GSIC POWERED BY MICROSOFT AND ACTUA EMPRESA SIGN AN AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN WINTER SPORTS AND CYCLING

01 Oct GSIC POWERED BY MICROSOFT AND ACTUA EMPRESA SIGN AN AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE INNOVATION IN WINTER SPORTS AND CYCLING

Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) represented by its Honorary President Sebastian Lancestremere who also serves as Sports Industry Managing Director at Microsoft together with the General Director of the GSIC, Iris Córdoba, and the Minister of Presidency, Economy and Business of the Government of Andorra and the presidents of the two institutions of the Principality, Jordi Gallardo, have signed this Monday, September 28, electronically, an agreement from which Andorra will be positioned, at an international level, as a point of reference in the startup ecosystem , innovation and digital transformation of winter sports, mountain and cycling.

The agreement includes the implementation of a program of online and face-to-face activities for companies and startups in Andorra and around the world that want to bring their innovations to the Principality. In this sense, the Minister of the Presidency, Economy and Business stressed that “the objective is to work together in Andorra with global challenges focused on mountain sports and cycling that will generate new projects for the country”.

Gallardo has advanced that “GSIC powered by Microsoft will work, together with Andorran professionals, in a program of activities and advisory and mentoring services. Andorra will have an international network of collaborators and ambassadors of the GSIC, in order to achieve the objective of reinforcing the innovative ecosystem of the winter sports and cycling industry”.

The GSIC will also support the creation of the Innovation space called “Casa de la Muntanya” (Mountain Living Lab) and other possible parallel spaces of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the field of sport in Andorra.

For his part, the Honorary President of the GSIC and Sports Industry Managing Director at Microsoft, Sebastián Lancestremère, thanked the Government of Andorra for the willingness to sign the agreement and underlined the “It is very important to create a meeting point to promote innovation and value in winter sports and cycling that brings together the most relevant players in the sector. This agreement reinforces our commitment to continue promoting digital transformation in sport”.

For her part, the General Director of the GSIC, Iris Córdoba, stressed that “it will be a great opportunity not only for GSIC partners, but also for technology companies around the world who want to show and implement their solutions at stations and ski slopes, cycle routes, ice slopes, mountaineering areas and much more. Through open innovation processes, we will be able to drive the digital transformation of this sport segment and take it to the next level.”

For Andorra, the agreement guarantees GSIC advisory services that will help the country to become a point of reference in innovation and digital transformation of winter sports, mountain and cycling. Among the planned actions are:

• The organization of an international startup competition with innovative projects and solutions related to mountain sports and cycling. It will be held annually.
• An Investors and Innovation Day focused on winter sports and cycling with the participation of investors and startups, and where financing agreements for various projects are expected to be closed.
• A mentoring program where the selected Andorran startups will receive two one-hour monthly sessions, for three months, taught by staff from GSIC, Microsoft Sport and the CEO of SPSG Consulting, among others.
• At the same time, Andorran content will be generated that will be exhibited in the GSIC exhibition area in Madrid and various webinars will be held.