ENRICHERS

The European Commission's ENRICH in the USA initiative, started in April 2017, is establishing a Network of European Research and Innovation Centers and Hubs around research universities throughout the United States that acts as a central contact point for European research and innovation actors - clusters, universities, R&D labs/centers, researchers, start-ups, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)... - seeking to grow and reinforce collaboration across the Atlantic. The mission of the Network is to provide standardized as well as tailor-made, research & innovation internationalization support services, activities and events (including pitch, networking and matchmaking events )to European researchers and innovators, to accelerate their exposure, collaboration opportunities, and overall access to partners, clients and investors in the US market, and maximize their chances of success.

NGI Enrichers, also funded by the European Commission, as a complementary fellowship program focusing on European researchers and early stage innovators looking for collaboration opportunities in the USA, a lot around research universities.

These two programs co-managed by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Temple University, based in Philadelphia, PA, support a global community of ‘Enrichers’ made of startups, corporations, research labs and universities representatives and mentors and investors actively participating.

Moreover, the programs are also meant to support in the middle term US startups and SMEs to become global, scale and enter the European market.

During the Silicon Valley Funding Summit at CES 2023 (one day before CES), we invite investors to speak on introduction panels and judge startups pitching for 120 minute sessions.

We select investors who apply as judges and mentors. They introduce themselves in panels and then listen to pitches, and give their feedback to the entrepreneurs. They will vote for the top 3 presentations. The app facilitates the votes.

Investors judging must be actively engaged in investing their own funds or making decisions for their firms, and not solely advisors. These are:
Angels
Strategic investors
Family offices
Venture capitalist
Private equity
Investment bankers
Incubators or Accelerators
Micro-funds
Crypto investors

During the week at CES 2023 (plus a week after), using the app (and its chat capability), the startups are able to connect with the participating investor..

The app also helps the startups to promote their latest news and offerings to their targets.