GTL – Green Tec Labs

The target regions (Athens and Crete in Greece, Andalusia in Spain and Nitra in Slovakia) are experiencing a comprehensive structural change as well as a structurally weak labour market. The development of new services and business ideas has the potential to create new, green jobs while at the same time supporting consumers in the use of climate-friendly technologies. To advance this process, it is essential to support young people in these regions in shaping structural change into new labour markets.

Active participants in a GreenTec Workshop, Photo: ©FIAP

To achieve this, the project supported green start-ups and project ideas, addressing creative young people with technical competences who are interested in or motivated for green ideas. It particularly encouraged young women to develop and implement green business ideas.

The project established local, mobile and virtual labs which offer competence development and technical expertise for entrepreneurship. This included support in developing business ideas and professional ‘green’ competences, in legal issues and innovation management, as well as in developing green proposals for funding programmes. Furthermore, the labs offered trainings in network management, including knowledge exchange, cluster formation, co-creative cooperation management and peer coaching through existing green enterprises. 

Another measure implemented by the project was to set up a transcultural “GreenTecLab” in the form of an interactive, virtual coworking platform. The platform featured virtual conferences, meetings, training courses and individual consultations in order to establish a network and knowledge exchange between and among the European partners and potential founders in the target regions.

• Promotion of green business ideas: The project supported 51 green start-ups in Greece, Spain and Slovakia through training, mentoring, pitching and networking. As a result, 14 start-ups successfully launched their products or services, while at least three others have been preparing to set up their own companies. By providing practical training and closing gaps in expertise in green tech areas, the project made a contribution to the market readiness of climate-friendly innovations and strengthened green value creation in structurally weak regions.
• Innovation networks and European cooperation expanded: Regional networks were strengthened with local, mobile and virtual innovation hubs, boot camps, workshops and study visits. Cross-border exchange facilitated knowledge-sharing and the joint development of solutions. Intensive European networking led to lasting partnerships and the signing of four memoranda of understanding, which ensured further support for the laboratories and start-ups. This created a stable innovation ecosystem that will support the development of green business models in the long term.
• Visibility and access to expertise for green business ideas increased: Multilingual online platforms gave the start-ups a Europe-wide stage for training, exchange and presentation. Formats such as "Start-up of the Month" created additional visibility for particularly innovative ideas and facilitated access to experts, funding opportunities and investors. The targeted publicity helped new green businesses to build reach, trust and partnerships – a key factor for scaling and success in the market.
• Education and promoting young talent for the green transformation: By actively involving schools, universities and regional players, the project raised young people’s awareness of green entrepreneurship. Teachers were trained, teaching units were organised and young people were sensitised to ecological innovation and start-up topics. At the same time, training gaps in future-focused fields such as renewable energies, green hydrogen and heat pump technologies were closed. The project thus laid an important foundation for the development of a skilled workforce and the sustainable transformation of regional labour markets.