Results from the first call of the European Union design innovation initiative WORTH Partnership Project have been revealed.
27 winning partnership projects were selected, involving; 60 SMEs/start-ups, and 20 European and COSME countries represented: 16 in fashion/textile, 2 in footwear, 3 in accessories, 3 in furniture, 2 in jewellery and 1 in leather. Previous winning participants of the project include Jacquemus, Steve Mono and Emma Shipley.
Winning partnership projects will receive funding, coaching, skill building, networking activities, market positioning, participation in two international fairs and legal advice through cross-border and cross-discipline collaborations.
111 partnership applications were received from across Europe and COSME countries for the first call, of which 41 partnerships were selected to participate in the final evaluation and networking of #WORTHWeekendMadrid hosted at the IED Istituto Europeo di Design Madrid Master.
The weekend of February 3rd-4th saw the shortlisted candidates give back-to-back pitches of their project ideas to an audience including the renowned industry experts of the WORTH Steering Board, the WORTH Mentors, the European Commission and the WORTH Team. #WORTHWeekendMadrid resulted in the genesis of a community of innovation leaders through networking, round-table discussions from experts and insightful lectures.