SEF.Growth Event with Innosuisse

Empowering SMEs through Innovation. 

Innosuisse wants to move the world with Swiss innovation through its funding activities. At the SME Innovation Event, we will highlight Swiss innovations that contribute to sustainable development and have the potential for a large impact. Interested SME representatives and young entrepreneurs will be given practical glimpses of how successful Swiss companies have developed their innovation projects and which support by Innosuisse can make a difference.

14 November 2023

memox.world Basel SBB
Peter Merian Strasse 80
4052 Basel

This event is part of the Basel Entrepreneurship Week 2023

How Innosuisse Empowers Start-ups and SMEs' Innovation 

Start-ups and SMEs seeking innovation support definitely benefit from this best practice event with Innosuisse. Even companies and individuals without business ideas could gain valuable insights from this event. By obtaining an overview of the numerous Innosuisse support instruments, it becomes possible to quickly get started when the time comes to seek support for innovation. 

Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, distributes 300 million Swiss francs annually to innovative start-ups and SMEs. However, how is this money allocated to the companies? This is a question that nobody from the audience could answer at the beginning of the Innosuisse event in Memox.world Basel. The answer holds significant value for founders actively seeking innovation support. Ursina Krähenmann, Research, Development & Food Innovation Director at Koa Switzerland AG, said, "Innosuisse offers diverse support programs, making it challenging to get a brief overview." Thus, all panel participants recommend learning about the options in advance. As an entrepreneur, you can then choose the right support offering for your project, saving valuable time when Innosuisse support becomes a pressing need. 

Innovative ideas can apply for Innosuisse support

For example, if you need to develop a product, conduct specific market research, or validate a thesis for your innovation, you can collaborate with research teams from Swiss universities at the cost of Innosuisse. Starting in the application process, you work with the chosen university department to write the proposal paper and submit it. "Mentors from Innosuisse, like me, provide help with that and eventually evaluate the application papers. We ensure the project is scientific, innovative, and connected to a business case," explains Beat Dobmann, an experienced Innovation Mentor at Innosuisse. "So-called 'me too' ideas are not accepted as they copy previous ideas or collide with existing patents." 

Innosuisse projects from start-ups accelerate their journeys

Successful and renowned start-ups like Climeworks and Koa Impact have conducted several Innosuisse projects. Climeworks transformed from a demonstrator version to the first ready-for-market version installed in Hinwil in the canton of Zurich, which was ten times bigger than the demo version. Nathalie Casas, former Head of Technology at Climeworks, and Ursina Krähenbühl openly share their experiences with Innosuisse, admitting that they needed to adapt their project applications to fulfill the criteria, even though it wasn't what they initially wanted. Also, the speed of the universities and the start-ups doesn't always match. Beat Dobmann, however, puts that into perspective: "Often, start-ups are slower in the application phase because, when writing their proposal, they realize what is missing and wasn't thought through yet. The idea ripens in the process. During that time, it happens that, for once, universities have to wait for the start-ups." 

The overall experience of Casas and Krähenbühl with Innosuisse is excellent, which is why both of them have applied for more than one support program. "We especially appreciated having a coach with an outside perspective on the company," says Nathalie Casas. And Ursina Krähenmann adds: "I would apply for Innosuisse coaching anytime again if I started a new start-up." 

Impressions

Programme for 14 November 2023

 17.00Door opening and welcome drink
17.30Welcome note by Lukas Frösch, Director Entrepreneurship, NZZ Connect and Maria Anselmi, Head of Divison Start-ups and Next-Generation Innovators, Innosuisse
17.45

Keynote «Innovation Journey of Climeworks» by

  • Nathalie Casas, Head of Department Energy, Mobility and Environment, Empa and previously Head of Technology, Climeworks

Followed by Q&A

18.15

Panel discussion «Supporting Swiss innovations» with

  • Ursina Krähenmann, Research, Development & Food Innovation Director, KOA Switzerland AG and
  • Beat Dobman, Innovation Mentor, Innosuisse and CEO Dobmann Consulting GmbH
18:55Closing words by Lukas Frösch, Director Entrepreneurship, NZZ Connect
19.00Networking-Apero
21.00Door closing

Moderator

Lukas Frösch

Director Entrepreneurship, NZZ Connect

Speaker

Ursina Krähenmann

Research, Development & Food Innovation Director, KOA Switzerland AG

Koa started in 2017, utilizing cocoa pod pulp to generate income for Ghanaian farmers and reduce food waste. Ursina Krähenmann, Koa's first full-time employee, established the production and supply chain in rural West Africa. Now Koa's Research, Development & Innovation director, Ursina filed a patent and coordinated projects with ETH and ZHAW. She remains committed to enhancing cocoa fruit value and improving the livelihoods of Ghanaian farmers.
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Beat Dobmann

Innovation Mentor, Innosuisse and CEO Dobmann Consulting GmbH

Beat Dobmann, dipl. Masch.-Ing. ETH and lic. oec. HSG, a highly experienced professional with a background in engineering and economics, has a rich history of working in various departments of Swiss industrial companies. He understands the need for continuous innovation to stay competitive and is adept at balancing project risk, time-to-market and product quality. He currently specializes in innovation management, strategy development, digitalization, executive coaching and start-up support. He also plays a role in sustainability innovation and chairs a technology start-up. Until 2021, he led Swiss Engineering, the country's leading association of engineers and architects, with an extensive network in academia and industry.
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Nathalie Casas

Head of Department Energy, Mobility and Environment, Empa and previously Head of Technology, Climeworks

Nathalie is the head of energy, mobility, and environment at EMPA, the national lab for materials. Previously, she led the R&D department at Climeworks, a global leader in carbon dioxide removal. She also worked at Sulzer Chemtech, focusing on CO2 capture and large-scale projects. Nathalie holds a PhD in Process Engineering from ETH Zurich and serves as an Innovation Council member at Innosuisse.
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Maria Anselmi

Head of Divison Start-ups and Next-Generation Innovators, Innosuisse

Maria has an international background in the Digital, Data and Analytics: lately as VP of Global Data Partnerships at Dun & Bradstreet. Till 2020 with the Swedish multinational Bisnode as Managing Director Data, CEO of Central Europe and Competence Centre Director. She has experience as Board Member in Fintech in the EMEA region and US and has been a mentor for tech start-ups for the last 10 years. She has PhD education in Linguistics & Semantics and holds an MBA.
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