Bonn, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, 24 February 2016 – At the ‘Four Years From Now’ (4YFN) tech and start-up event taking place at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the innovation arms of Deutsche Telekom (hub:raum), Orange (Orange Fab), Singtel (Singtel Innov8), and Telefónica (Telefónica Open Future) today launched Go Ignite – a new brand for the alliance, formed in September 2015 to connect the start-up ecosystems across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. To coincide with this, Go Ignite is also launching its first global call for start-ups to enter their projects into one of the following five categories: Internet of Things (IoT), cyber security, big data analytics, content delivery and customer experience enhancement.
The alliance offers a programme to help top start-ups find business development opportunities, accelerate the commercialisation of their innovations and scale their business outside their home market. Up to five innovative start-ups will be selected for the programme, which ends on 30 April. To find out more about the Go Ignite global call, please visit http://go-ignite.com.
To translate their ideas into viable solutions quicker, selected start-ups will benefit from the alliance members’ collective resources. These include obtaining insights into different markets, introductions to partners, the use of co-working spaces[1], potential investment, coaching, mentoring, invitations to start-up showcases and events and access to the alliance members’ operating businesses. They will also have the opportunity to gain access to Go Ignite alliance members’ business units and their collective customer base, which includes enterprises and consumers, equating to over one billion mobile customers across five continents.
OptiWi-fi, a Wayra-Telefónica Open Future startup whose unique patented Wi-Fi technology enables telcos to extend cellular services over Wi-Fi, has benefitted from this arrangement. “As a result of the collaboration between Orange and Telefonica, our engagement was accelerated and we are now working on a pilot for Orange’s Innovation Team. This is a great success for OptiWi-fi and should benefit Orange and its customers relying on Wi-Fi services in to the future,” said Mr Mark Burke, Chief Executive Officer of OptiWi-fi.
Another beneficiary is Idomoo, an Orange Fab start-up, which has developed a personalized video storytelling technology to engage customers at every touch point in the customer journey, through dynamic and real time videos. Optus, part of the Singtel Group, has partnered with Idomoo for a service that helps enhance responsiveness to customers. An initial project is underway to test and optimize the technology to assist in handling billing enquiries and improve customer experience.
Mr Min-Kin Mak, VP, hub:raum, Deutsche Telekom said, “Go Ignite was created by partners all fully committed to cooperate with start-up companies. Each of the involved carriers has built respective programmes to work with start-ups and to leverage corporate assets for many years. Now, linking all these initiatives under the Go Ignite programme brings a complete new level of support to start-ups. This is a clear win-win situation as Go Ignite is eager to attract and to work with the most promising and category leading start-up companies.”
Ms Nathalie Boulanger, Start-up Ecosystem Director, Orange said: “The Go Ignite alliance provides start-ups with an unrivalled opportunity to tap into the collective resources of four major global carriers, who collectively represent over one billion customers worldwide. The ability to help them, at a very operational level, to scale up their development is essential for start-ups, and we can offer them a wealth of services to help them tap into the support and business development opportunities they need at a critical time when speed and agility is of the essence.”
Mr Edgar Hardless, Chief Executive Officer, Singtel Innov8, said, “As innovations evolve from just meeting local requirements to global ones, start-ups need to understand and adapt their solutions in order to meet the different market requirements around the world. We can leverage Go Ignite to strengthen our ties with leading innovation hubs around the world and provide local start-ups with global market opportunities.”
Mrs Ana Segurado, Managing Director of Telefónica Open Future said: “In the hectic environment in which we are living in, it is impossible to think about successful innovation models that develop on their own. Collaboration has demonstrated to be the most efficient tool when it comes to put in place new technologies that help resolve global problems. With Go Ignite, the four telcos want to support entrepreneurs in turning their projects into innovative products and in fostering their growth, hoping to find new digital solutions for our final users that make their life easier.”
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About Deutsche Telekom (telekom.com)
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with around 151 million mobile customers, 30 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2014). The Group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has approximately 228,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.7 billion in the 2014 financial year – more than 60 percent of it outside Germany.
About hub:raum (hubraum.com)
hub:raum connects the digital startup ecosystem with Deutsche Telekom, linking tech entrepreneurs and high growth startup companies with the expert network, capital, and business opportunities of Deutsche Telekom. hub:raum offers various programs in 3 locations: hub:raum Berlin covers Germany and Western Europe, hub:raum Krakow covers the CEE region and hub:raum Tel-Aviv covers Israel. They have all range of programs from seed investment, incubation, acceleration and specialized programs like Fit4Europe and offer benefits like co-working space, mentoring, networking events and connections to Deutsche Telekom business units like partnering as well as access to customers.
