new markets

With the objective of continually fostering the creation of new deep technology-based  ventures, EIT Digital IVZW (hereinafter referred to as “EIT Digital”), an international non-profit association under Belgian law, with registered office at Rue Guimard 7, 1040  Brussels, Belgium, hereinafter EIT Digital registered under the Belgian company  number 0831.431.639, is launching the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program. EIT  Digital works towards and believe that creating a Strong Digital Europe will safeguard  European values by being inclusive, fair, and sustainable. 

The EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program is a two-stage competition whose mission is  to support the establishment of deep technology-based ventures, thus complying to EIT  core KPIs of venture support and venture creation, by helping innovators in: 

• developing and finalizing their Minimum Viable Product (MVP)1, e.g. a market validated functioning version of their product  
• establishing their company. 

The program The program is executed and delivered by Innovation Partners of EIT Digital.  

EIT Digital reserves the right to choose at its entire discretion and without any further  liability on EIT Digital’s part, to not execute this edition of the program if the number  of applications does not reach the required amount for the development of the program.  EIT Digital shall communicate said circumstance to the applicants of the cancelled  edition as soon as reasonably possible. 

This particular call is open to residents in countries listed hereinafter.  

EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary,  Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Germany, Sweden 

H2020 Associated Countries in Europe: Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia,  Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine. 

Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and  Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain) 

 A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product  or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final,  complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product’s initial users.

1.1 Structure of the Venture Incubation Program (Incubator) 

By applying to the Venture Incubation Program, teams participate in a two-stage  competition. In the first stage teams have the chance to win a “Growth Package”  consisting of a cash prize and participation in the pre-Acceleration Phase. Admission to  the second stage requires the successful completion of the first stage and the  incorporation of the venture, and gives applicants the chance to win the “Final Prize”, a  cash prize of either 10,000 € or 20,000 € or 25,000 € based on their performance.  Established ventures will provide EIT Digital with equity. 

Growth Package 

The Growth Package consists of an 8 week pre-Acceleration Phase delivered by qualified  experts, and a cash prize of 5,000 €. The pre-Acceleration Phase will support teams in  the development and finalization of their MVP and in the establishment of their venture.  It will provide training in entrepreneurial skillset through a two-day bootcamp and an 8  week-long virtual mentoring program and features a Pitch Day as defined in the Venture  Incubation Program. The pre-Acceleration Phase for this call will be executed by the EIT  Digital Venture Incubation Program Partner and will be overseen by the Venture  Incubation Program Committee consisting of 2 representatives from EIT Digital and 2  representatives of the Partner. The pre-Acceleration Phase will: 

• Help selected teams to focus on market verticals & offer, shifting from a product to  a market perspective. 
• De-risk deep-tech ventures via product and market validation, pushing participants  to test market hypotheses with real potential customers. 
• Create opportunities for peer-to-peer learning among selected teams encouraging a  strong community spirit that will last far beyond the end of the program. • Enable participants to maximize their product-market fit by exposing them to real  market actors in their target sectors. 
• Prepare the participants for a seed stage investment from Business Angels or Venture  Capital firms. 

At the end of the pre-Acceleration Phase, successful participating teams are expected to  have executed and validated their Minimal Viable Product (MVP) and to have established their one and only one venture through incorporation in one of the current 27 EU  member states. 

Final Prize 

Teams that a) have been awarded the Growth Package and b) have successfully  completed their MVP and incorporated their venture in one of the EU 27 countries , will  be eligible to apply for a prize of either 10,000 € or 20,000 € or 25,000 € depending on  their performance, payable to the venture. 

1.2 Venture Incubation Program’s Focus 

EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program focuses on deep innovation – i.e., new deep-tech leveraged global solutions requiring consistent human and financial resources to achieve  commercialization. It targets strong value propositions from entrepreneurs, with an existing prototype or Proof of Concept (PoC) or who are anyway close to realizing their  MVP.  

The program focuses on 5 market verticals 

Digital Industry 

Digital Industry covers the seamless process from production to retail and related  supporting functions such as logistics and consumer engagement.  

