Startup Village approach is not a paternalistic approach. On the  contrary, as our societies adapt to the global challenges we  face, we find more and more opportunities for our rural areas.

The Startup Village initiative is founded on the optimistic  premise that rural areas can become economic growth engines.  Two weeks ago, during my mission to Silicon Valley, I  reaffirmed this belief. Silicon Valley is a living example of the  innovation and startup potential of rural areas. 

Silicon Valley is a nearly 100-kilometer-long, rural region. It  does not contain any major urban centres. Despite being a rural  region, this valley is the origin of the digital revolution. As a  rural area, it was inexpensive to acquire land for the new  structures. And as a rural area, the valley offered a high quality  of life to its residents. Likewise, as a rural area, it was possible  to network and mingle with like-minded individuals while also  having ample room for personal development. 

Similarly, innovators and entrepreneurs will play a key role in  the implementation of the Startup Village initiative all across  rural areas in Europe. Especially young businesses and  startups with ambitions to innovate and grow. 

Start-ups and scale-ups are real job engines. And here, EU  performance is significantly improving. In fact, in 2021, the  EU attained the worldwide lead in terms of emerging  ecosystems, accounting for 37% of global emerging startup  ecosystems. 

We have the capacity to boost this trend. But we cannot do so  only where startups are already concentrated, in a few  metropolitan areas. We need to change the model to make it  more sustainable. We need to build capacity in rural areas and develop their innovation potential. Because diffused  innovation ecosystems are at the heart of cohesion. 

Strong innovation ecosystems can help rural communities  thrive by bringing together public and private actors. Likewise, 

they can assist Europe in mobilising talents and creative minds located outside of key urban knowledge hubs. And the  startup village initiative plays a fundamental role here. 

So, how is the EU supporting startup villages, and innovation  ecosystem development in rural areas? 

First, through targeted support, and second, through pooling  resources and working together – and today’s hackathon is a  great example of that. 

First, let me address targeted support. 

The New European Innovation Agenda has a specific flagship  dedicated to supporting innovation ecosystems across the  EU, including startup villages, reinforcing the innovation  cohesion. It focuses on creating the basis for the emergence of  connected regional innovation valleys across the EU, notably  involving regions with a lower innovation performance. 

In addition, Horizon Europe’s Workprogramme 2023-24  includes specific calls related to startup villages in the area of  bioeconomy, and also in the European Innovation Ecosystems  Programme. Likewise, the European Institute of Innovation and  Technology will include support to Startup Village initiative in  their workprogramme for 2023. 

Let me emphasise the importance of seeking synergies and  cooperating with other existing actions. Take, for example,  CAP rural networks, including the European Innovation  Partnership on agriculture productivity and sustainability,  Horizon Europe Partnership on Sustainable Food Systems, the  Circular Bio-based Europe Partnership, or the opportunities  and solutions created under the EIT’s Knowledge and  Innovation Communities.

These initiatives cover the agri-food sector quite well. But  there is another sector that I believe will equally empower our  rural areas: deep-tech areas. This is the 4th innovation wave,  after the digital revolution—and it is a wave our innovators  will surf. We just need to make sure we have enough  surfboards on hand, also in rural areas. 

Which is why the New European Innovation Agenda has  another flagship, run through the European Institute of  Innovation and Technology, or EIT, aimed at training 1  million talents in deep tech areas by 2025 across all Member  States. 

Deep tech solutions are very important in agri-food  technologies. For example, the use of sensors, GPS technology,  machines or robotic systems for precision agriculture, as well  as molecular biology or synthetic Biology technologies for  food processing.  

Here I would like to announce that we will include a specific  challenge in the European Innovation Council  

Workprogramme 2023 to support startups in precision  agriculture. And I hope that many of the beneficiaries will  come from rural areas. 

As you see, we have a lot of resources and programme backing  the Startup village initiative. 

Which brings me to my second point: pooling these resources  and working together. This is where our Long-Term Vision  for the EU’s Rural Areas, launched by the European  Commission in 2021, comes in. 

The annual Startup Village Forum is part of the Innovation for  rural areas flagship. Our intention is to promote knowledge 

exchange and cooperation activities, working as an open and  inclusive space where institutions and stakeholders can meet,  discuss and shape actions for startup-driven innovation in  rural areas. 

Besides, the Forum aims to channel the commitment of public  and private organisations to support Startup Villages. In fact,  we launched a call for pledges offering financial but also in kind support, such as the provision of co-working spaces, IT  infrastructure or expertise, coaching, mentoring or training,  strengthening start-ups and supporting job opportunities in  rural areas. 

And we’ve seen a lot of interest, from both public, mobilising  cohesion funds and Recovery and Resilient Funds, and private  entities. Some of them have already finalised their pledges and  

more are on the way. In fact, eleven villages are already  benefiting from the support offered by private entities under  this call for pledges. 

Over the past months, we have continued to actively explore  these themes, including how different actors can contribute to  their development. 

And now it’s the moment to focus on implementation. 

And you know me, I like out-of-the-box thinking: innovative  ways for the implementation of EU initiatives. 

Today, I would like to invite all stakeholders attending this  hackathon to establish a Startup Village Alliance as an informal  partnership to focus on implementation. And I would be  deighted to announce the Alliance publicly at the next Startup  Village Forum that will take place on 28 February, in Brussels.

And this will also be an opportunity to present the results of  Horizon funded projects on rural innovation, together with  concrete stakeholder experiences from other European, national  or regional programmes. 

Dear friends, 

We have the resources. And we have the community to develop  them into concrete ventures. 

All of you, through initiatives like this amazing hackathon  have an opportunity in front of you. You have a chance to  significantly contribute to bridging all our regions and  localities, through great ideas, and even greater execution, from  the drawing board to the market, together. 

I therefore wish the organisers and the participating teams all  the success over the next two days, as they co-create the future.  I will be very interested to see the results of this hackathon, and  the solutions developed, which could then be helpful and feed  into our policies and supporting measures. 

I also invite you and the participating teams to actively join us  at the forthcoming Startup Village Forum held on 28 February  in Brussels. 

In the meantime, remember. As Albert Einstein said, creativity  is contagious. Pass it on! That is why we are all here, together.  Have a great couple of days! 

Thank you.