Start for Future aims to drive the further development and monetization of disruptive concepts and cutting-edge technologies. By promoting collaboration, the cooperative aims to help shape Europe’s innovation landscape and foster systemic innovation. The establishment of a European cooperative as a new organizational form represents the next development step for the alliance.
The founding assembly, which took place during the SFF Summit in Varna on June 24, 2023, marks the founding of the SFF Cooperative as a joint corporate form that is intended to play a central role in shaping Europe’s political, social and economic landscape. 17 prominent partners from the existing alliance of 36 universities, incubators, research and business organizations are founding members of the cooperative. These include the Munich SCE and the Hochschule München, as well as the Greek Startups Academy, EIT KIC Urban Mobility, the international consulting firm Eura AG and numerous European universities such as Queen’s University Belfast, International Burch University in Bosnia and Herzegovina and VIA University College in Denmark.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stumpp, Vice President for Business and Entrepreneurship at HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences, explains:
“By providing easier access to resources, investments and expert knowledge, the SFF Cooperative supports the smooth transfer of knowledge and ideas into tangible offerings, ranging from innovative products and services to startup spin-offs. This approach not only opens up a variety of perspectives for our university across Europe, but also benefits our closest regional ecosystem partners.”
Start for Future as an opportunity for the European ecosystem
The establishment of the SFF Cooperative offers new opportunities for European companies, investors, regional ecosystems and small and medium-sized enterprises. The cooperative brings together innovation actors from business and universities to work on innovative technologies needed to address the challenges of the future.
Prof. Dr. Klaus Sailer, managing director of the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship, one of the founding members of the SFF Cooperative, says:
“This collaborative ecosystem facilitates knowledge transfer, promotes joint creation of innovation and provides companies with a unique platform to collaborate with entrepreneurially minded individuals and thereby advance innovation within their own organizations. The SFF Cooperative promotes promising startups and spin-offs emerging from universities and offers opportunities for early-stage investment and potentially high returns. Furthermore, the nature of the SFF Cooperative fosters cross-sector collaboration and enables small and medium-sized enterprises to form strategic partnerships, gain access to resources and expertise and scale their activities. This drives their growth and competitiveness in the European market.”
