Founders Loft launches innovation partnership connecting Gothenburg and Algeciras: Port Cities for Resilience

How can innovation help port cities become more resilient? A new Vinnova-funded project brings together innovation ecosystems in Sweden and Spain to explore shared challenges and opportunities for future collaboration.

Founders Loft and Inclusive Business Partners are launching Port Cities for Resilience: A Gothenburg–Algeciras Innovation Partnership, a six-month project funded by Vinnova. The initiative connects Gothenburg's innovation ecosystem with the Port of Algeciras Bay Authority (APBA), which operates Spain's largest port and one of Europe's busiest logistics hubs, through APBA's innovation programme, Travesía de la Innovación. The ambition is to establish a long-term innovation partnership that can help both port cities address shared challenges, strengthen resilience and create opportunities for Swedish innovations to reach international markets.

Connecting innovation with real-world challenges

Ports are essential to international trade and logistics, but they also face growing challenges related to climate change, infrastructure, supply chains and changing technological demands. Through the project, the partners will map the innovation ecosystems in Gothenburg and Algeciras, identify common resilience challenges and explore how Swedish innovations and capabilities could contribute to addressing them. Up to three Swedish innovation cases will be assessed for their potential relevance to identified needs in Algeciras. The project will also examine the conditions needed to move promising opportunities forward, including relevant stakeholders, potential partnerships and future financing.

Building a foundation for future collaboration

Founders Loft coordinates the project and leads engagement with the Swedish innovation ecosystem, connecting innovative companies and solutions with opportunities for international collaboration.

Inclusive Business Partners leads the resilience and impact work, exploring how future innovation initiatives could contribute to more resilient port and logistics systems. This includes developing a shared approach to measuring impact in potential future pilots.

APBA through Travesía de la Innovación, provides a connection to the Algeciras port innovation ecosystem and its challenges and opportunities.

Together, the partners aim to develop a shared agenda, roadmap and financing strategy for continued collaboration.

A first step towards a long-term partnership

The project runs from October 2026 to March 2027 and is intended to establish the foundation for future international innovation projects. For Founders Loft, the partnership is an opportunity to connect Swedish entrepreneurs and innovations with real-world challenges in an international setting, while strengthening collaboration between innovation ecosystems. The goal is not only to identify promising innovations, but to create the partnerships and conditions needed to turn them into solutions that can make a difference.

Port Cities for Resilience: A Gothenburg–Algeciras Innovation Partnership is funded by Vinnova and coordinated by Founders Loft in collaboration with Inclusive Business Partners, with engagement from the Port of Algeciras Bay Authority (APBA) through its innovation programme, Travesía de la Innovación.