27/07/2021 – Supporting SMEs and start-ups in the circular economy
Call for the European accelerator CirCoAX
The participation in this accelerator gives SMEs and start-ups the opportunity to set themselves up as benchmark projects on a European scale.
The selected applications will receive a financial support of 12,000 EUR. In addition the beneficiaries will have access to mentoring, as well as training and workshops in which best practices to be implemented throughout the value chain will be shared. © Circoax
The call for the European accelerator CirCoAX, which will scale SMEs in the fashion and textile industry that favour the circular economy in the sector, is now open.
CircularInnoBooster Fashion and Textile (F&T) is a project of the COSME programme of the European Union, with an initial duration of two years and a budget of 1,128,000 euro. It is 75 per cent co-financed by the European Commission.
Transformation of the textile industry
Led by the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), together with the Finnova Foundation, Texfor, Circulab and The Circular Project with HumanNation, it aims to transform the highly polluting fashion and textile industries through innovation, fostering entrepreneurship to generate business models based on the circular economy, turning SMEs and start-ups into sustainable and circular companies.
Through the regenerative economy model, the project aims to become a benchmark for the total transformation of the industry, from raw materials to the end of life of the garments, providing a solution to the structural problems of conventional industry.
In addition, the project has an important social perspective, favouring the creation of value-added jobs at all levels of production, contributing to the achievement of several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as the end of poverty, zero hunger and gender equality.
Application process explained
To achieve these objectives, the CirCoAX accelerator has been created to provide SMEs with both financial and business support to enable them to scale their proposals. The business model of the applications must favour the circular economy, being able to focus on any of the areas of the Fashion Design and making, Textile Industry, Education & Research, Dissemination and Communities & Platforms. Likewise, applications that provide social innovation will be positively assessed.
- The application form is available to potential candidates from Wednesday 21st of July until the 13th October 2021.
To help potential participants navigate through the application process and further explain the open call requirements, on Wednesday, 28th of July at 17h CET, the CircularInnoBooster project is holding an Info Day regarding the opening of the call for proposals for interested SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs from the fashion and textile sector to apply to be part of its CirCoAX accelerator.
Registration link to the Info Day: http://registration.nextextilgeneration.eu/
