As the first on-site training sessions with SMEs are being delivered across the SustainX partner regions, the project is simultaneously advancing into its next strategic phase. In parallel with these initial face-to-face training activities, the SustainX technical team is preparing the implementation of the project’s investment-focused actions, ensuring continuity between capacity building, selection, and targeted support.
Under the leadership of TUIASI and DIZ, the consortium is finalising the design of the individualised 1-to-1 support methodology, which structures how SustainX will identify, assess, and support innovative SMEs. This applied phase of the SustainX framework will start in March and will translate the project’s tools and concepts into tailored support pathways for selected companies.
As a first step of this methodology, all partners are engaging in a coordinated mapping of their regional investment ecosystems. Currently in progress across all regions, this process aims to identify at least 70 innovative SME investment projects and assess their scaling potential and alignment with the European Union’s Smart Specialisation (S3) priorities.
Building on the results of this initial mapping, a dedicated digital pre-assessment tool is currently being developed as the second step of the methodology. Once in place, the tool will be used to analyse critical dimensions such as technology readiness levels (TRL), financial viability, market potential, and sustainability impact, enabling the consortium to identify the 20 most promising SMEs that will enter the 1-to-1 support phase.
These selected companies will benefit from a nine-month intensive support programme designed to strengthen their business models, investment readiness, and interregional collaboration potential. The ultimate objective is to transform these SMEs into mature, investable cases capable of accessing large-scale funding opportunities, including interregional instruments such as the I3 Instrument.
Through this structured and phased approach—moving from regional capacity building to targeted investment support—SustainX continues to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and support SMEs on their path toward sustainable growth and European-scale impact.
