Start-ups targeted in new open data incubator scheme
The new EU-funded Open Data Incubator for Europe (ODInE) is calling out to start-ups across the continent to apply for a place on its new programme, with the chance to secure up to €100,000 of grant funding.
The ODInE, which is being delivered by eight European partners, including the Open Data Institute and the University of Southampton, announced the new incubator programme at the ‘International World Wide Web Conference’ in Florence, Italy, on 19 May. The scheme has places for 50 start-up businesses over the next two years, and the timetable sees start-ups being recruited every two months on a rolling basis. ODInE has received €7.8m of funding from Horizon 2020.
Elena Simperl, associate professor in electronics and computer science at the University of Southampton, described the ODInE as “both timely and unique”. She said: “It is timely because, as open data enters the agenda of big and small industry and governments all over the world, we need to do more to ensure that the effort that went into publishing the hundreds of thousands of open datasets now available bears fruit.
“This can only be achieved by creating ecosystems such as ODInE, in which open data is used to create economic and social value. It is unique because it gives companies the freedom to work on open data projects that matter to them and to the society, using any technology, for no equity – a rarity in the accelerator marketplace.”
Other benefits for successful applicants to the scheme include expert advice from business mentors; peer networking and support; coverage in the datablog of UK newspaper The Guardian; and brokering introductions to business angels and venture capitalists. ODInE is aimed at SMEs building a business around open data.
