CTT - Correios de Portugal is a strategic partner and one of the main sponsors of the CleanTech startup acceleration program, Clean Future, which aims to support the creation and development of technological solutions to improve the sustainability of cities.

This is one of the operations of the Beato Living Lab's Creative Hub, a living lab promoted by Unicorn Factory Lisboa and Startup Lisboa, which also counts on Deloitte as Knowledge partner.

Applications for this initiative open on March 16 and will run until April 23, at the program’s  official website , and there are 20 thousand euros in prizes for the participants.

Clean Future aims to support the creation and development of technological solutions to improve the sustainability of cities. To this end, the program will focus on three categories that have partners with recognized intervention in these areas - Construction (Mota-Engil), Mobility (EMEL) and Retail (GS1) - sectors where there is a high potential for impact in fighting climate change.

The Clean Future participants will have access to a ten-week program consisting of several modules aimed at accelerating the development of their projects. In the last stage of the program, the startups will have the opportunity to present the solutions developed to a jury panel, composed of recognized experts, of which CTT will be part, determining the winner of each category, as well as the overall winner of the program. Five thousand euros will be awarded to the winner of each category, with the overall winner receiving an additional 5 thousand euros.

During the 10-week program, the selected startups will benefit from mentoring sessions with partners and experts in the program categories, entrepreneurs, and investors, as well as receive support to validate their project in the market accompanied by experts. In addition to the proximity to CTT and the Startup Lisbon community, they will also have access to a broad community united by the same values of sustainability, reinforced by a diversity of workshops with speakers who are experts in sustainability and business.

The winners will also have the chance to win cash prizes worth a total of 20 thousand euros and will also have the opportunity to continue developing their projects, supported by the different partners of the Program.

According to João Bento, CTT's CEO, "this partnership fits CTT's strategy in two relevant components: innovation and sustainability. On the one hand, the participation in this program is in line with the company's vision to support the development of the start-up ecosystem, either through strategic partnerships, such as the one we have now established, or through our own program of interaction with the ecosystem. This initiative is even more relevant for being focused on sustainability, one of CTT's fundamental pillars and one of the areas where we have invested and innovated the most”.

"Technological innovation is an essential factor for sustainable development. The Clean Future acceleration program, under the scope of the Beato Living Lab's Creative Hub, seeks sustainable projects and solutions that have as mission to face the current environmental challenges. Unicorn Factory Lisboa with Startup Lisboa will help the startups selected for the Program to develop and scale their business models", comments Gil Azevedo, CEO of Startup Lisboa and Unicorn Factory Lisboa.

This initiative is another example of co-innovation in CTT developed in partnership with its start-up ecosystem. CTT has in CTT 1520 StartUProgram its relationship program with entrepreneurs to whom it seeks to open the doors to the company's ecosystem, looking for projects that fit their business, enhancing areas of joint collaboration and with the consequent reciprocal benefits. Since its creation, the program has mapped more than 1800 companies, with 32 projects currently underway: 15 in business partnerships, 17 in co-creation projects (5 in technical pilot and 12 in production), 1 acquisition and 3 investments via Techtree, KIT-AR, Sensefinity and Habit.

The Clean Future Acceleration Program is one of the nine operations of the Beato Living Lab Creative Hub, a living lab co-funded by EEA Grants under the Program "Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy". This initiative is focused on the development of new technologies and services to boost sustainability in cities, being the Beato Creative Hub (HCB) its experimental space in the city of Lisbon, with the purpose of transforming it into a smart campus and thus contribute with good practices for mitigating the impact of climate change, and where it is expected that the resulting solutions demonstrate their potential for replication in cities.