About Orange (orange.com)
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40 billion euros in 2015 and 156,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2015, including 97,000 employees in France. Present in 28 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 263 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2015, including 201 million mobile customers and 18 million fixed broadband customers. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan “Essentials2020” which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.
Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.livetv.orange.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.
About Orange Fab (fab.orange.com
Orange Fab is a start-up accelerator programme launched by Orange that aims to accelerate and boost innovation and entrepreneurship. Born in Silicon Valley in 2013, the programme is now present in 10 countries in Europe, Africa, the USA, the Middle East and Asia. Orange Fab has accelerated or is currently accelerating 151 start-ups since its launch.
Orange Fab offers selected start-ups three months of support to allow them to grow and to get customers thru fast track to business units and industrial partners and major Groups. They also receive valuable advice from Orange innovators and experts in marketing, business models, design and technologies as well as a number of entrepreneurs.
Supporting start-ups is one of the pillars of Orange’s open innovation approach to accelerate the marketing of innovations that will benefit its customers. The Group aims to support 500 start-ups across the world by 2020 with a focus on the rapid realisation of commercial partnerships, or in some cases, joint ventures, via Orange Publicis Ventures and Orange Digital Ventures, its investment fund for early age start-ups.
About Singtel (singtel.com)
Singtel is Asia’s leading communications and ICT solutions group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 595 million mobile customers in 25 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 200 direct points of presence in 160 cities.
About Singtel Innov8 and Innov8 Sparks (innov8.singtel.com)
Singtel Innov8, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singtel Group, is a venture capital fund, with its own set of decision making, approval and funding processes. It has a fund size of US$250 million with offices in Singapore, Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and Beijing. Singtel Innov8 focuses its investments on technologies and solutions that lead to quantum changes in network capabilities, next generation devices, digital content services and enablers to enhance customer experience. It works closely with the ecosystem of leading innovators, developers, government agencies, R&D and capital providers to bring cutting-edge technologies and solutions to the various markets the Singtel Group operates in.
Innov8 Sparks is a network of start-up support and funding initiatives across Southeast Asia, founded by members of the Singtel Group. Founding members include Singtel Innov8 (Singapore), AIS The Startup (Thailand), Kickstart Ventures by Globe Telecom (the Philippines), Optus-Innov8 Seed (Australia), and Teman Dev by Telkomsel (Indonesia).
About Telefónica (telefonica.com)
Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation and number of customers. With its best in class mobile, fixed and broadband networks, and innovative portfolio of digital solutions, Telefónica is transforming itself into a ‘Digital Telco’, a company that will be even better placed to meet the needs of its customers and capture new revenue growth.
The company has a significant presence in 21 countries and a customer base of 329 million accesses around the world. Telefónica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.
Telefónica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4.938.417.514 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in London, New York, Lima, and Buenos Aires.
About Telefónica Open Future (openfuture.org)
Open Future_ is the open innovation programme that brings to life Telefónica’s global commitment to develop and support talent and entrepreneurship; since 2014, it has grouped together all of Telefónica’s existing activities and projects in the field of open innovation. Through social entrepreneurship initiatives such as Think Big and Talentum, its Crowdworking spaces, the Wayra accelerators, Telefónica Ventures and Amérigo investment funds, it promotes and invests in viable technology-based projects, ideas and people, at all stages of the lifecycle, openly and in conjunction with public and private organisations. With a portfolio of more than 850 accelerated startups, and offices in 17 countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia, Telefónica Open Future_ helps transform innovative ideas into successful businesses.
Twitter: @OpenFuture_
Our investment partners:
Active Venture Partners (Amérigo): http://active-vp.com
Axon Partners Group: http://axonpartnersgroup.com
Coral Group (CIP): http://coralgrp.com
Kibo Ventures (Amérigo): http://kiboventures.com
Inversur (Amérigo): http://inversurcapital.com
Invest Tech (Amérigo): http://investtech.com.br/pt/index.php
Shortcut Ventures: http://shortcut.vc
Media Contacts
Deutsche Telekom
Verena Fulde
Press Officer
Email: verena.fulde@telekom.de
Phone: +49 228 181- 94048
Orange
Caroline Simeoni
PR Manager
Email: caroline.simeoni@orange.com
Phone : +33 1 44 44 93 93
Nicole Clarke
Senior PR Manager
Email: nicole.clarke@orange.com
Phone: +44 7811 128 457
Singtel
Sonny Phua
Corporate Communications Manager
Email: sonnyphua@singtel.com
Phone: +65 8511 7996
Telefónica
Marisa Orellana Sanz
Email: marialuisa.orellanasanz.ext@telefonica.com
Phone: +34 639 042 131
[1] Access to working space, subject to availability, for up to 6 months in locations where working spaces are maintained by the Go Ignite alliance members. These locations include France, Israel, Japan, Poland, Germany, California (USA), Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Spain, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, China and South Korea.