We are looking for innovative solutions to improve efficiency in production and retail, to  better address customer needs, and to help save natural resources in manufacturing and  logistics. This includes solutions creating value from big data collection, aggregation,  analysis and visualization services (and their enabling technologies) for decentralized  production management covering the complete product life cycle: 

design, simulation, production, operation/consumption, maintenance, and consumer  relationship frameworks. Value creation may also be achieved from dynamic and flexible  omnichannel solutions for all kinds of commerce – physical, online or blended- which  enable the seamless consumer experience in exploration, in choice of products, payment  and delivery, as well as collection and analysis consumer trends and insight for logistics,  retail operations and customer relationship management.  

Keywords: Production and retail, manufacturing, IoT, logistics, big data 

Digital Cities 

Digital transformation of the cities through centralized, participative and collaborative  interactions between city actors: government, city service providers, industry, citizens.  

In the information area, we are looking for solutions to allow municipalities or regions  to evolve from Open Data to an Urban Information Framework, creating value from big  and real time data, audio/video flows generated by any sensors, IoT, social networks,  crowd sensing, etc. Examples of expected new business models include semantic data  browsing, data brokerage and trusted services between data providers and customers,  as well as hyper-local services and local Internet networks. Additionally, solutions for a  clean, quiet, stress-less and cost-effective mobility are of interest. Mobility as a Service  integrating public, private, peer-to-peer, conventional, decarbonized or autonomous  transport means in seamless door-to-door mobility services. Augmented and virtual  reality solutions for city planners and tourists in situ with valuable added information  about the past and potential future of city sights. Also, solutions improving the safety in  the cities are expected, either for exceptional events such as concerts, climatic events or  terrorist attacks, or in daily life, in the street, at home or at work. Traditional centralized  systems need to be enhanced with citizen participation and collaboration at each step  of risk management: risk analysis, prevention and mitigation strategies, training,  prediction and post-event analysis.  

Keywords: mobility, safety, e-government 

Digital Wellbeing 

Digital Wellbeing leverages digital technologies to stay healthy (prevention/early  detection) or cope with an existing chronic condition. Both physical and mental  wellbeing are considered.  

The solutions should enable consumers to be well-informed about their wellbeing and  to be able to use digital instrumentation to monitor and improve their quality of life,  according to the motto “an ounce of prevention is worth at least a pound of cure”. Good  examples are products (unobtrusive sensors and actuators and associated software  services) targeted at occupational and private health and fitness. The clear focus is on  measures supporting prevention or secondary care for both physical and  mental/cognitive impairments. Correlation of diverse data sources in a “big data”  approach is also important to get more relevant results. As the collected data is sensitive,  privacy-aware systems are equally important. Solutions that delay the onset of physical  and cognitive/mental conditions or cope with these conditions in a social context are  considered as a triple win.  

Keywords: prevention, fitness, monitoring, early detection, e-health 

Digital Tech 

Digital Tech is the core enabler of digital transformation, by providing secure, robust,  responsive and intelligent communications and computation facilities. 

In this category we have several targets: In networking, the focus lies in improving the  mobile broadband infrastructure, network management tools based on software  defined networks (SDN), and a multitude of IoT applications in the network area. In  computing, we focus on Cloud Computing, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence, especially  technologies efficiently combining AI techniques such as machine learning and deep  learning capabilities on top of the cloud & Big Data platform(s) in such a way that it leads  to successful business. In security, we are looking for solutions on privacy, cyber security,  and digital ID management. Of great interest are solutions enforcing the privacy-by design paradigm and the minimality principle in balance with usability, and usage of  user-controllable privacy policies and assurance levels. We are also looking for data  privacy solutions for cloud services through implementation of advanced cryptographic  techniques.  

Keywords: Cloud Computing, Big Data, AI, privacy, cyber security, digital ID management 

Digital Finance 

Delivery of innovative financial products and services through digital technology, with  the objective of making financial systems more reliable, more transparent, and less  dependent on central infrastructures. 

Within this category, we are looking for disruptive solutions using blockchain technology  for various applications, including payments, contract handling and voting. Technologies  integrating Artificial Intelligence, pattern identification technologies, machine learning,  natural language processing, homomorphic encryption and big data analytics are equally  interesting. In addition, solutions improving interactions between customers and  financial service providers, offering new and innovative approaches for customer  relations and focusing on usability are part of the focus of the Digital Finance category.  

