With the support of project ECCO, led by ECSO, the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) and the French National Coordination Centre (NCC-FR) are organising an Access-2-Finance matchmaking event on 21 November 2023 in Rennes, France, from 9:30 to 12:30.
Co-organised with the Women4Cyber Foundation, Sopra Steria, Pole d’Excellence Cyber, Région Bretagne, and Klecha & Co, the event will showcase pitches from some of Europe’s most promising cybersecurity start-ups and scale-ups. With this event, the ECCC aims to unite small European companies with leading investors and corporates from Europe, consequently providing them with opportunities to network with potential business partners, access financing and gain visibility at a European level.
A European Judging Panel consisting of experts in the fields of investment, entrepreneurship and the cybersecurity market will also be present in order to listen to- and evaluate the pitches. This panel will nominate two of the most promising companies to compete in the ECSO STARtup Award finals taking place in Germany in early 2024.
Besides the pitches, the event will include engaging keynote speeches on the pressing topic of defence, complementing the presence of the French Ministry of Defence at the European Cyber Week.
Preliminary agenda (CET time zone)
- 09:30 – 09:40 Geoffroy Hermann (NCC-FR): Opening session
- 09:40 – 10:30 1st Pitch Session
- 10:30 – 11:00 Break
- 11:00 – 11:15 Bertrand Blond (ComCyber): Keynote about start-ups and French Ministry of Army
- 11:15 – 12:15 2nd Pitch session
- 12:15 – 12:30 Florent Kirchner (NCC-FR): Closing keynote
For European start-ups: Ambitious to pitch on a European stage?
European cybersecurity start-ups are encouraged to register by providing their company’s profile and indicate whether they are looking for opportunities to access finance (B2B meetings with potential investors). For more information on the application procedure, please visit the official event page HERE.
For cybersecurity investors and integrators: Interested in witnessing the pitches?
All interested parties are welcome to join the event in Rennes and witness European cybersecurity excellence in action. To attend, you need to be registered for the European Cyber Week. You may do so on their website HERE.
ECSO’s STARtup Award 2023
The two best cybersecurity companies participating in the French edition of the ECCC Access-2-Finance matchmaking event will be nominated to compete for the ECSO’s STARtup Award 2023. Nominees will be selected by the local jury and will be invited to participate in the final competition, which will be held in early 2024. During the final ceremony, nominees will pitch to the European jury and will have a unique opportunity to present themselves to high-level investors, corporate executives and cybersecurity experts. For more information, see HERE.
Special Women4Cyber Entrepreneurship Award 2023
ECSO and the Women4Cyber Foundation joined forces to acknowledge and celebrate women leaders in the cybersecurity field, as well as companies that are actively working towards achieving gender equality. This collaborative effort aims to shine a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of women in cybersecurity while promoting and supporting organizations that prioritize diversity and gender balance. Cybersecurity companies (co) founded by women and/or with women on the board and/or with at least 30% of women in the workforce and/or demonstrating a commitment to increase female participation are eligible to apply for the W4C Entrepreneurship Award. For more information, see HERE.
