On the 30th of March 2020 the PARSEC Accelerator launched its second Open Call for applications. The Accelerator invites SMEs and start-ups to form cross-sectoral and/or cross-border consortia with the 100 winners of Open Call 1, develop and pitch Earth Observation[1]-based business solutions for the food, energy or environment sectors. Applications should be submitted before the 20th of June 2020 at 17:00 CET. Contenders will then have to pitch their business ideas in front of a jury at the PARSEC Demo Days on 2-3 July 2020[2]. PARSEC will distribute M€1.5 to 15 winning consortia in equity-free funding and provide second stage business support services.
Open Call 2 is an opportunity for SMEs and start-ups to join the PARSEC Accelerator ecosystem and interact with its members. This is being enabled by the PARSEC online matchmaking platform that will bring together the 100 winners of the Open Call 1 (#100PARSEC) and external companies willing to innovate for food, energy or environment using Earth Observation. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments, the matchmaking process of the accelerator has been redesigned and is in its entirety ensured online. This not only makes this Open Call accessible to all SMEs from the eligible countries but also ensures that the innovation process can safely continue throughout this difficult period. The #100PARSEC start-ups and SMEs, which have already joined the platform, come from come from the accelerator’s target sectors and represent 31 different countries. In order to apply for the second Open Call, external SMEs or start-ups have to team up with one of the #100PARSEC and form a cross-sectoral and/or cross-border consortium of 2-4 organisations. The business proposal finetuned by the consortium will be evaluated by a jury of experts consisting of industrial CEOs, investors and business leaders during the PARSEC Demo Days which are scheduled for early July. The jury will select 15 winning consortia which will each get access to equity-free funding of €100.000 and the second stage business support services.
The support for SMEs and start-ups joining the accelerator goes beyond funding, comprehensive training and networking. Joining the Open Call 2 is also an opportunity to access tools needed to make the most of the potential brought by Earth Observation. The PARSEC Accelerator is uniquely positioned to help SMEs and start-ups benefit from the rapid evolution of the Earth Observation sector, enabled by new, maturing and converging technologies such as cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence. The PARSEC business catalysts, three tools supporting big data processing, in situ data access and access to an Earth Observation marketplace, represent an exceptional opportunity for start-ups and innovative SMEs looking for efficient ways of launching their innovations into the market. The catalysts are available as demonstrators to the #100PARSEC and will be further developed for the needs of the 15 winners of the Open Call 2.
More information about the PARSEC Accelerator Open Call 2 can be found on the applicants page of the website. The press release and Open Call 2 overview can be downloaded here.
[1] Earth Observation is the collection, analysis and presentation of information about various features of the Earth via remote sensing technologies such as satellites.
[2] Currently planned as an on-site event in Brussels, Belgium, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the safety measures, the date and form of the PARSEC Demo Days and the future PARSEC events are subject to change.