Key words: blockchain technologies, pattern identification, machine learning, natural language processing, homomorphic encryption 

2.1 Submission of applications 

Submissions are expected to be made by multidisciplinary teams of at least 2  individuals with both technology and management skills, that have an innovative  business idea, PoC or prototype in Digital Industry, Digital Tech, Digital Wellbeing,  Digital Finance and Digital Cities. 

• All applications must be submitted in English using the application form provided on F6S online platform via provided link – no paper submissions will be considered. • Submissions must be received no later than the 28th April 2024, 23:59:00 CEST 

By submitting the requested information, teams represent and warrant that they have  all rights, title and/or interest in their proposal, and that it is accurate and complete and  that by submitting to the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program, they are not and will  not be likely to be violating any contract or third party rights, including any patents,  copyright, trade secret, proprietary or confidential information, trademark, publicity or  privacy right.  

2.2 Eligibility Conditions 

• All team members must be fully-fledged members of the team and must be listed in  the online application form. 
• A minimum number of 2 members per team are eligible to take part in the  competition.  
• Team members must be resident in one of the following countries: 
• EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain. Germany, Sweden 
• H2020 Associated Countries in Europe: Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.
• Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain 
• Each team can submit one and no more than one application.  
• Applying teams must not have already established a legal entity for the project in  question. Those teams who already have registered start-ups before 1 January 2024.  connected to their business ideas are not eligible to participate. Start-ups who  registered their company in the given calendar year (from 1 January 2024) are  eligible for the program. 
• Submissions must be legible once printed in black and white using default printer  settings. 
• Submissions must clearly specify the bank account which the 5,000 € prize is to be  paid to. 
• Any source of funding that has an equity ownership component, including funding  from non-managing founders, is considered institutional and must be clearly  identified in the proposal. 
• Teams that are in the process of securing arrangements for capital from any source  must disclose the amounts and types of sources of capital (e.g.: Grants, Angel and or  Venture Capitalists (“VC”)) as well as amounts and dates. This information shall be clearly identified in their submissions and Teams shall keep the Venture Incubation  Program Committee aware of such developments throughout the selection process.  Such information will be treated as confidential. 

The Venture Incubation Program Committee reserves the right to disqualify any  submission that violates any of the points above. Disqualified submissions will not be  reviewed and will receive no feedback. 

2.3 Selection process 

The selection process for the Growth Package will be performed by the Venture  Incubation Program Selection Panel, appointed by the Venture Incubation Program Committee. The process will go through two phases: 

• Application shortlisting, based on individual assessments provided by the Selection  Panel members, followed by a consensus meeting. 
• Interviews via video-conference with shortlisted teams. 

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. 

2.3.1 Selection criteria 

Submissions that describe exciting technological breakthroughs but fail to show a clear  path to commercialization will not score well. The goal of the EIT Digital Venture  Incubation Program is not to fund science, but to support the execution of the MVP and  the establishment of a new venture.  

The selection will focus on how well the team has prepared the submission, i.e.  

• Their solution to a clearly identified market challenge within one of the verticals  identified in Section 1, and the fit of the envisioned MVP to solve such a challenge  demonstrated by the validation of at least a first mock-up prototype.  
• The venture’s business model, how it’s going to be implemented and its scalability.  • Of the utmost importance, the quality of the team and its capability of executing the  identified strategy, including clearly identified technical and business skills.  Key operational aspects during the execution stage and how the support provided  may or may not have an impact on it.  
• General quality of the presentation and demonstrated communication skills.  

In more detail, all submissions shall address the following points, always to the extent  that this is allowed under applicable law, which will also constitute the main evaluation  criteria.

Excellence: 

1) Technology underlying the product or service; uniqueness of the solution Please, keep in mind that the Venture Incubation Program targets deep-tech based  solutions. Start by describing your technology, the stage of technical development  you are at and what the next critical steps in development are to establish your MVP  and have your solutions ready to launch in the market. What makes it different  (better) from existing solutions? Participants must refrain from disclosing any  confidential information for that purpose. In other words, do not describe how your  technology works but rather explain what technology it is, what it does and how it  meets customers’ needs. Also, explain your strategy for managing any Intellectual  Property (IP) protection for your solution. 

2) Product/service innovativeness 

Through a clear, 2 to 3 sentence statement, describe your solution, the benefits for  the customer and how it overcomes the problems identified in item 2. Be as  quantitative as possible in the description of the benefits. For instance, do not just  say that your solution “is better than..” but rather “enables XX% improvement in..” 

