Wim De Waele is a founding partner at Miles Ahead, a Venture Studio based in Ghent, Belgium, that helps first-time founders of Deep Tech & AI ventures grow faster by producing and funding their business within an empowering environment.

Miles Ahead is one of the 12 consortium partners behind the D2XCEL scaling programme and is responsible for the first market opportunity - Logistics, as part of Open Call 1.

What change are you aiming to achieve for the European innovation ecosystem as part of D2XCEL?

As part of D2XCEL, we aim to help digital and deep-tech startups scale up and secure funding at a European level. The ambition of technology companies needs to be global from the start. We act as a co-founder for such entrepreneurs and provide know-how and resources to enable them to grow faster and secure adequate funding. Within this project, we can help them tap into a rich network of partners, both from a content and a funding perspective.

Why is this market opportunity (MO) important to you?

The logistics and supply chain domain is one of our main focus areas across maritime and other industry sectors. We work closely with various actors from the domain such as the innovation hub The Beacon (www.thebeacon.eu) or consulting companies such as Delaware (www.delaware.pro) in creating an ecosystem of technology suppliers and customers to co-create breakthrough solutions in this domain.

What potential do you see for deep tech and digital innovation in this MO?

There is a huge market opportunity for deep tech companies in logistics and supply chain management. With artificial intelligence, the IoT, and robotics reaching the level of maturity required for enterprise-grade business solutions, new solutions are brought to market to tackle the key challenges of the industry. Efficiency in the new complex supply-chain environment, decarbonization and sustainability, and advanced physical automation carry great innovation potential.

From your perspective, why should ventures that fit in this MO apply for the ongoing open call?

Participating ventures get access to a broad range of potential partners and funders across Europe efficiently. The project partners geographically with the majority of the European economy and brings their local networks to the table to overcome one of the biggest challenges of technology start-ups: efficient access to market and access to capital at low cost.

D2XCEL invites deep tech and digital ventures across Europe, operating in the field of logistics to check the eligibility requirements and join our scaling programme!

Apply here and join one of our live webinars for interested companies, where you can get all the information you need!

Learn more about MO1 Logistics here and about all five market opportunities of Open Call 1 here.

This project has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement Nº101121100. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.