CEIN's Open Innovation program held a matchmaking event attended by 34 companies and featuring nearly 50 meetings

The goal of this event is to foster connections between the SMEs that have proposed the 12 challenges and the startups that have come forward as potential solution providers

CEIN (European Center for Business and Innovation of Navarra), a public entity under the Department of Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transition of the Government of Navarra, held its first Open Innovation matchmaking event on July 3. The event brought together 34 companies with the aim of finding solutions to the 12 challenges proposed by the SMEs participating in the program. The event was held in two parts: the first, where participating companies presented their proposals, and the second, during which nearly 50 meetings took place.

Garbiñe Basterra, Director General of Energy, Business R&D&I, and Entrepreneurship for the Government of Navarra, opened the event by emphasizing that “open innovation is a strategy that fosters collaboration among different stakeholders to accelerate the development of new ideas, products, and services.” “This is a space designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and the creation of real synergies among the various players in our community’s business ecosystem,” she concluded.

Next to speak was CEIN’s managing director, Uxue Itoiz, who expressed her “gratitude to the SMEs that have decided to join this program and incorporate open innovation into their processes.” “This is undoubtedly a great opportunity as well for the startups participating, as collaborating with these eight SMEs can serve as a catalyst for the development of new services and products,” she concluded.

Next, it was time for the eight SMEs participating in the program to introduce themselves and explain the challenges they had identified. These eight companies are AIT, Aldakin, Cafés Mocay – Calidad Pascual, IED, Lacturale, Lev2050, Lizarte, and Torraspapel Leitza. Once these presentations were finished, the 25 startups that had signed up for this program took the floor to pitch their products and services.

Finally, startups interested in addressing a challenge faced by SMEs had the opportunity to meet with them to present their solutions and explore areas of common ground. In total, nearly 50 meetings took place; most of them had been scheduled in advance, but some were arranged after hearing the companies’ presentations.

This pilot program is part of CEIN’s initiative to foster new forms of collaboration between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the business community in Navarra. The process is supported by the specialized consulting firm ieteam_, which was selected through a public bidding process. In addition, prior to the launch of the challenges, a training session on open innovation was held for representatives of the participating companies.

Tech FabLab Program

The Open Innovation program is part of the Tech FabLab project aimed at creating digital entrepreneurship networks. In addition to the Government of Navarra, the regions of La Rioja, Aragón, Cantabria, Catalonia, and Valencia are participating as partners in this project. This project is funded by Next Generation funds through the Regional Networks for Technological Specialization (RETECH) initiative of the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.

The challenges posed by companies are as follows:

• AIT is launching two challenges: one to reinvent vegetable blanching using advanced thermal technologies; and another to apply artificial intelligence to after-sales service, improving monitoring, smart support, and automation.


• Aldakin also addresses two challenges: advanced 3D simulation for AMRs and collaborative robotics, and intelligent data capture and analysis in industrial processes, to improve precision and control.


• Cafés Mocay – Calidad Pascual is committed to finding a sustainable way to repurpose the waste generated during coffee production, transforming a byproduct into a resource that has a positive impact.


• IED is looking for startups that offer sensor technology, diagnostic, and monitoring products and applications for the healthcare and industrial sectors.


• Lacturale focuses on designing digital experiences that reflect its brand values, thereby strengthening its connection with its audience through innovation.


• Lev2050 aims to monitor and automate its biotechnology processes in order to improve efficiency and scalability through technological solutions.


• Lizarte aims to optimize the cleaning process for metal casings by introducing technological improvements that boost efficiency and reduce waste generation. In addition, the company is interested in using AI for smart procurement management to address unpredictable demand.


• Torraspapel Leitza (Lecta) is working on two fronts: on the one hand, to recover industrial waste such as sludge and paint residue; and on the other, to reduce the final discharge of treated water by increasing its reuse within production processes.