Impact: 

3) Global impact 

Describe the main characteristics (margins; emerging; consolidation stage, other) of  the market in which you will introduce your solution (product or service) and in  which way your value proposition (to the customer) makes it an attractive  opportunity for an investor. Include the financial needs for implementation and the  projected returns for a hypothetical investor. Also, highlight how the market has  been growing and how it is expected to grow in the foreseeable future. Always quote  and reference your sources. You will also need to focus on market sizes for the total  and the addressable markets respectively, and make clear any economic, political,  and regulatory issues that may limit market access. 

4) Addressed market/business challenge and its dimension 

Through a 2 to 3 sentence statement, describe who is your customer and the  challenge that your product and/ or service will actually solve or help to solve.  Characterise clearly and quantitatively the current problems faced by customers  with existing solutions (from competitors, direct and indirect). 

Quality and efficiency of implementation: 

5) Team composition and fit of each member with the project 

Describe the core knowledge and expertise of each team member, as well as any areas  of competence still in need of development within the team. Be as open and honest  as possible. Describe also the team’s access to knowledge and expertise in any  specialist field outside yours but required to implement the solution envisaged, i.e.  your product and / or service, and to establish your venture. 

6) Risks associated with your business model

Global investors expect teams responsible for their projects to apply international  best practice in managing the risks and achieving the objectives of the project. Risk  management needs to be balanced with the opportunities presented in a timely and  cost-effective manner. Clearly identify the main risks involved in your business  model and strategy. Document the risks and the severity of any legal/regulatory  issue (e.g. International standards, issues with privacy regulation, IP disclosures and  protection strategies, etc.). Provide a discussion of the budgetary implications of  dealing with the above risks, being honest about possible costs no matter how  uncertain such estimates may be. 

At least 3 Selection Panel members (out of which at least 2 external experts) will  individually rate each application according to the above listed Selection Criteria. Each category will be scored on a scale from 1 to 5 by the Panel members where: 

• Poor – criterion is inadequately addressed or there are serious inherent  weaknesses 
• Fair – application broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant  weaknesses 
• Good – application addresses the criterion well, but a number of shortcomings  are present 
• Very good – application addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of  shortcomings are present 
• Excellent – application successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion.  Any shortcomings are minor. 

The maximum score attainable is 30.  

After individual assessments, the Panel will convene in a consensus meeting and select  the applicants to invite to individual interviews, with the aim of gathering additional  information and clarifying possible pending issues.  

After the interviews, the Selection Panel will rank the shortlisted applicants and provide,  by consensus, the list of the winners of the Growth Package Prize, including a reserve  list of eligible applicants. If a selected applicant resigns from the Program, the next  ranked applicant from the reserve list shall be invited to participate. 

2.4 Selected Teams’ Obligations 

Selected teams will receive from EIT Digital confirmation of their selection and EIT Digital  will provide them with the following package of contract documents to sign: 

• The “Venture Incubation Program 2024- Growth Package PRIZE AGREEMENT” with  EIT Digital (see below), including 

o A Rules & Regulations acceptance confirmation. 

o Signed copy of a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) letter  which will be countersigned by an authorized representative of  

EIT Digital. 

Each team member will have a maximum of three working days, upon request from EIT 

Digital to sign (each team member) and send electronically the full contract for the Venture Incubation Program 2024- Growth Package PRIZE AGREEMENT listed just here above. 

2.5 Growth Package Prize 

Signature of all the documents in section 2.4 is required to receive the Growth Package  prize. The prize can only be awarded as a full package, and not divided into single items. 

If all agreements in section 2.4 have been effected, the 5,000 € cash prize shall be issued  within three weeks to the bank account specified in the application. 

The prize winners shall be responsible for all possible taxes, wire transfer costs and other  possible costs related to the payment of prize amounts.  

3.1 Submission of applications 

Submissions are reserved to the ventures – established in one of the EU27 countries – by  the teams that had been awarded the Growth Package. All applications must be received  no later than the 1st September 2024, 23:59:00 CEST. 

3.2 Eligibility Conditions 

Application is reserved to ventures established by teams that: 

• have been awarded the Growth Package 
• have actively participated in the entire pre-Acceleration Phase (see 1.1) • have attended the entire two-day Bootcamp on a FULL TIME basis • have participated in the final Pitch Day 
• have incorporated one and just one company based on the project in one of the  current 27 EU member states.  

