Plantilla DXCAPP

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PARTICIPANT’ HANDBOOK

2nd Edition

Participant´s Handbook 2nd Edition - Business Factory Auto

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How does BFA work?

How to summit a candidacy?

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Introduction

Index

How does the selection process work? 4


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BFA is promoted by Xunta de Galicia (Galician Government) through Axencia Galega de Innovación

– GAIN (Galician Innovation Agency), Instituto Galego de Promoción Económica – IGAPE (Galician

Institute for Economic Development), and Sociedad Gestora de Entidades de Inversión de Tipo

Cerrado – Xesgalicia (Managing Society of Partnership Investments), Consorcio de la Zona Franca

de Vigo – CZFC (Free Zone of Vigo Consortium) and Vigo Activo S.C.R. – Vigo Activo, Fundación

Cluster de Empresas de Automoción de Galicia – CEAGA (Cluster Foundation of Car Companies

of Galicia) and PSA Group.

Its goal is to accelerate and consolidate projects specialising in the automobile industry and to turn

them into innovative, feasible, and scalable companies that attract and keep talent, thus helping

strengthen the Sector’s position and increasing its international exposure.

The initiative is comprised by four main phases, as the following diagram shows:

This guide has the purpose of explaining how BFA works and facilitating the online registration for the

users and the process of submitting solicitudes to the BFA Programme. Hence, this document

contains a set of clear and precise indications that facilitate the execution of both procedures.

Also, the guide includes a description of the solicitude evaluation and selection system that will be

used during the Selection Phase, in order to keep all involved individuals informed about the procedure

that will be followed during the selection of finalist projects.

Introduction

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Each Edition of Business Factory Auto will start with the Call Phase or, in other words, when the

initiation of the registration period is announced at www.bfauto.es. The registration period will last

approximately two months, although the exact duration will be subject to modification (the specific

dates will be published at the website).

Once the registration period is finished, the Selection Phase will start and all submitted solicitudes

will be evaluated.

The solicitudes that become selected and comply with the conditions and requirements established in

the Rules of the Programme, will receive a funding proposal of up to €125.000 and take part in an

Acceleration programme lasting up to nine months where the projects can install at the coworking

area of the BFA facilities. During these months, they will receive training, they will be supported by

experts in the automobile industry, and they will have the opportunity of taking part in tech-meetings

and meeting with automobile companies

The acceleration phase will be followed by a Consolidation phase during which companies that have

been able to bring to the market a valid business model but need time to define a structure to

consolidate it, will be granted a funding proposal of up to €250.000 and take part in a consolidation

programme. The amount of this aid will depend upon the partners and/or other investors contributing

the project, at least, an equal amount. This programme will provide participants with training tailored

for their needs, a dedicated workspace, access to the network of mentors, and a place in the events

that will facilitate networking opportunities with companies and organisations of the automobile sector.

The call phase will select projects that eventually will go through the acceleration and consolidation

phases.

How does BFA work?

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Solicitude submission to BFA will be carried out exclusively through the website (www.bfauto.es), during the period specified for their reception. The following lines explain in detail the procedure that must be followed in order to register users and submit candidacies.

3.1. Registration of Participants

3.1.1. My account

Any individual wanting to take part in the BFA Programme, both as a member of the promoting team

or of the entrepreneurial team, must have signed up at the website, www.bfauto.es.

In order to sign up, the participant must go to “LOGIN”, located at the website’s top menu, and create

a personal account providing all the required details. Next, the user will receive an email with a link

that is to be followed in order to verify the account and complete the registration. From then on, the

participant can access his/her personal account introducing his/her access data in the BFA website.

Please, have in mind that this email may be found in the spam folder.

The personal account of each participant will serve as a communications link between all the parties

involved. In this area, which will be explained shortly, the participants will find several functionalities

in the control panel located at the side. This panel contains a user card with all supplied data, and a

menu with the following options:

- My account. Here, the user can see the list of projects in which he/she takes part and

their status (submitted or draft), as well as a list of pending projects (those that the user

has been invited to and are waiting for his/her confirmation).

- Change details. Here, the user can see and/or change his/her personal data and

configure the account.

