Reflections on SPECTRA participation at the Creative Business Cup 2024

An international investment and stakeholder forum was held to coincide with the Creative Business Cup event in Copenhagen on 2nd and 3rd June 2024. It offered a range of international networking and B2B matchmaking opportunities, which was facilitated through use of partner network of CBN.

The event on 2nd June connected different stakeholders and financiers to create new interlinkages and strengthen the connections between ecosystems, which will be leading to new joint activities on the partnership level and beyond, in Europe, with participation from all SPECTRA partners.

The stakeholders discussed common challenges and opportunities and learned about different good practices, business supports, initiatives and projects from Europe and beyond, such as Brewhouse Incubator, CzechInvest and StartUp Estonia.

This session was moderated by SPECTRA’s coordinator, Helena Deane (Western Development Commission, Ireland).

On June 3rd, during the Creative Business Cup Global Finals 2024, the SPECTRA investment panel discussion titled “Helping Investors Find the Next Big Thing” took place. How can investors from non-creative sectors be attracted to expand funding opportunities? What criteria do investors use, what challenges do they face, and what can be done to attract more investment in the creative and cultural industries?

The session moderated by SPECTRA’s Thierry Baujard (CEO of Media Deals, Germany). The panelists included:
Helena Rosandic
Helena lives and works in between Vienna and Dubai where she has been involved in the startup scene, innovation, and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) projects. Helena is a co-founder and president of 1MilionStatups – NGO for startups and entrepreneurs in SDGs, and Co-foudner of Startaparat – a innovation – communication agency. Over the years, Helena has managed communication and innovation projects for companies such as Mondi, P&G, Coca-Cola – Römerquelle, Unicredit – Bank Austria, Holcim, Hilton, Ferrari, Samsung, Domino’s, and more.

Ece Elbirlik Ürkmez
She started her career as a Designer/Partner at FormaDesign, Milan, later on worked as an architect at KonKur Construction Company in Turkiye between 2005-2011. In 2012, she participated in the organization of the first Istanbul Design Biennial of İKSV (Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts). She served as a Board Member of İnci Holding during 2013-2022. She continues her responsibilities as the Chairman of the Nomination and Reward Committee as well as a member of Sustainability Committee and Ethics Committee at İnci Holding. She took over the role of the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Inci Education Foundation, in 2020, with the title of “Energy Source”. The Foundation has recently developed a grant program in the field of sustainability research projects. She is a board member of Inci Family Office since it was established in 2013. Through the office the family invests in venture capital funds and startups among other asset management tools. Ece is also an angel investor and active in several NGOs.

The Creative Business Cup finals included, for the first time, representation of companies from Ireland (Grá Chocolates) and Bulgaria (Rosey’s Mark) via national partners CREW (Ireland) and BIC Innobridge (Bulgaria) as a direct output of SPECTRA project and its collaboration.