ECOSTAR is the research-enterprise impact hub and accelerator that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation for nature-based businesses.

The initiative is promoted by a university-enterprise partnership between European and US-based institutions, and it is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, and other private investors.It’s an Impact Hub that promotes the start-up and acceleration of new business initiatives with a positive impact on environment and society.
It’s a Research-Business alliance that links universities and companies, providing networking and market-oriented training.
It focuses on business models that make profit by marketing, promoting and enhancing biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
The initiative provides business opportunities and real benefits for the environment through the following main actions:

• JOIN
  Create a wide research-enterprise network at EU level, linking together entrepreneurs, scientific and business mentors, and investors, wanting to create value for nature through new business ideas.
• LEARN
  Deliver a series of specialized entrepreneurship and innovation trainings targeted to MEEB through multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning.
• GROW
  The ECOSTAR Nature-Accelerator selects and invests in early-stage impactful startups that are developing innovative and sustainable solutions for disrupting the agriculture, forestry and natural resource sectors.

ECOSTAR focuses on business models that make profit by marketing, promoting and enhancing biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The initiative adopts and innovates step-by-step training, learning and support paths that require EU-wide collaboration among learners and project staff, however only very solid and sound nature-based business ideas will be rewarded.

E-learning technology, business model case studies, EU support networks, and free ad hoc MEEB business plan advice, are some of the methods that are delivered through a strong and committed partnership of businesses and universities at country and European level, taking advantage of the uniqueness of the business-university expertise and their experience.