The selection will be performed by the Venture Incubation Program Selection Panel. 

3.3 Selection Criteria 

Applications to the Final Prize (first tranche and second tranche) will focus on the  description of the finalized MVP and customer tests and their quality (2 pages max).  

Excellence: 

• Advanced technological level of MVP (not a “paper-test”) 
• The MVP must show clear prioritization of “minimum” features and the team must  outline the hypotheses on which these are based 

Impact: 

• Based on the MVP a clear product-market fit should be demonstrated, including an  analysis of target customers and how the MVP addressed their specific business  needs (both quantitative and qualitative).

Quality and efficiency of implementation: 

• · Data collected for the MVP: prove relevancy in terms of both size and quality 

At least 3 Selection Panel Members (out of which at least 2 external experts) will  individually review each application and, based on the above-mentioned 4 Selection  Criteria, assign a score. Each selection criterion will be scored on a scale from 1 to 5 by  the Panel members where: 

• Poor – criterion is inadequately addressed or there are serious inherent  weaknesses 
• Fair – application broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant  weaknesses 
• Good – application addresses the criterion well, but a number of shortcomings  are present 
• Very good – application addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of  shortcomings are present 
• Excellent – application successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion.  Any shortcomings are minor. 

The maximum score attainable is 20. Individual assessments will be discussed by the  Panel members in a consensus meeting to produce the list of the winners of the Final  Prize. 

3.4 Final Prize Amount 

The Final Prize Amount consists of three tranches: 

1) Applications with a final score greater than or equal to 16 will receive 10,000 €  (the first tranche) 

2) A maximum of 10 ventures across the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program in  2024, which 

3. have received or are in the process of receiving Follow-on Funding of at  least 50,000 € from a 3rd party as defined in 3.5a and  
4. have provided adequate proof of it to EIT Digital – according to section  3.5b– before 24th November 2024, 23:59:00 CET. 

will receive an additional 10,000 € (the second tranche). The allocation of such a  second tranche shall be determined on a “first-come-first-serve” basis amongst  the ventures participating across the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program in  2024. 

3) A maximum of 10 ventures across the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program in  2024, which have succesfuly deployed their product/service in the market and  achived commercial traction as defined in 3.5 c and 3.5 d will receive 5,000 € (third tranche)

3.5 Definitions of Follow-on funding & Adequate Proof of Follow-on Funding,  Commercial Traction & Adequate Proof of Commercial Traction  

1. Definition of Follow-on Funding 

Follow-on Funding is defined as either 

• a signed commitment (e.g. term sheet) on the provision of funding of at  least 50,000 € in cash by a 3rd party with a clearly expressed interest in  acquiring equity in the applicant’s company. Loans, without the intent to  acquire equity in the applicant’s company are excluded. Convertible notes  with the provision to turn into equity are included. 

Or 

a signed cash prize commitment from a third party of at least 50,000 € awarded to the incorporated venture for their achievements. 

1. Definition of Adequate Proof of Follow-on Funding 

Proof of the follow-up financing consists of a written contract signed and  stamped where required, by both the incorporated applicant venture and the 3rd party fund provider before 24th November 2024, 23:59:00 CET. 

1. Definition of Commercial Traction 

Commercial Traction is defined as either 

• a sales revenue of at least €10,000 documented. 

Or 

for open access products or services: having at least 200 satisfied users 

1. Definition of Adequate Proof of Commercial Traction 

Proof of Sales: Documents, such as invoices or online sales records, certifying  cumulated financial transactions sold to a customer for at least € 10,000.  Exceptionally EIT Digital can consider substitute evidence documents such as a  sales contract or order form dated and signed by the customer with the time  frame of the purchase and price indicated. 

For open access: 

Declaration of honour or links to websites showing the number of users who  downloaded the product or service, and the number of users who provided  satisfactory feedback. 

The proofs must be provided by electronic means via the online application platform.

Submissions will be possible from the start of the Final Prize submission period  until the 24th November 2024 23:59:00 Central European Time. EIT Digital does  not take responsibility for technical problems on the website. 

The timestamp of the reception of the proof document as registered by the  application portal is decisive for the eligibility, as only the 10 first are eligible. 

