Start-up & SME portfolio

LEADERSHIP4SMEs, targets SMEs and start-ups developing disruptive technologies, that are (or can be) protected through IPR. It aims to support them to integrate IPR in their business growth strategy and leverage it to access public and private funding, as well as business opportunities.

The project established a community on the Venture Development Platform, that already brings together more than 500 high potential SMEs and start-ups. From the overall community, 15 start-ups and 15 SMEs with the potential to become success stories habe been selected through 2 calls for applications and are supported individually by a team of IPR, technology transfer, business development and funding experts. More generally, the community members have free access to a set of tools including webinars and collective services allowing to enhance their development and network through a community of investors and business partners.

The LEADERSHIP4SMEs consortium firmly believes that the added value offered to the start-ups and SMEs from the community proportionally increases with the cooperation established with external partners, having specific expertise, assets and able to enhance the support. We aim therefore to establish mutually beneficial, win-win partnerships with different categories of stakeholders sharing common interests in collaborating with and/or supporting the IPR-driven start-ups and SMEs. The overall aim is to build a community of supportive partners that can offer a multidisciplinary  expertise to the core group of IP-driven SMEs and start-ups.