Smart Open Lisboa is the open-innovation programme of the Lisbon Municipality that is bringing innovation to the city in several different verticals. The last edition was focused on the mobility vertical, and brought several startups who are successfully working with programme partners to implement pilots in Lisbon. Let’s get to know some of the on-going projects!
Eccocar wants to make your fleet more efficient
One of the programme’s startups, Eccocar, is implementing a pilot in partnership with Ferrovial and Lisbon’s Municipality to help increase the efficiency of their fleet with a car sharing principle. They hope to show their success by measuring KPI’s like management time (the time spent by the user booking the vehicle), fleet usage time, driver per car and fuel consumption. By digitizing the fleet, they hope to reduce costs, make better use of the cars and maintain the same level of service while reducing the fleet.
See the video below for a full explanation of the project:
Wall-i is creating sensors for better experiences
In partnership with Metro de Lisboa, Wall-i is installing visual sensors in key locations inside Metro stations around Lisbon.
The sensors create a heatmap to get more accurate data about the flow of users in the station, helping managers make better decisions. The sensors are also installed in entrances to detect and reduce fraud in the ticket validation gates.
This startup is also testing weather sensors all over the city, this time in partnership with Lisbon’s Municipality, to collect better environmental data in key points of the city: measuring things like CO2 level, humidity, temperature, noise level, etc.
This product is just one of many developed by this innovative startup. Get to know them here:
Shotl is changing the shuttle business
Another startup featured in this open-innovation programme is Shotl, who is trying to modernize the shuttle service.
Their mobility platform matches multiple passengers headed in the same direction with a moving vehicle. This service is especially thought out for suburban areas with less public transportation connections, and for passengers with reduced mobility, who are often confronted with fewer solutions and access.
In SOL Mobility, they have partnered up with Carris, the main bus provider in Lisbon, to implement their model in order to create an on-demand bus service for people with reduced mobility.
Get to know their model in this video:
But Smart Open Lisboa is not done innovating in the city of Lisbon. They are now accepting applications for the SOL Housing vertical, looking for startups with solutions that can be applied to solve these challenges:
Urban Management & Smart Infrastructure
Construtech
Proptech
Resource Efficiency
Smart Homes, Buildings & Retail Properties
Home Care & Assisted Living
Customer & Community Experience
Financial Services
If your startup has a new innovative solution that could upgrade city living and you want to test it with industry-leading partners in Lisbon, apply now to SOL Housing.
And to keep updated on SOL projects and other innovation news, subscribe to our newsletter!
BlueTech Accelerator is opening up this Wednesday, 30th January. It’s an open innovation program connecting talented startups with key players in the sector to create a pioneering ecosystem of innovation and business acceleration for the Blue Economy sector. The first edition will focus on Ports and Shipping 4.0.
What is the Blue Economy?
Blue Economy relates to the exploitation and preservation of the marine environment – it aims for sustainable use of the ocean’s resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and the health of the maritime ecosystem.
The Blue Economy is reflected in several different activities: renewable energy, marine transport, fisheries, waste management, climate change, and tourism.
BlueTech aims to leverage new technologies to help impact positively in these activities, with new technology or new models.
The first edition of the programme is focussed on Ports and Shipping 4.0, and looks for technologies that can be applied for solutions in the following areas:
Smart Shipping
E-navigation
Artificial Intelligence
Undersea Cloud Computing
Nanotech
Sea Traffic Management
IT for Green shipping
Ocean IoT & Sensors
IT for Energy Efficiency
Ports Automation & Robotization
Autonomous Ships
IT for Propulsion and Power Generation
AI/Machine Learning
Robotics
Scuba Droids
Big Data & Analytics
IT for Green Ports
Autonomous Systems
Drones
Self-cleaning and Self-repairing Materials
Why should you apply?
A challenging industry
The maritime industry is a big and old one, which means that there are plenty of opportunities for innovation and digitization in all its activities. The focus of this edition in ports and shipping is also an opportunity: integrating the ocean and land logistics is a huge challenge and one that is relevant around the world.
An impact in the future
The ocean is a valuable resource for humanity and has invaluable importance to our ecosystem. Coming up and establishing new, more sustainable, ways of exploring our oceans can be your contribution towards a life-long positive impact on protecting our environment.
Opportunity to work with industry players
Portugal’s economy and history have always been intrinsically connected to the ocean: it’s a country with vast maritime resources, where the maritime economy has always been a political priority. Through BlueTech accelerator, startups will have the opportunity to work in a government-backed programme, and with the key players of the port industry.
It’s an event dedicated to sharing the knowledge between investors, with panels from experienced investors and VC partners. They shared how they are investing and why they are doing it that way at The Investors’ Academy, but also their biggest mistakes in a side event called F*ckup Nights. The conference followed with panels on the investments trends in Portugal and Europe, and also the investment landscape.
Pedro Falcão, a managing partner at LC Ventures, presented an overview of the investment landscape in Portugal and future opportunities. Click below to download the report Venture Capital in Portugal 2018 and get the scoop on all the information you need to know if you plan to invest in Portugal.
