Over the whole world, initiatives and solutions emerge to restore our economy and social life during the coronavirus pandemic. In the #EUvsVirus Hackathon in April, the European Commission chose 120 projects in the search for innovative solutions for the COVID-19 crisis. Amongst these, 3 start-ups from Antwerp with high-tech-products were also selected.
The #EUvsVirus Hackathon in April inspired more than 21,000 participants to develop innovative solutions in the current pandemic. Various nationalities and experts devoted their time, knowledge and abilities to come up with ideas to help the world tackle the coronavirus. 2,150 projects were the result of this international brainstorm. Based on their social impact, complexity, prototype and business plan, the European Commission’s jury chose 120 initiatives to advance to the next round. 3 Antwerp start-ups also made the cut with their innovations.
Meet the 3 Antwerp start-up innovations
- The WeStudyTogether platform aims to reduce the learning disabilities and difficulties that are caused by distance education. The start-up helps educational institutions to build an online community of students and volunteers where like-minded people help each other in tutoring and avoiding learning fatigue.
- Dubio, also known as Fakemash, aims to reduce the torrent of fake news on online and social media. This platform has its community members check and revise suspicious information.
- The start-up Maggy developed a discrete wearable that guarantees social distancing, which can be also paired with an app. More than 26,000 items were already produced by this innovative company.
Matchmaking at the #EUvsVirus Matchathon
The 3 projects from Antwerp were, together with the other selected projects, invited to the #EUvsVirus Matchathon: the largest hackathon in the world. During an international matchmaking, every start-up was introduced to all European countries and core cities: this opened up lots of opportunities on financing, service and incubator access.
