The jury: President of AITEX, Rafael Pascual, the Vice-rector for Employment and Entrepreneurship of the UPV, José Millet, the Director General of CEEI Valencia and Alcoy, Jesús Casanova, the President of ATEVAL, Càndit Penalba, the Head of the Institutional Department at AITEX, Quico Sempere and the Director of the AITEX-UPV Chair, Pablo Díaz, presented the award to Gemma Figuerola’s Tangente 90 entry.

The award-winning Start Up works in sustainable fashion, making garments and accessories with organic natural materials. The Tangente 90 project focuses on textile innovation, and is committed to the use of sustainable fibres to drive the sustainable fashion industry and promote the regional textile sector, creating synergy between sustainable companies.

The objective of the Start Up Prize is to reward the best textile business idea and to encourage, support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the textile sector. The Chair’s award is worth €3,000 initially to develop the business idea and then up to €9,000 in 12 instalments of €750 per month to continue supporting the initiative during the first year. In addition, the winner receives free registration on the online Textile Technology course offered by AITEX and registration on the www.adding.com platform to meet and interact with other textile companies.

Short list selection by the jury composed of top-level members of AITEX, UPV, ATEVAL and CEEI was based on the innovative nature, differentiation and originality of the business idea in the textile sector, its technical, economic, financial and commercial viability, and the project’s potential in terms of development, growth and job creation. The most highly-valued criteria is the level of involvement of the entrepreneur, and their intention to develop and launch the business initiative.

6 initiatives were presented for the first Start Up Award, and included an academic textile platform, mobile footwear, sustainable fashion, functional children’s fashion and a platform for the management of traditional clothing.
During their deliberations, the jury reported that overall, the activities developed by the AITEX-UPV Chair during the 2018-19 academic year have been extremely positive. In addition, they highlighted the positive results of fostering collaboration between different institutions to complement and enhance the future of the textile sector.