Business Factory Auto is a vertical accelerator focused on the automotive sector. The initiative is led by CEAGA and Stellantis, with the backing of the Xunta de Galicia, the Free Trade Zone Consortium of Vigo and the components companies of the Galician automotive sector.
The key differentiating element of BFA's success is that the industry itself defines its needs and selects projects to participate in the program based on such needs. Sector companies supervise and advise projects to boost development and increase their competitiveness. They also offer their plant facilities to develop pilot projects and test innovative solutions.
This is how new companies born within the accelerator become suppliers of the automotive sector companies.Moreover, participating projects can avail of the support offered by all agents from Galicia's open innovation system: Technological centres, clusters, universities, etc.
The program is comprised of 2 stages where the difference lies in the degree of project maturity. Initial stage projects that need to develop and validate their product or service in the automotive sector can opt for the (up to 9-month) acceleration stage. However, if the project has a defined product or service with actual sales, it may be eligible for the consolidation stage that would last up to 12 months. The possibility of sharing the project acceleration and/or consolidation process with other projects in the sector promotes and facilitates the generation of synergies between them.
