Cloetta, FC Groningen and MercachemSyncom start collaboration with startups

Three matches were announced during the online Groningen OPEN event on Wednesday November 18. Cloetta starts a collaboration with LEF, FC Groningen continues with Rockfeather and MercachemSyncom with Gecco Biotech. During the event, the four larger companies presented themselves and the challenge they had formulated for Groningen OPEN. Subsequently, six selected startups were allowed to give a short pitch, in which they presented their solution. The three start-ups that have a match with a larger company each receive 1500 euros and start a pilot project together with the company.

The aim of the new initiative Groningen OPEN is to bring established companies and startups in the region into contact with each other in an accessible and effective way. Groningen OPEN is organized by Campus Groningen, Founded in Groningen, VentureLab North/UGCE and Flinc/NV NOM.

Paul de Rook, alderman of the municipality of Groningen, opened the online event and called the contacts between larger companies and startups important: “In this way we can find solutions for challenges that companies face and at the same time work on new employment and entrepreneurship. This first edition of Groningen OPEN is made possible by the Groningen Agreement.

Start collaboration process

For this first edition of Groningen OPEN four companies from the Northern Netherlands have formulated challenges: Cloetta, FC Groningen, MercachemSyncom and Krinkels. Three of the four companies announced a match with a startup during the Groningen OPEN Event.

LEF will come up with a fun way for Cloetta to bring the positive effects of Xylitol on oral health to the attention of Dutch consumers. Rockfeather will help FC Groningen to provide insight into the KPIs in a (live) dashboard. And Gecco Biotech will supply specific enzymes for MercachemSyncom. These three matches start a pilot process of 6 to 12 weeks. If the company then agrees with the proposal/prototype of the startup, the actual collaboration will start. The Groningen OPEN partners will support this pilot project.

Bert-Erik Remmelink of Krinkels indicated that they have not yet found a complete match for their challenge. During the preliminary rounds, Remmelink spoke with parties that can offer a partial solution for the challenge. He is appealing to other startups who may be able to offer a solution to register with Groningen OPEN. In addition, the partners of Groningen OPEN are committed to finding parties for the Krinkels challenge.

OPEN to innovation

Groningen OPEN is a new initiative of Campus Groningen, Founded in Groningen, VentureLab North/UGCE and Flinc/NV NOM. After this first edition, an evaluation will be made of how the program can be set up as effectively as possible in the future. Established companies that want to participate in a next edition of Groningen OPEN