Are you interested in learning more about investment? The next Investors’ Academy will happen at #LIS, the Lisbon Investment Summit, an informal but action-packed event. The 7th edition is coming to sunny Lisbon on June 6-7th – get to know it here.
Will 2019 be the year veganism goes mainstream? Apparently, yes! The number of adults willing to say no to all animal products is rising, especially among millennials, with concerns with eating healthy and sustainably impacting lifestyle choices.
The business of providing vegan meals is booming – be it restaurants, home-delivery, or public services, like schools and hospitals. Even meat businesses are creating vegan lines of their own.
At the same time, vegan companies – like Vivera and Impossible – are delivering new products and plant-based meat substitutes that actually look and taste like meat.
Business gets political
There was a time where businesses would shy away from politics, afraid to offend customers or stakeholders. 2019 is not going to be that time. This will be the year of “woke capitalism” – the trend of companies associating themselves with liberal causes.
There are two reasons for this: on one hand, some political agendas (like anti-immigration or protectionist laws) may be in conflict with their activities, on the other hand, consumers are demanding brands that share their own values.
There have been good examples of this already – Nike’s choice of Colin Kaepernick as campaign face, that caused outrage from conservatives on social media, but saw Nike’s sale soaring -, and also bad examples – Target lost sales after publicly supporting transgender facilities.
It is a fine walk for companies to walk – they need to really know their customers’ convictions, even the less obvious ones.
Old is the new young
As we live longer and longer, especially in developed countries with decent healthcare systems and social conditions, the meaning of “old” is changing.
Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are now entering their 70s, but they don’t see themselves as old. They want to contribute to society, they prioritize their well-being and enjoyment of life and they are almost as obsessed with technology as millennials.
This means a new segment of mature consumers, that have time, disposition and a high level of disposable income, that are looking for products and services that help them stay as youthful as possible in mind and body, not trying to change things—just look and be the best they can be.
These people don’t feel old, and they certainly don’t wanna be called old – so companies should approach their communication with nuance. For example, wellness companies are almost ageless, as they appeal to both millennials and older people.
360º Wellbeing
As we mentioned in our Tech Trends Report, the wellness industry will get an even bigger bump in 2019.
The ascension of wearables to monitor our health, the easy access to treatments previously only available in doctors’ offices and an increase in available information, will lead to consumers taking their well being into their own hands.
This “I can take care of myself” attitude will be reflected in the way people eat, drink and approach their dietary health in general. Solutions such as personalized nutrition, alternative health therapies, and preventative solutions will offer consumers the chance of feeling in control of their wellbeing.
Eco-conscious
It is with no surprise that we find that the eco-conscious trend is here to stay.
Sustainability and the environmental degradation of the planet is in everybody’s minds, thanks to popular culture phenomena, like BBC’s Blue Planet II, often credited for awareness of plastic pollution both domestically and internationally.
Millennials are leading the way into choosing products that are cruelty-free (from free-range meat to vegan skincare products) and are regularly considered to be the ones driving the sustainable movement with their lifestyle and behavioral changes.
And it’s important to note that if Millennials are more conscious than ever about their purchases reflecting their beliefs and values, and Generation Z is close on their trail, a long-term change is most likely taking place.
As the throwaway culture of previous generations dies, ethical will become mainstream – in 2019 we’ll be taking steps into a greener, conscious and plastic-free world. The circular economy will also be a trending topic in the next few months, as it answers environment and sustainability concerns.
Knowledge is power
In an era of self-taught hackers and beautypreneurs, we have information at the tip of our fingers. Almost any subject that we want to study will be available online. From youtube tutorials to online classes (there are even online services, like Masterclass, that crosses education with entertainment), everyone can be an expert.
This context produces even more demanding consumers, as the power has switched between retailer and consumer.
Shoppers don’t go to brands to get product information anymore, they look to each other’s opinions for advice on what to buy and where, and how to get the best product for their money – and one source of information is not convincing enough.
In this landscape, the consumer is more demanding than ever. To survive, brands must cater to them, constantly innovating, streamlining and aestheticizing their offerings to entice shoppers.
Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more trends, tips, news and event details.
Applications are open for Free Electrons – the first truly global acceleration program, that connects the most promising startups with leading utilities in the energy sector. The program seeks to find solutions in the mobility, clean energy, smart grids, and digitalization.
On March 13th, the startups selected for the bootcamp (happening in Dublin) will be announced.
Just like the last edition, the program will have 3 modules: the first in Columbus, in the North-American state of Ohio, in May; the second in Hong Kong, China, in June; and the last module will happen in Lisbon, in September, when a winner will be announced – winning a $200.000 prize.
In its 3rd edition, Free Electrons already has a successful history: several pilots began business partnerships between the startups and the utilities and last edition’s winner, SOLshare, is revolutionizing the energy market in Bangladesh, where over 50 million people still can’t access the electrical grid.
These 10 utilities of the energy sector have, together, around 80 million clients and are located in more than 40 countries – which gives mature energy startups the chance to go global by accessing these partners.
