24 June 2021

Next stop: Austria - EIC ePitching to Procurers with WIENER LINIEN

Next stop: Austria - EIC ePitching to Procurers with WIENER LINIEN

For the first time ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability organised an ePitching to Procurers Day on behalf of the European Innovation Council, together with the Vienna’s public transport operator, WIENER LINIEN and the Austria’s competence center for innovation procurement, IÖB-Servicestelle. This virtual session took place on 9 June 2021 and gave the opportunity to the EIC beneficiaries to pitch their company to public procurers.  

From all the applications received, 5 EIC-beneficiaries from 5 different countries were selected. During the day the companies had 5 minutes to pitch their innovations in the field of transportation followed by Q&A by the jury members, Michal Cieslik, Head of Department Security and Service of Wiener Linien, and with Kostas Paliospyros and Konstantinos Kalampokis, CPO and Business Development Manager of EIC-funded Terracom.

WIENER LINIEN: A shortcut to the innovation 

Vienna’s public transport operator is responsible for some 180 underground, tram and bus lines and collaborated fort he first time with the EIC.

We wanted to expand our scope, outside the Germanophone area, and joining forces with the EIC and their platform made our work much more effortless. It was a shortcut, which allowed us to find solutions with a huge number of participants, that normally would have consumed hours of work from our side.” During the virtual interview, Michal shared the constant developments in the transportation sector but also what he and his team were looking for during the pitches “The whole sector is moving forward in a fast pace, technology is very present in the transportation field and can cover infrastructure, vehicles or passengers. That’s why during the pitches, we were looking for new innovative solutions, and even though the topic was quite broad and open, we managed to identify some interesting companies.”  Michal Cieslik, Head of Department Security and Service of Wiener Linien

Terracom: Keep moving forward 

Terracom is an innovative SME with long expertise in software development for the physical security domain, like QR-Patrol - one of the top mobile workforce systems globally. Kostas explains this innovation, noting that “QR-Patrol is an innovative cloud workforce management solution that uses various technologies, such as: Smartphone and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in order to provide a certain operation status in real time. Keeping it light, easily to be deployed and at the same time in a competitive price range. That makes it a great value for money solution for any organization.”

The funding allowed us to have more resources when it comes to development, dissemination and exploitation. Additionally, the EIC helped us to gain a high visibility through participation in various trade sales and fairs around the globe.” Konstantinos Kalampokis, Business Development Manager, Terracom

The interview was concluded with a positive message: Despite the difficulty to convey all the information in a 5’ pitch, the companies receive personal feedback and get to meet and create synergies with companies that they didn’t know before. 

Interested in EIC Procurers Days?  

Are you looking for opportunities to connect with some of the largest public and private procurers of innovation in Europe? The next EIC ePitching with Procurers event is with the No-Fear consortium, and will take place on 22 July 2021, online. Stay tuned to our events calendar and apply today to grab the opportunity to take your business to the next level.

ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability supports partnership building between the EIC Community members and public procurers interested in working with EIC SMEs; and manages the recruitment and participation of procurers interested in working with innovators on the EIC Community Platform.