Toyota Opens Funding Programme for Start-Ups offering Inclusive Mobility and Sustainability Solutions
Toyota Motor Europe (TME) and ISDI Digital Business School have launched the second edition of the Toyota Startup Accelerator funding programme, calling for entries from startups developing innovative solutions for inclusive mobility and sustainability.
A UK startup business, SociAbility, was one of the four winners of the first Toyota Startup Awards, in 2020, for its work in providing reliable and accurate accessibility information for disabled people.
A jury formed of top executives and experts from TME and ISDI will choose up to five entrants, who will participate in the six-month programme, starting in October this year. The start-ups will receive funds to develop their proofs of concept with Toyota, which they will pitch at a demo day in May 2022. The programme is supported by ISDI Accelerator, the largest entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Europe.
The Toyota Startup Accelerator aims to tap into European startups’ potential and encourage innovative solutions in four fields:
Mobility for All: micro mobility assistance solutions that will improve the lives of less able people, to ensure nobody is left behind in mobility.
Carbon Neutral Circular Economy: concepts in the area of carbon capture and utilisation (chemicals, fuels, minerals), including storage techniques, in order to go further than zero emissions by reversing the CO2 gap to reach a carbon neutral society.
Circular Economy of Plastics: new ways of repairing, reusing and recycling plastic materials and components for circular business models, to address plastic waste by promoting initiatives to reduce virgin material use.
Life Cycle Footprint Ecosystem: LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) tools to help product suppliers deliver accurate and up-to-date solutions to help customers to be more aware of their footprint and daily product choices, to increase awareness of products’ climate impact throughout their life cycle and provide product suppliers with more efficient and accurate assessment tools.
The winning startups will be awarded funds for further development of their projects and TME may offer them an opportunity to engage in further collaboration.
“Toyota Startup Accelerator fully reflects our Beyond Zero commitment to go further, creating innovations and initiatives that improve people’s movement, lives, society and the planet. And, in partnership with the ISDI Accelerator programme we want to provide a launch pad for like-minded innovators,” said Monica Perez Lobo, Head of Sustainability and ESG at Toyota Motor Europe.
Interested candidate startups are invited to apply here, by 14 September: https://accelerator.isdi.education/toyotastartupawards/
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