The business accelerator for the circular economy, Hringiða ended at The Reykjavík Edition, where key people from the business world, investors, sponsors, steering groups, mentors and interested parties listened to the business presentations of all the start-up companies in Hringiða.
Þórhildur Þorkelsdóttir, a media woman, opened the event, followed by presentations of all the start-up companies to the thunderous applause of all present. The startups were Snerpa Power, Sidewind, Álvit, Ýmir Technologies, GreenBytes, Plogg-In and e1. After the presentation, Ásta Sóllilja Guðmundsdóttir, business development manager at Auðna tättitorgi and Örn Vidar Skúlason from the Innovation Fund asked the spies about individual points to deepen the presentation of each spiel.
"It was nice to see how the participants managed to grow and prosper in Hringiða this year and unique to get to know all the teams. Each one of them had a really good project that contributes to a sustainable society and thus the rapid implementation of the circular economy in Iceland..” said Kolfinna Kristínardóttir, Hringiða's project manager.
The seven start-up companies that were selected in Hringiða went through eight weeks and will now be able to apply for European grants of the LIFE program, which is based on the concept of the circular economy. Experts from Inspiralia who specialize in helping startups apply for grants went through the application process in detail and also introduced other important grants for companies in the starting holes. The work that the start-ups put in Hringiða consisted of meetings with mentors, lectures on financing, marketing, business planning and how to present yourself, to name a few. Both investors and individuals from the business world showed great interest in the start-up companies, but after the presentations from all the start-ups there was a good time to mingle and connect.
The business accelerator is based on an international model and offers an ambitious platform and good preparation for applications in European grants. The focus of the accelerator is structured meetings of participants with experienced entrepreneurs, investors and other experts. This is a proven process where up to ten start-up projects are given access to a wide network of mentors from the business world and targeted training.
The accelerator is managed by Klak, who for many years has provided assistance in the development of business ideas and brought together a group of stakeholders with value creation as a guiding principle. The project is supported by Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Climate, the City of Reykjavík, Sorpa, Terra, Faxaflóahafnir, the Confederation of Industry and Ölgerðin.
Photographs/Hari
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