- Create a project. This is where new projects are created.

- Log out. Button that allows the user to exit his/her personal account securely.

3.1.2. Recover password

Also in “LOGIN”, there is a “Request new password” button that allows the user to reset his/her lost

or forgotten password. The user must enter his/her user name or email address, and then he/she will

receive an email with a link and indications on how to re-establish his/her password.

How to submit a candidacy?

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http://www.bfauto.es/


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3.2. Candidacy submission

The user submitting the project will be regarded as the project’s Administrator (in terms of managing

the project online), so, admittedly, this person should remain in the project’s promoting team.

The Administrator will have the following tasks: creating the project, inviting the project’s team

members, and completing the submission form.

3.2.1. Creating a project

Entering his personal account, the user should go to “Create project” and fill in the basic project details

that are required: project’s name, description, email address, etc. Again, the user that creates the

project will be the Administrator.

Once the project details are completed, the project has been registered. From then on, the participant

can invite team members and complete the team form in order to finish the project registration process

3.2.2. Inviting team members

To invite team members to a particular project, the Administrator must go to “My account” and select

the desired project. The control panel menu will show a “Invite members” option. When clicking this

option, the Administrator will find a box to enter the user name of the new team member and send

him/her an accompanying message. This implies that the Administrator must know the user names of

new team members, and also, that these new team members must have signed up. The Administrator

will also have to submit the team member’s curriculum vitae, involvement in the project (part- or

fulltime), and role (promoter, manager, technician, etc.)

Each of the new team members will receive to their email addresses an invitation to take part in the

project, as well as the project details submitted by the Administrator. All invited members must accept

the invitation if they want to be taken into account when the candidacy is assessed. Once the invitation

is accepted, the new team members can access their personal accounts and, thus, all the information

concerning the projects they take part in.

3.2.3. Completing the submission form

As a last step to complete of application, the participant (administrator) must fill the enrolment

questionnaire. For that he must go to the “Enrolment questionnaire” section on the side control panel

and complete the requested information.


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The form is comprised of 41 questions, 35 of which are compulsory. The questions are organised in

the seven following chapters:

Introduction. Here, basic details of the project must be established, such as name,

description, location, etc. Also, it is possible to include a three-minute long video in which the

promoter and/or the team explains the project (no additional images or post-production is

allowed). Today, any smartphone is more than capable of performing this task proficiently.

Team. Here, it is required to state who are the project promoters, what experience they have

in the project’s area of application, what professional achievements have they acquired, and

in what capacity they are going to take part in the project if it is selected. Please, be brief and

precise, and avoid vague answers –we want to know if the project is suitable for the project.

It is worth noting that, when we talk about the promoting team, we are referring to the project’s

promoters, the individuals or entity/entities that have originated the project. If it is an entity or

a group of entities, the promoting team must have all the powers needed for decision-making

and representation. On the other hand, the entrepreneurial team will be made up by, not only

full-time promoters, but also the team members taking part in the project in a day-to-day basis.

Automobile product/technology. In this chapter, the participant must describe the project’s

value proposal, point out the problem that it solves, explain its distinguishing features, etc. To

sum it up, the project should be perfectly explained, including its innovative features and its

potential.

Development status. In this case, the participant must explain the project’s development

status, if there is a prototype or a product, past and future milestones, etc. ¿What is the

development status of the project? If it has not reached the market yet, how much longer will

it take to do so?

Business model. Here, the participant will have to describe the project’s revenue model and

explain if this model already has results. It is also required to indicate the targeted public, if

there is already a client base, what is the market size, and details about competitors.

Funding and stakeholders. In this chapter, it must be specified who are the stakeholders and

what share percentage do they own; also, if the project has been, or could be, granted

additional funding and/or investments.

Other information. In this last chapter, the participant can submit document concerning the

product, a business presentation, and letters of recommendation. All files must be in PDF

format and under 30 Mb.


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Finally, the participant has one additional chapter where further comments and explanations can be

made.

Note: While completing the form, the participant (Administrator) will have the option of saving a draft

at any moment. The form will be validated only when all questions are answered. Once the form is

validated, the Administrator will receive a confirmation email indicating the time and date of the

submission as well as the information provided.

