ALTFINATOR HUBS: CONNECTING EUROPE ON ALTERNATIVE FINANCE

To support the local alternative finance ecosystem in countries, Altfinator has developed the Altfinator Hub model. Already in several countries in Europe, local partners have adopted the Altfinator Hub in their own country. These partners are startup/SMEs support networks that are able to distribute and translate the training materials from Altfinator and adapt them to the local cultural situation.

The Hubs facilitate webinars and workshops, provide open-access tools and training materials and facilitate the collaboration between banks, startups and SME associations, policy makers and regulatory agencies to stimulate the alternative finance network in each country.

The individual national Hubs are working together in a European network of hubs, sharing best practices on building and supporting an alternative finance ecosystem and share their insights through peer-learning.

At this moment we have partners and national Altfinator Hubs in Slovakia, Lithuania, and The Netherlands, and we are negotiation with organisations from Estonia, Hungary, Spain, and Portugal.

For the case of Slovakian Hub, we are pleased to announce that BIC Bratislava (Business & Innovation Centre) agreed to undertake the role of the Altfinator Hub in Slovakia. The organisation currently acts also in the following capacities:

Coordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network representation in Slovakia
SME NCP – National Contact Point: Horizon 2020 “Innovation in SMEs”
Access to Finance NCP – National Contact Point: Horizon 2020 “Access to risk finance”

Since 1991, when the Business and Innovation Centre Bratislava was founded, the activities have focused primarily on supporting innovation, technology transfer and business development. Its services include business and innovation advice, support international cooperation, consultation within access to finance, as well as support for the EU framework programmes for research, development, and innovation as well as in the field of protecting intellectual property or finding potential business partners. Most of the activities are focused on SMEs with innovative potential and on developing their products or technologies.

“We are very much interested in and benefit from carrying on promoting alternative finance opportunities with the support of the materials, networks and event methodologies introduced with Altfinator. We are in daily contact with companies searching for innovation funding. It will help us to further improve the access of innovative SMEs to alternative forms of financing”, said Ivan Filus, the Senior Consultant at BIC Bratislava who is also the Advisory Board Member of the project.

If you know any organisations that may be also interested in becoming a national partner? Let them know they can contact the Altfinator coordinator through info@altfinator.eu.

For more information about national Altfinator Hubs, check https://www.altfinator.eu/hubs