Blockstart: Blockchain-based applications for SME competitiveness

Blockstart SME Free Training Programme 

European SMEs are all facing similar hurdles when it comes to digital skills and the adoption of new technologies. Many do not have the resources to invest in research and development. So how can they make the most of blockchain technology? That's where the Blockstart SME Training Programme comes in.

It's a free training programme to increase awareness and understanding of how blockchain technologies will impact your sector and business, tailored to each participant's needs. Though we are no longer accepting applications, feel free to check out our resources below!

Over the course of our 3 years, we are proud to have supported small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around North West Europe in exploring the possibilities blockchain can offer them. Some achievements include:

• 38 SMEs admitted to the first stage of training
• 12 SMEs admitted to the second stage of solution development
• 10 Proof-of-Concepts developed between Blockstart solution providers and SMEs
• 1 clear use case presented per sector: Agrofood, Logistics, Health, and cross-sector

Blockstart Use Cases 

Agrofood: Nijkamp Farm

With Nijkamp, we worked to improve food safety by tracing salmonella through the poultry supply chain. It engaged farmers in the poultry chain who require mandatory sanitary documents, the labs that produce those documents, the health authority that stores the documents, and external parties who would need to consult specific parts of the documents for food safety purposes.

Logistics: AeroID

Our work with AeroID focused on supply chain transparency through the use of a track-and-trace system. Presently it is difficult and time consuming to access necessary information to make a decision on a purchase and decide, which part can be built in which system. Often it is too late when it becomes clear that the wrong part was purchased, but allowing clients to access the history and status of the components they are searching for can cut through the confusion and save significant time and money.

Health: ADLIN

Efforts are being made to improve collaboration between institutions in the healthcare sector through the development of secure and standardised data sharing platforms and the adoption of data governance frameworks like the FAIR principles. However, more effective solutions are still needed to ensure better access and sharing of data between research laboratories, hospitals, and private sector actors. With ADLIN, we worked to create a decentralised software platform that bridges the gaps between the healthcare industry's many stakeholders.

Cross-sector: OpenDairy

OpenDairy is an independent, transparent and full-service marketplace for dairy ingredients. The platform helps users find the right trading partner and have logistics professionals and finance providers take care of the execution. Their interest in blockchain centred on recording and following key documents involved in related transactions the OpenDairy dairy products exchange platform.