22 November 2016

Earlier this year, 15 MEP members of EIF and EU40 participated in a study visit to Silicon Valley. On 9 November, study visit participants, EIF and EU40 members and friends met in the European Parliament to discuss what Europe has been and should be doing to help start-ups and scale-ups overcome their biggest challenges, and what take-aways are still relevant from Silicon Valley’s famous ecosystem.

3:20
#EIFAsks: Is the Silicon Valley model still relevant for Europe?

Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP, EIF Steering Committee Member and Head of the delegation, reflected on the key learning points that MEPs were able to bring back from the Silicon Valley visit.

Georges Nahon, CEO of Orange Silicon Valley, gave a keynote presentation on Silicon Valley’s ecosystem and what elements of it are relevant for Europe.

Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Unit, Start-ups and Innovation at DG CONNECT, spoke about the European Commission’s upcoming communication on Start-ups & Scale-ups (to be published on 22 November). Mr Zilgalvis also elaborated on the Startup Europe initiative, created by the Commission to strengthen the business environment for web and ICT entrepreneurs so that their ideas and business can start and grow in the EU. He also noted features of Silicon Valley that could be “copy-pasted” to Europe

Fabrizio Porrino, VP Global Public Affairs at FacilityLive, and Launch Spokesperson of the European Tech Alliance, spoke about the challenges that European investors face to finance European startups vs Silicon Valley startups. He also took this opportunity to present the European Tech Alliance, a recent initiative launched by fast-growing European tech companies to strengthen Europe's digital economy.

#EIFAsks

  • #INNOVATION
  • #ENTREPRENEURISHIP
  • #TRANSATLANTIC COOPERATION

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