GEC Forum 22

Don’t miss out our annual hybrid event where we will be showcasing the advancements of our GEC Catalyst and GEC Factory scale-ups and for the launch of an exciting new call-for-innovation.

Transformation
through innovation

Screened Companies

Finalist Companies

Catalysts Companies

Factory Companies

Settled Companies

since September 2021

Our Vision and Mission

GEC Vision

The GEC’s vision is to catalyze the transformation towards a sustainable world

GEC Mission

The GEC scales innovative companies with sustainable technologies, processes and business models for impact.

Values

The GEC is a value driven organization. It is rooted in the commitment to sustainability, climate protection and circularity, in the transparency of its operations, and in the principles of neutrality among stakeholders. Given that innovation may be disruptive in nature, the GEC needs to preserve its space and its freedom for its investment choices. The GEC is taking more than one sustainability indicator into consideration

when looking at its portfolio and is continuously measuring and assessing the impact and the possible trade-offs of the technologies under management. Furthermore, the funding of the GEC relies on a generational contract between companies. Using the proceeds coming from successful alumni, the GEC will ﬁnance the support of the following generations of scale-ups.

THE GLOBAL ENTERPRENEURSHIP CENTRE STANDS FOR

Our Motivation

The GEC wants to be instrumental in driving structural change in the Rhineland region in alignment with the sustainable development goals and the objectives of the Paris accord. It fundamentally believes that the required transformation can only be achieved through innovation. However, there are many obstacles for SusTechs to reach the required scale and produce the desired impact. Today, only 1.8% of all start-ups reach the Series C investment stage. The GEC helps its portfolio companies bridge this second valley of death.

Our Concept

The GEC implements its own tech-pull principle with a thematic technology focus. It will prioritize its investments in deep-tech start-ups with a high potential to scale in the areas of Nutrition and Agriculture, Textiles, Mobility and Transportation, as well as Building and Living. It will also consider investments in key supporting technologies, including sustainable materials, sustainable chemistry, artiﬁ cial intelligence and robotics, sustainable energy. The GEC particularly creates opportunity for open and collaborative innovation along new value chains.

Who we are

The implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offers 60 new market hotspots with a market potential of $12 trillion. The race to tap into these opportunities will be won by the most innovative regions of the world, offering the best innovation ecosystems, support services, and framework conditions. Supported by the Rhein-Kreis-Neuss, the State of North Rhine Westphalia and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Global Entrepreneurship Centre is the ﬁrst structure of its kind to address the scaling challenges of promising SusTechs – deep-tech start-ups with a clear sustainability focus. It is a one-stop shop for access to lab capacity, pilot facilities and hands-on investment, legal, HR, ﬁnance, IT, business development services and sustainability advice to enable exponential growth.