Unknown Group

🥁 Waste 2 Plate Program is Live! 🥁 We're thrilled to announce the launch of Waste2Plate, a transformative initiative dedicated to turning food 'waste' into healthy, nutritious products. Our mission is to support entrepreneurs that are valorising side-streams and repurposing by-products to deliver over 1 million servings annually. 🌱 This program is designed to support startups, scale-ups, and SMEs focused developing ingredients or end-to-consumer products from valorised side-stream. Both B2B and B2C are part of our scope! Through expert guidance, state-of-the-art facilities, and EU-wide business development opportunities, we aim to build a future that’s not only sustainable but also delicious. 😋 ✨ Why join the Waste 2 Plate Program? 🌍 Global Impact: Contribute to reducing food waste while creating nutritious products that matter. 🛠️ Comprehensive Support: Access expert guidance, cutting-edge facilities, and a collaborative ecosystem of value chain partners. 🚀 Growth Opportunities: Leverage EU-wide go-to-market support and connections to accelerate your venture. Are you working on something delicious? Apply now and join us in building a sustainable food future. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gd79A4fV 👉 Apply by January 16, 2025 ➡️ First cohort starts March 2025 This program will be delivered in partnership with KiCo , Food4Sustainability CoLAB, University of Turin, Beautiful Lives and in collaboration with EIT Food. And that’s not all, it takes a village to bring systemic change, thus a wider ecosystem of value chain partners will also be part of the program to support the entrepreneurs, we call that - Community of Practice. #Waste2Plate #Titaan #Sustainability #Tasty #FoodInnovation #Startups #SustainableFuture #FoodWaste #CircularEconomy #Innovation #EITFood

#ImpactCity, the impact ecosystem in The Hague, was recognised as one of the Startup Ecosystem Stars of 2024 by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Mind the Bridge. 🌟✊ Startup Ecosystem Stars awards programs and organisations worldwide that support innovation in their region. The objective is to recognise the best practices from the world’s best innovation regions and cities. 🏆 The award ceremony took place in Paris yesterday. 🥐🗼 As we listened to Alberto Onetti, it became clear that the key themes shaping innovation today are concentration and agglomeration. Because contrary to popular belief, the world of innovation is far from “flat.” Instead, innovation is heavily concentrated in a select few global hubs that thrive due to their dense networks of scaleups, abundant access to capital, and rich pools of talent. Isidro Laso (European Commission), adds that local connection is incredibly important. All relevant parties should be talking to each other. Bring them together, that’s a simple yet powerful recipe for success. We take these valuable insights back to The Hague ⚖️⛱️ where we will keep on working on the quality and interconnectivity of our vibrant #impact ecosystem. It was great to meet and connect with representatives of other leading #startup ecosystems and enablers from all over the world, such as Impact Hub Network (Tatiana Glad), House of Startups Luxembourg (Philippe Linster, CFA), Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (Rama Haris, Kacie Skelton), MATRADE Paris (Zuhaila SEDEK), and the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO) (Bryan James Erfe). #doinggoodanddoingbusiness #MTBSES #MTBSES24

