BECOME A STARTUP ECOSYSTEM STAR AND
JOIN THE WORLD’S INNOVATION MAP

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SES Awards recognize programs AND ORGANIZATIONS able
to boost development and internationalization of their innovation ecosystems

Startup Ecosystem Stars Awards

Beneficiaries are government-related organizations focused
on supporting Innovation in their own region

Best-in-class
Startup Programs

Training and supporting homegrown startups, and helping them scale internationally (outbound) Fueling ecosystems of innovation by attracting startups (inbound)

Exceptional
Industry Support

Boosting open innovation practices of local companies and industrial clusters through training, internationalization, and immersion programs in the most advanced global innovation hubs

Outstanding
Investment Boost

Financially empowering the growth of ecosystems of innovation through co-investments, matching programs, FDI attraction, and international exposure

Top
Talent & Research

Nurturing the top entrepreneurial talent
Supporting the creation of IP and
tech transfer

Visionary
Public Procurement

Looking for public authorities that are leaders when it comes to using procurement to bring in innovation
and to unlock more value through using procurement

Startup Ecosystem Star of 2023

Mariya Gabriel
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Bulgaria and former EU Commissioner
in charge of Innovation

2023 Special Awards

2023 Edition

2023 Agenda 

December 6th, 18:30-22:00 CET
88 Avenue Henri Martin, F-75016 Paris

VIP Cocktail Reception

Informal cocktails and appetizers at the Princess Nuha of Jordan Residence. By invitation only.

December 7th, 15:00 18:30 CET
ICC Headquarters, 33-43 avenue du Président Wilson

Startup Ecosystem Stars 2023 Award Ceremony

Startup Ecosystem Stars is the annual gathering to award the best practices among organizations responsible for the promotion of Ecosystems of Innovation.

Invited organizations have a strong association with a local ecosystem and can represent cities, regions, or countries. The objective is to recognize the best practices from the world’s best Innovation Regions and Cities.

  • Welcome and Opening Remarks

    Philippe Varin, Vice President, International Chamber of Commerce
    Alberto Onetti, Chairman, Mind the Bridge
    Marco Marinucci, CEO, Mind the Bridge

  • Opening Address
    Iliana Ivanova, EU Commissioner for Innovation and Research, Culture, Education and Youth

  • Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria Mariya Gabriel to receive the 2023 Startup Ecosystem Star Award

  • Keynote Speech
    Carlos Santiso, Head of Division – Digital, Innovative, Open Government from OECD

  • Presentation of Mind the Bridge 2023 SES Report
    “Building Startup Ecosystem Stars. The Life Cycle of Innovation”
  • Awards for Startup Ecosystem Stars 2023
  • Presentation: EU strategy to support the Regional Innovation Valleys
    András G. Inotai, Head of Unit, Innovation Policy and Access to Finance, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission

  • Closing Remarks and Networking Cocktail

Supported by world-class research

and decade-long experience

STARTUP ECOSYSTEM STARS KNOWLEDGE BASE
Learn about how ecosystems of innovation scale globally

  • pursue sustainable growth models,
  • get data and insights about benchmarking startup ecosystems worldwide.
Pursue sustainable growth models
Get data and insights about benchmarking startup ecosystems worldwide

Building Startup Ecosystem Stars
The World’s Life Cycle of Innovation Report 2023

This Report is aimed at all policy makers who believe innovation is a key driver to grow the GDP of their own region. Their policies empower government related organizations (at city, region, country, or continent level) that implement programs and actions to nurture talent and innovation locally.

In this report, we introduce the concept of the Innovation Life Cycle to enable:

  • international comparisons among innovation ecosystems globally – unhampered by limitations related to their current stage and size;
  • the estimation of future growth trajectories, allowing for the evaluation of gaps with comparable ecosystems.

While many variables could be considered, we focus this report primarily on the measurement of the number of scaleups (more mature startups) in a region as a key proxy to calculate the future ability of a region to impact their local economy through technology innovation. 
We then analyze the specific causes (i.e. policies) behind an acceleration of the economy of innovation of a specific region. A similar methodology can be applied using different units of geographical aggregation (city, country, continent).

Judging Commitee

Organized by 

In collaboration with

With the support of