Applicants across all regional editions will qualify for the second and third  tranche of the Final Prize Amount.  

The validity of the provided documentation will be checked and confirmed by EIT  Digital’s Legal Department only after 25th November 2024. No information on the  validity of the provided proof nor about the number of requests received for the  second tranche of the Final Prize will be shared with applicants beforehand. 

EIT Digital shall publish in its website (in the section for the Venture Incubation  Program (http://www.eitdigtial.eu/venture-program) the lists of the 10 first  ventures having provided adequate proof of the funding and proof of commercial  traction as stated in this clause, along with the timestamp of the reception by EIT  Digital of the proof documents.  

3.6 Selected Ventures’ Obligations 

Selected ventures will receive from EIT Digital the confirmation of their selection and EIT  Digital will provide them with the following package of contract documents to sign: 

• The “Venture Incubation Program 2024- Final PRIZE AGREEMENT” with EIT Digital  (see below), including among other documents: 

o Conditions from the Framework Participation Agreement (FPA),  and 

o the set of Rules & Regulations. 

Each team member will have a maximum of three working days, upon request from EIT  Digital, to sign (each team member) and send electronically the full Venture Incubation  Program 2024- Final Prize AGREEMENT listed just hereabove. 

3.7 Final Prize Payment 

Signature of the documents in section 3.6 is required to receive the first part of the Final  Prize. Each prize can only be awarded to a single venture. 

If all agreements in section 3.6 have been effected, the10,000 € cash prize shall be issued  within no more than two weeks . 

If applications qualify for the second tranche of the Final Prize, as defined in 3.4, and  meet the requirements in 3.5, the second tranche of 10,000 € shall be issued no later  than 31st December 2024. 

The prize winners shall be responsible for all possible taxes, wire transfer costs and other  possible costs related to the payment of prize amounts. 

Participants retain full and exclusive ownership of a) their prior information and  intellectual property rights; b) any additional information and intellectual property right  they might develop through the Venture Incubation Program. 

The sole purpose of the collection of data is to verify the eligibility of the proposals,  identify the best teams or assess the quality of the achieved MVP. Only for the purposes  of the execution of the competition will participants provide their name, postal address,  email address and telephone number (“personal data”). EIT Digital will process the  submitted material according to Belgian law.  

The Venture Incubation Program Selection Panel members are the only individuals who  may have access to the submitted information. All necessary steps are taken to limit  access to the submitted information. 

The Selection Panel will consist of people used to dealing with confidential material on  a regular basis. If some part of the submitted information is confidential, applicants will  have to clearly mark that information as “CONFIDENTIAL,” and the Venture Incubation  Program Committee will retain that legend in any copy of the material provided to the  Selection Panel. However, even if candidates mark their information as confidential,  there will be no confidentiality obligation by any recipient of the summary for  information which: 

1. Is publicly available prior to the time of its disclosure to the Venture Incubation  Program or becomes publicly available thereafter through no wrongful act of the  recipient, or 
2. Was known to the recipient prior to the date of disclosure or becomes known to  the recipient thereafter from a third party having an apparent bona fide right to  disclose the information, or 

iii. Is disclosed by the recipient in accordance with recipient’s approval, or iv. Is disclosed by the recipient or any member of his/her team without restriction on  further disclosure, or is independently developed by a recipient; or v. The recipient is obligated to disclose to comply with applicable laws or regulations,  or with a court or administrative order. 

By applying to the Venture Incubation Program, applicants consent that EIT Digital IVZW  will collect, transfer, process, store and delete their data under above-mentioned  conditions. 

Beneficiaries must take all measures to prevent any situation that could compromise the impartial and objective implementation of the Agreement for reasons involving family,  emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or  indirect interest (“conflict of interest”). 

Beneficiaries must formally notify EIT Digital without delay of any situation constituting  or likely to lead to a conflict of interests and immediately take all the necessary steps to  rectify this situation. 

EIT Digital may verify that the measures taken are appropriate and may require  additional measures to be taken by a specified deadline.

The participation of the selected teams in the two stages of the Venture Incubation  Program will be regulated by two Venture Incubation Program Prize Agreements to be  signed with EIT Digital:  

• “EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program 2024 – Growth Package PRIZE AGREEMENT”  which regulates the first stage of the program (see section 2). According to this  agreement, each selected team has the right to receive the Growth Package and  access the competition for the Final Prize. 
• “EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program 2024 – FINAL PRIZE AGREEMENT” which  regulates the second stage of the Venture Incubation Program (see section 3).  According to this agreement, selected ventures have the right to receive the Final  Prize. 

