Mobility Lab, the startup programme that helps market and scales innovative prototypes in the field of mobility, announced the registration for the sixth edition of Mobility Lab.
Entrepreneurs who want to test their prototype or idea for a new service in the real world have until May 31, 2022, to apply for the startup programme. The first applications are already coming in.
The programme’s aim is to give startups and organisations with mobility problems the opportunity to test innovative mobility solutions in practice together. Under the motto ‘Don’t talk, test!’ Mobility Lab links entrepreneurs to an appealing first customer in a nine-month programme, where they can prove their innovation in practice.
Pilot with a first customer
As more people are beginning to live in the city with new residential areas being built, the pressure on public space is increasing. Mobility Lab says, “Our mobility system is processing more and more movement, but in order for this to continue, innovation in the field of mobility is essential.” Mobility Lab helps startups with this.
Startups are given the opportunity to test new mobility concepts that can attract the attention of investors. Pilots take place in Rotterdam, Noord-Brabant and Limburg, at organisations, municipalities, and companies with mobility issues. This year, the province of Utrecht will also join the programme as a partner.
The Mobility Lab programme – Apply Now
Startups can apply via an online registration form till May 31, 2022. After the registrations, 25 startups will be selected for the Mobility Lab programme. The programme will link them to a first appealing customer. The participants can also make use of legal, marketing and communication advice, and assistance in finding funding.
The results of all pilots will be presented to a group of potential customers, investors, influencers, etc. during the closing event. The closing event will take place in February, 2023.
Mobility Lab is a nine-month programme, including the selection period. On June 30, the company will start the programme with pitch training. During the programme, the startups will have regular contact with the startup manager (about the general progress) and with the account managers (about the progress of the discussions with launching customers). In addition, the startup can contact experts when necessary.
No payment is required to participate in Mobility Lab. Startups receive support in various areas: PR, marketing and communication, legal and financing. They can also claim a loan of €25,000. An available working budget is expected from the launching customers to carry out the pilot. Agreements are made about this during the matchmaking between startup and launching customer.
About Mobility Lab
Mobility Lab was founded in 2017 and was originally an initiative of ‘De Verkeersonderneming’, which in recent years focused on better accessibility of the Rotterdam region. In addition to the municipality of Rotterdam, the innovative mobility programme in the south of the Netherlands SmartwayZ.NL and the province of Limburg are also partners.
This year, the province of Utrecht will also join the programme as a partner. Mobility Lab aims to improve mobility and make it more sustainable with innovative startups.
Mobility Lab’s purpose is twofold. On the one hand, it wants to help organisations solve their mobility problem. On the other hand, it wants to give starting companies the opportunity to test their prototype in practice as startups need to scale up before they can have an impact. A pilot (with real users, in a real situation) is essential for this. Mobility Lab provides plenty of space for this in the regions of Rotterdam, Utrecht and the South of the Netherlands.
Startups from home and abroad
In its last five editions, the Mobility Lab programme has created hundreds of jobs and the startups have raised more than €34M in funding to be able to scale up. In recent years, 89 startups from the Netherlands and abroad have participated in Mobility Lab and 74 pilots have been carried out.
Mobility Lab has already set up pilots in various municipalities, such as Ahoy, the Efteling, Eindhoven Airport, RET Rotterdam, and Dura Vermeer. Some of the participants from previous editions include Amber, Felyx, Cargoroo, Tiler, SD Insights, Citysteps, Juuve, and Samotics.
Paul Bevers, cluster head of Innovation and Development at SmartwayZ.NL, says, “With projects such as Mobility Lab, we give startups that are ready to start real-world testing a chance to develop further. They are linked to a company or organisations with the aim of improving mobility. This not only has an effect on the mobility systems of the participating regions, but also in the rest of the Netherlands and even beyond.”
For more information, please click here.
01
These are the top UK-based PR agencies for startups and scale-ups in 2025