November - month of impact! Sharing a couple of personal highlights ✨ The month started off at #Titaan where welcomed 450+ impact founders and investors for Impact Founder Meetup, featuring the Global Final and Youth Battle of Get in the Ring 🥊. It was buzzing with energy and great showcase of impactful solutions to address sustainability challenges. Was great to catch up with many ecosystem partners, Julijus as a true supporter left the event with some merch. Perhaps we should start that shop after all Jurgen... 🟡 Next, we gathered for #ImpactFest, with more than 1500 global impact makers coming together in ImpactCity The Hague to discuss societal and environmental transitions with a focus on Circular Economy, Food Systems, Impact Cities & Regions, Energy Transition, and Peace & Climate Justice. 👉 Together with Eleni, and Oona we led a session on Collaboration and Innovation for a Sustainable Agrifood Future, it was great to present to the ecosystem our new #Waste2Plate initiative launched in collaboration with  EIT Food. Thanks to the audience for the enthusiasm to be part of it, more info will follow soon! 👨🌾 🤝 Many hands were shaken to celebrate new and continued collaborations - keep an eye out for Jurgen & Andželika they have exiting plans for the Dutch-Lithuanian collaboration this summer. 📅 Next year will be the 10th anniversary of ImpactFest, mark your calendars! 📍The month wrapped up in #Bilbao with Impact Europe flagship event that gathered key stakeholders of Impact finance space. 3-days of inspiring panels and even more interesting 1-on-1 discussions to shape collaborations. There was unity and alignment with the theme of the event: ➡️ Madness – We live in a mad world. ➡️ Boldness – We must be bold if we want to change it.  ➡️ Brightness – We keep working for a brighter tomorrow. One of the personal highlights was definitely the breakfast roundtable hosted by elea and Stiftung Fourfold to discuss how philanthropic capital can be catalytic in the impact investing continuum. ✏️ Key take-aways from the session (great summary provided by elea - https://lnkd.in/eVA4RqE8): 💡 Philanthropic capital should be the most risk tolerant capital in the market, funding the development of new markets, spurring innovation, and enabling inclusion of the most vulnerable communities. And while it is possible to have financial returns on impact investments, philanthropic capital plays a vital role in the development of the industry. 💡 Grantmakers should think about exits that same way other investors do. If philanthropists fund projects for too long, they compromise public and private markets. 💡 Collaboration is key: when we understand each other’s strengths, we can collaborate and allocate funding in more efficient ways. Thank you to our partners, old & new friends, and of course Impact Europe, till next time in Malmö!

🎉 Ring in 2025 with Purpose at #Titaan! 🎉 Imagine celebrating the New Year at a venue that reflects your values: sustainable, innovative, and downright inspiring! 🌍✨ Whether you're planning a cozy Impact Reception 🥂 or a vibrant Fix the Future Night 💃, Titaan has it all: 🌱 Eco-conscious ambiance 🍽️ Locally sourced, plant-based treats 🎶 Live music or a DJ to keep the vibes going 🔥 Extras like campfires, oliebollen, and more! 📍 Perfectly located in The Hague’s Binckhaven district, Titaan is where industrial charm meets modern magic. 🚗🚉 Let’s make 2025 a year of celebration and change—together! 🌟 Sounds like a plan? Get into contact with Max Dekker by sending him an email ([email protected]) or a DM. #NewYear #EventPlanning #Sustainability

Congratulations to the winners of the New Energy Challenge 2024 - HyperHeat and Edgecom Energy! 🎉 The New Energy Challenge 2024 showcased technologies that will accelerate decarbonization of global energy systems. NEC 2024 is jointly organized by Unknown Group, Rockstart, Shell, and YES!Delft.

🚀 Ready to Create, Innovate, and Pitch? Join the #Unknown University 20-Hour Business Game! 🚀 On December 12th, we’re kicking off an exciting overnight Business Game at #Titaan, where young founders will come together to solve a challenge, develop a business idea from scratch, and pitch it the next morning to a panel of experts. This is your chance to: ✅ Solve a surprise challenge and build a business idea overnight. ✅ Collaborate with like-minded innovators in dynamic teams. ✅ Pitch your idea to a panel of experts and compete for recognition. ✅ Develop skills in teamwork, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship. ✅ Enjoy a high-energy environment filled with creativity and networking! 💡 Key Details: When: December 12th, 16:00 – December 13th, 12:00 Where: Titaan - The Hague ⚠️ Limited spots available – Sign up NOW: 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e_9b6KNt Know someone who’d love this? Share this post and help us spread the word. Don’t miss out – vol = vol! #Hackathon #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Opportunities ImpactCity Thomas Blekman Jurgen Nieuwenhuijsen Petra Cafnik Uludağ