Once the submission form is validated, the candidacy will be considered complete; from then

on, changes in the team members or in the submission form will not be possible.

3.2. Candidacy submission

Since information exchange will take place throughout all the phases of the Programme, it is important

to clarify how this information is going to be used and what are the associated responsibilities. This

matters are explained in detail at “Rules of the Programme”, where information is provided regarding

the acceptation of these rules, responsibilities involved, intellectual property, information disclosure,

communications, personal data protection, and complaints.


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The selection process determines how all candidacies will be evaluated while the registration period

is open. The goal is selecting up to 10 candidacies that will take part in the Acceleration Phase and

up to 10 candidacies that will take part in the Consolidation Phase.

4.1. Selection Process

The selection process comprises several stages and lasts up to 2 months.

Preliminary evaluation: registration process

All candidacies will be preliminary evaluated in order to select those satisfying the criteria established

in the call terms, which are the following:

- Candidacies must be submitted through the BFA website, and their submission must

be completed before the deadline of the corresponding call.

- All candidacies must meet the eligibility criteria of the call’s Rules of the Programme.

- Candidacies must not be affected by incompatibilities.

Evaluation by independent experts and executive committee

Admissible candidacies will then be evaluated both by Independent Experts and by the Executive

Committee of BFA (made up by members of promoting entities).

This evaluation will take place following the criteria explained in the Evaluation Criteria chapter in this

guide. Through this evaluation, up to 40 projects will be selected to take part in the next stage, the

interviews.

Interviews

Promoters of the 40 pre-selected projects will be summoned to take part in an interview before the

members of the Executive Committee.

How is the selection process?

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The purpose of this interview is knowing the promoting entity behind the project and going into detail

about the information contained in the submission form, as well as assessing the team’s potential and

suitability for the project.

Demo Day

Up to 20 interviewed candidacies will be selected to take part in a Demo Day, when they will present

their projects before the Executive Committee and representatives of the promoting entities.

Final Selection

After Demo Day, up to 10 projects will be selected and will be invited to participate in the Acceleration

Phase. Up to 10 projects will also be selected and will be invited to participate in the Consolidation

Phase. These 20 projects will be given a funding proposal.

Acceleration and Consolidation Phase acceptation

Selected projects, up to 20, will receive:

- A formal funding proposal suggesting the various funding modalities explained in the

Funding conditions chapter of Rules of the Programme.

- A formal invitation to participate in the Acceleration or the Consolidation Phase.

The promoting team will have 15 calendar days to formally accept both proposals. And approximately a 1 month to submit the documents required by funding entities and BFA’s Management Team in order to regularise the agreements.

4.2. Evaluation Criteria

The criteria that will be employed to carry out the evaluation are focused on two key areas: teams and

projects. Both are explained in more detail below:

TEAM EVALUATION CRITERIA

The weighting coefficient of this criteria will amount to 60% in the case of the Acceleration Programme,

and to 40% in the case of the Consolidation Programme.

The experience and suitability of the project team will be evaluated, particularly when it comes to:

Skills, knowledge, and experience relative to the automobile industry or the project’s

application area.

Suitability and complementarity of the training and experience of the team compared to the

project’s needs.

Commitment, morale, and dedication of the entrepreneurial team.


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Risk assumed by the promoting entity/team.

PROJECT EVALUATION CRITERIA

The weighting coefficient of this criteria will amount to 40% in the Acceleration Programme, and to

60% in the Consolidation Programme.

The excellence of the proposal will be evaluated in terms of innovation, suitability for acceleration

and/or consolidation, scalability, and socio-economic impact, particularly when it comes to:

Innovative factor, understood as the scientific, technological, or knowledge basis supporting

the project, as well as the strength of the distinguishing features comprising the value proposal.

Suitability for acceleration or capacity for developing a minimum viable product (MVP) during

the Programme’s duration, and executing the project.

Scalability or potential for growth and generating scale economies.

Capacity for consolidation in the market and generating recurring revenue.

Socio-economic impact: feasible initiative contributing to industrial advancement.


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2ª Edición

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