European Startup Network Expands with 7 New Members

European Startup Network (ESN) held its General Assembly in Paris and welcomed 7 European startup associations as new members, bringing the membership base to a total of 31 members.

The new members joining the European Startup Network

The new members are the German Startup Association, Startup Hungary, Silicon Valletta (Malta), Romanian Tech Startups Association, CroAI (Croatia), CzechInvest, and Lift99 (Ukraine). Tomas Zhang Mathiesen (Danish) and Nedyalko Dervenkov (Bulgarian Startup Association) were elected as new members of the board.

Nicolas Briend, President of the European Startup Network said “With today’s expansion, ESN just became the largest startup association in Europe. We are the most
representative startup network and uniquely represent the European Startup ecosystems.”

EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel joined the General Assembly for an interactive exchange of ideas about how to make Europe the startup continent. The discussion was open with both sides challenging each other in a constructive way.

The following concrete actions were agreed upon, ESN will monitor the pro-startup commitments made by national governments as part of the EU recovery plan, and will report the best practice to Commissioner Gabriel. ESN will propose a pan-European framework to build more cohesion between ecosystem builders, and ESN will actively promote the EU initiatives supporting female founders.

Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth said, “Europe needs you, Europe needs startups. Europe has the talents to grow the startup ecosystem. And you are proof that Europe has the talent that is needed to grow companies with high-impact solutions. Now, we need to work together and to continue to invest in Europe’s innovation potential.”

Following its General Assembly, ESN members were invited by Presiden Macron to the Elysée, to present the Scale-up Europe Manifesto. Jan Bormans, CEO of ESN said “If Europe wants to be a startup powerhouse, the time to take action is today rather than tomorrow. I am proud to see that ESN can contribute with concrete ideas and actions and pleased that leading European decision-makers are taking action together with the startup ecosystem.”