Sports Innovation

The sport sector is strategic for our country, not only for its economic, social and environmental impact, but also for the values it brings and for the need to develop innovative solutions that drive its entire activity. This is achieved through sensory analysis, data analysis, the development of new materials or the incorporation of technology that, in addition, can provide information and generate a reflection on sustainability and its impact on our biodiversity and daily life.

For this reason, from Andorra Research and Innovation, we work on different projects in the field of innovation in sports, focusing on the user through the approach of Andorra as a Living Lab. Based on this methodology we are improving our understanding of the needs of athletes, entrepreneurs and companies that are part of this sector, contributing to promote different lines of work with other universities, research centers, platforms, innovation ecosystems, as well as with top-level professionals or interested citizens, both national and international.

The main projects we are promoting in sports innovation are:

We work together with the Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) and Andorra Business, in order to join forces and promote the innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the sports field at national and international level by creating the Andorra Sports Innovation Hub, where different projects are included:

• Andorra Scale-up Program: We have launched the first edition of the program to select three sports technology companies to help them in a process of mentoring and internationalization.
• Andorra Sports Innovation Summit: Exclusive conference for innovation projects in winter sports, mountain and cycling. The first conference was held in 2021 and the second in 2022.
• Andorra Sports Startup Challenge: Challenges in sports innovation. The first edition had the goal of identifying the most disruptive solutions and the latest technologies to help improve the user experience and loyalty in order to deseasonalize sport and tourism in Andorra. The second edition was aimed at improving the safety and accessibility of cycling routes, improving sustainability and social impact in sporting events organized in the country, improving the experience of fans and consumers with new technologies.

We are members of the European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI), an organization focused on the areas of physical activity related to sport and health in order to stimulate technological innovation in the sport sector. EPSI has a cross-sectorial focus, including different fields such as health, economy, technology, social dimensions, transport, tourism and sport culture, with a growing number of partners, such as universities, research institutes, clusters, industries and any kind of organizations operating in the field of sport innovation.

We have been collaborating with Andorra Esports Cluster in many actions that promote innovation in this sector, such as the Dream Big Andorra. 

From the Andorra Living Lab we conduct various pilot tests and testing of products and services, an example is the pilot we have done with EVIX, a catalan startup that proposes a technological solution for the safety of cyclists. The pilot test was done together with the Andona Club cycling association last July, during one of their usual trainings.