ImpactFest 2024 💢 Last week more than 1500 global impact makers came together in the Binckhorst to address the pressing challenges ahead. Great to see such a big part of our founder community represented. We are proud to be a trusted partner of ImpactCity, who are as dedicated as us to build the number 1 Impact Campus here in The Hague! Event Highlights 🔦 👑 The Hague Innovators Challenge: Congratulations to Solvoz for their innovative platform optimizing procurement in the humanitarian and health sectors. Rator, one of our very close community members won the incentive price with their innovative convector radiator with an integrated heat pump that is being developed in #Titaan’s makerspace. 📈 New funding announcements: Over €44 million in new funds were unveiled to support impact entrepreneurs across various sectors, including robotics, mobility, energy transition, food production, and technology. 📗 State of Impact 2024 Report: Presented by Dealroom.co, ImpactCity, and Microsoft, highlighting a 28% decline in funding for impact startups in 2024 and emphasizing the need for renewed investment to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. 💸 €220.000 awarded to Impact Entrepreneurs: Almost €220.000 got awarded to impact entrepreneurs that are working on making the world a better place. Sessions by Unknown 🟡 👨🌾 Sustainable Agrifood Future: Eleni Theodorou Admiraal and Giedrė Birmontaitė hosted a discussion on the power of collaborative ecosystems committed to the shift towards healthy agrifood ecosystems.  🌬 Fueling the Energy Transition: Jeroen van den Bosch, Claire Rutteman and Anne Schreuder gave some interesting insights into the workings of investing to fuel the energy transition. 🏝 Impact Campuses: Martin Luxemburg and Coos Santing moderated a meetup about public/private collaborations to foster impact campuses. We are proud to collaborate with organisations that are committed to fuel founders to fix the future, and we look forward to continuing our joint efforts to drive positive change. #ImpactFest #ImpactCity #TheHague

At Unknown University of Applied Sciences all our students start their own business at day 1 of their study, while earning an accredited bachelor degree in the 4-year program. That is why we put real entrepreneurs in front of the classes. Sometimes they give lecture using their real world experience and sometimes they walk into the incubator to give practical coaching to our students that are working on their business there. For example only this last week we had the honor to welcome entrepreneurs like: 🟡 Dutch entrepreneurial icon and recently appointed professor of practice Peter Goedvolk 🚀 Founder of African largest streaming service Louis Manu ⚽️ Founder of football media platform 433 and proud new owner of Cascais football club David Dwinger 💰Investors from KKR (private equity), Invesdor (crowdfunding), Taurus (M&A) and DTCP (Venture Capital) on fundraising and the investment lifecycle of a company. So cool how we can get all these top-notch people in through the cross-pollination of events and programs we run in Titaan simultaneously! Unknown Campus in full action 🙌 — Any 17-24 year old talent you know, that is currently looking for a study? Let them know about Unknown University! 👊

Last Week = Impact Week! 🚀 What a week it was for impact at the Binckhaven! On Wednesday, Titaan welcomed 450+ impact founders and investors. The next day, ImpactFest took over the Fokker Terminal with 1500 impact makers joining forces. It’s safe to say that Europe’s #1 impact campus is thriving in the Binckhaven! 💥 📅 6 November – Impact Founder Meetup Titaan was buzzing with energy during the Impact Founder Meetup, featuring the Global Final and Youth Battle of Get in the Ring. The day was packed with exciting side events: - YES!Delft’s Meet Your Co-Founder - Shell Impact Fund matchmaking session - KiCo cooking workshop 🍳 - David Dwinger's inspiring Ask Me Anything - And of course, the pre-#ImpactFest drinks to top it all off! 🥂 📅 7 November – ImpactFest Thursday brought this year’s #ImpactFest, where impact makers came together to tackle the world’s greatest challenges, right here in ImpactCity. A partnership we are really proud of! 🌍 Highlights included: - The Hague Innovators Challenge, won by Solvoz - Eye-opening sessions hosted by Unknown Group on topics like energy transition, food waste, and the growth of impact campuses All in all, two days packed with energy, innovation, and collaboration. The most impactful days of the year? Absolutely! 🎉 See you at the next Impact Founder Meetup! 👋