On December 1^st CIONET Belgium held its first forum on business innovation. The theme of the day was ‘how to work with startups’. In the first part of this event we had a speed-dating session with 11 exciting startups in a various number of fields. Each of them got 7 minutes to introduce themselves to 10 groups of CIONET members.

From the feedback we received this was a huge success. Participating CIO’s got at least two or three tangible, workable ideas from meeting with these startups, and the startups were delighted to get introduced to so many brilliant CIO’s in such a short amount of time. We hope these contacts will be a starting point for a successful future for all of the participants.

For the second half of the event we benefited from the insights of two of Belgian’s most successful Venture Capitalists (Wim Dewaele from Eggsplore and Fran Maene from Volta Ventures and Hummingbird Ventures), who explained which evolutions they see in the startup scene, but more importantly: how traditional businesses can benefit from the groundbreaking work of the startups.

We closed the event with a live testimonial on how this works in a corporate environment. TUI showed us how innovating through working with startups has turned the travel company from a travel broker to a leading experience provider in its industry.

Pictures often say more than words, so watch the pictures beneath to get a sense of this exciting event!

We thank all the participants and startups who have made this into a success!

(foto's by David Legreve)

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