The Startup Europe Partnership: the first European initiative aimed at helping startups scale up

The  initiative is one of the six actions for web entrepreneurs defined in  the Commission Communication "Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan". It has  been conceived to accelerate some key recommendations included in the  Startup Manifesto to help European startups develop and become key  players on international markets.
Founding Partners include Orange,  Telefónica, BBVA with the institutional support of the European  Investment Bank Group/European Investment Fund, Cambridge University, IE  Business School, and Humboldt University.
The work program,  promoted by the European Commission, will be led by Mind the Bridge  Foundation, a non-profit foundation based in Italy and the United  States, with the support of Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation. 

The European Digital Forum: a think tank for empowering tech entrepreneurs and leading innovators

This  new think tank will host an annual Digital Forum, bringing together  leading web entrepreneurs with political leaders and policymakers. In  addition, it will produce an annual European Digital Economy Index,  providing a ranking of European countries' digital readiness and startup  environment. The idea was put forward in the Startup Manifesto.
Founding partners include Orange, Telefónica, BBVA and the European Investment Bank.
The work program will be driven by The Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, and Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation.

Orange's involvement in these initiatives

Orange  is one of the founding members of both initiatives. The Group will be  part of the Steering Committee of the Startup Europe Partnership. It  will be an active contributor to the "Job Creator Tour" - a series of  events across Europe to connect selected startups with large companies  and the investment community - especially through Orange Fab, its  worldwide accelerator.

"These bright new initiatives reflect our  approach on open innovation and our commitment to support startups in  becoming European leaders. Therefore, we also seek to contribute to  economic growth in Europe, encourage job creation and help future  talent", says Stephane Richard, Orange's Chairman and Chief Executive  Officer.

The Startup Europe Partnership, the European Digital  Forum, as well as our recent global partnership with the Hello Tomorrow  Challenge, are part of our open innovation approach, from research to  the support of the worldwide ecosystem of innovative start-ups, SMEs and  developers.

For instance, Orange is a major contributor to the  Future Internet Public-Private Partnership, a European research  programme aiming to accelerate the development and adoption of Future  Internet technologies in Europe, advance the European market for smart  infrastructures, and increase the effectiveness of business processes  through the Internet.

Through its start-up accelerator Orange Fab  -  already deployed in Southeast Asia, France, Silicon Valley, and soon  in Israel and Poland - the Orange Partner programme, its participation  in NUMA (a Paris-based hotspot for innovation and digital technologies),  and Iris Capital, a risk capital company in which Orange is  shareholder, the Group has set up an overall package to help innovative  entrepreneurs.

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