By submitting an application to the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program, participants  commit to provide EIT Digital with equity in the venture, being a company incorporated  (the NEWCO) within 2 years of the signature of the “EIT Digital Venture Incubation  Program 2024 – Growth Package PRIZE AGREEMENT”, in which participants directly or  indirectly have a majority stake and which has been developed through their  participation in the Venture Incubation Program. 

• That equity will correspond to 5% shares at nominal value of the Venture,  according to the terms stipulated in the SIMPLE AGREEMENT FOR FUTURE  “EQUITY”.  
• The 5% equity must be granted to EIT Digital irrespective of whether the  established venture has applied for the Final Prize and/or the outcomes thereof. • A Share Transfer Agreement must be signed within the same year of  incorporation or within a maximum of 100 days from the incorporation of the  NEWCO.

8.1 Key Dates: 

8.2 The pre-Acceleration Phase for this call will be executed by EIT Digital Venture  Program Partners.  

8.3 The pre-Acceleration Phase will be overseen by the Venture Incubation Program Committee consisting of 2 (two) representatives from EIT Digital and 2  (two) representatives of the respective Partner in charge. 

There is no requirement for a dissemination plan as such for participating startups. But  all teams are required to participate in media and reporting opportunities related to the  EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program. This includes, but is not limited to, the following  opportunities: 

1. All teams will be asked to provide a 500 character (without spaces) description  in English during the Bootcamp that will be made available to media and may be  released publicly, either in part or in its entirety; 
2. All teams may be asked to speak to the media in interviews related to EIT Digital  Venture Incubation Program and when requested by the Venture Incubation  Program committee. Where possible, the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program organizers will provide media coaching & mentoring before such occasions. 3. All teams may be asked to provide quotes and/or content press releases related  to EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program and when requested by the Venture  Incubation Program committee; 

4. Teams must display the EIT Digital logo with the text “ EIT Digital is supported by  the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the  European Union” on their website (if you have any) in a visible place. Relevant  communication guidelines will be shared with teams during the program. 
5. Participating in media and press opportunities in no way, shape or form requires  teams to disclose any proprietary or otherwise confidential information related  to their businesses. The Venture Incubation Program committee agrees to  provide consultation to any team, upon request, to avoid such disclosures while  participating in press related opportunities. 
6. EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program will conduct at least yearly an “impact”  survey which all participants are obliged to complete, including jobs created,  financing raised, revenue generated among other critical information and this  during a period of 7 years. EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program will use such  information only in aggregate form. Any discrete use of the data will always  require pre-approval by the participants. 

1. The participants agree that they will explicitly use the branding of “EIT Digital  Venture Incubation Program” in any advertising or public presentation further to  being selected to the accelerator, in accordance with the instructions for the use  of the brand. 
2. The venture incubation program committee makes no  representations or warranties of any kind concerning the program,  or its outcome express or implied. In no event shall eit digital, its  directors, officers, employees and partners be liable for any advice,  information or decisions made in the framework of the eit digital  venture incubation program. In no event shall eit digital incur any  liability for incidental or consequential damages of any kind,  including but not limited to economic damages and lost profits. The  liability of eit digital shall in any event be limited to the amount of  1.000 eur.

For any required information, the contact email is venture_program@eitdigital.eu and  the FAQ available in the website: https://www.eitdigital.eu/venture-program/

By submitting the application form, participants agree to the Rules and Regulations,  which form part of the submission. Participants agree that they have no legal  entitlement to any prize whatsoever.  

EIT Digital IVZW reserves the right to make reasonable amendments to these Rules and  Regulations. Amendments and additions to these Rules and Regulations shall be valid  only if communicated in writing or otherwise made available to the participants. 

Any deviation from these Rules and Regulations can only be made in writing and signed  by an authorized representative of EIT Digital IVZW and the participant. 

The terms and conditions of the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program RULES AND  REGULATIONS are governed by the laws of Belgium. 

Any disagreement or dispute which may arise in connection with these terms and  conditions which cannot be settled amicably will be brought before the exclusive  jurisdiction of the courts of Brussels, Belgium