale-up companies, aiming towards opening the regional services and funding borders, as well as global markets for these startups. To conduct this successfully, it connects the startup services ecosystem in the partner regions more widely, to leverage local and European initiatives, and to anchor the cross-regional collaboration. The project's ultimate goal is to validate a sustainable model for continuous cross-border Deep Tech acceleration services deployment.