In the 1st Edition of this program, leading Basque companies from dynamic industry cluster organizations defined twelve joint challenges that affect their businesses. The SME Challenges are characterized by a common technological need shared by several businesses within each sector or industry cluster. Participating SMEs aspire to select a Startup solution that appeals to them, in some cases there may be more than one startup selected for a challenge. Alternatively, each Startup can have as many client contracts as they are capable of, the contracts are defined and signed directly with the SME companies and there is no equity exchanged.

The SMEs that form the BIND SME are active members of different Basque Clusters and leaders of reference in their sector. This year, 24 SMEs are looking for innovative solutions to respond to the new challenges faced by the industry in its digital transformation process, through the application and development of disruptive technologies.