Scaling corporate-startup collaboration in Europe: Interview with Lieven Deketele of P&G

When Europe’s highest-potential startups and largest corporates collaborate, we see innovative technologies fast-tracked into game-changing products and services. 

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is bridging the innovation and collaboration gap between Europe’s cutting-edge startups and established multinational corporations with the Corporate Partnership Programme (CPP). Since 2017, the EIC CPP has organised 91 Corporate and Multi-Corporate Discovery Days, facilitating 100+ successful business deals between startups and corporates like Galp, BMW, L’Oreal, Telefonica, and Procter & Gamble. Their most recent report, “Unlocking Innovation through Corporate-Startup Collaboration” offers a detailed overview of EIC CPP activities and a roadmap for effective corporate-startup partnerships.

In this article, we speak with Lieven Deketele, Director of Open Innovation at Procter & Gamble (P&G), a long-standing partner of the European Innovation Council. P&G has been engaged in the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme since 2018 and 2019, and more recently joined the EIC Multi-Corporate Discovery Day in Brussels in October 2025, alongside other leading corporates, as well as the Impact Circle activity in July 2025. With decades of experience in open innovation through its well-known ‘Connect + Develop’ programme, P&G works closely with external partners to drive sustainable, consumer-focused innovation at scale.

In the interview, Lieven shares why access to EIC-funded innovators matters for large corporates, how the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme format enabled deeper technical conversations, and what concrete outcomes emerged from the activities. He also offers practical advice for other corporates considering joining the next EIC Multi-Corporate Day at Impact Circle 2026.

Welcome, Lieven! Thank you for joining us. Let’s first talk about P&G’s long history of collaborating with startups and innovators. How does this fit into your company’s broader strategy?

Innovation is the lifeblood of Procter & Gamble. For over 180 years, our goal has been to serve consumers around the world with brands, products and services that make their lives a little better every day. To continue achieving this in a rapidly changing world, we recognise that we can’t create all the necessary innovations on our own. This understanding is the foundation of our ‘Connect + Develop’ programme, which is a core pillar of our innovation strategy. We aim to enable value-creation through a broader ecosystem that combines P&G’s deep consumer understanding, global scale, and R&D capabilities with the agility, novel technology, and unique perspectives of our partners. Through collaboration, we create a powerful combination that leverages an innovation ecosystem. By working with startups and innovators, we can accelerate innovation, solve complex consumer challenges in new ways, and access breakthrough technologies that align with our mission of creating irresistibly superior and sustainable products and experiences for our consumers.

From your perspective, what is the biggest benefit when partnering with EU-funded innovators?

The single biggest benefit is accessing a curated and de-risked pipeline of high-potential innovations. The European Innovation Council (EIC) serves as a powerful filter and an incredible catalyst for innovation. The innovators we meet through the EIC do not merely present concepts in slide decks; they are companies that have already undergone a rigorous vetting and selection process. Knowing that an innovator has secured EIC funding gives us confidence in their technological foundation, the capability of their team, and their potential for scaling. The EIC’s diligence saves us valuable time and allows us to focus our efforts on assessing the strategic fit and co-creation potential. 

Furthermore, the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services ensure that these startups are often more ‘collaboration-ready,’ as they understand the dynamics of working with a large corporate partner. It provides a direct and trusted pathway to some of the most promising deep-tech and breakthrough science emerging across Europe. We hope to see more startups that have gone through this process.

You joined the EIC’s Multi-Corporate Day at Impact Circle 2025. What motivated P&G to take part?

Our motivation was threefold. First, the activity was highly strategic and targeted. The EIC worked with us and the other corporates beforehand to understand our specific innovation needs, such as AI-enhanced materials, sustainable packaging solutions, and data-driven consumer insights. This ensured that the startups present were directly relevant to our challenges. 

Second, the efficiency of the format is unparalleled and truly worldclass, banking on the experience and expertise of Tomorrowland and Love Tomorrow. In just a couple of days, we were able to engage in meaningful, deep-dive conversations with a significant number of pre-vetted innovators. This represents a tremendous acceleration compared to other scouting processes. 

Finally, the multi-corporate aspect is a key differentiator. Addressing systemic challenges like sustainability or supply chain resilience is bigger than any single company. Collaborating alongside respected peers like AB INBEV and Coca Cola creates a unique gravity that attracts the highest-quality startups. It fosters a pre-competitive environment where we can collectively advance the innovation ecosystem, which is a win for everyone involved – corporates, startups, and ultimately, European consumers.

How did this format help your team explore new solutions or identify potential collaborations with the startups the EIC brought into the room?

The format was instrumental – it moves beyond the traditional, superficial pitch and allows for genuine, substantive dialogue. The structure of dedicated, focused sessions enabled our cross-functional team comprised of experts from R&D, Packaging, Supply Chain, Engineering and other expert functions to engage directly with the startups’ founders and technical leads. This direct interaction is critical; it allows us to quickly get past the ‘what’ and dive deep into the ‘how.’ Our experts could ask detailed technical questions, explore the scalability of their solutions, and collaboratively brainstorm potential use cases within the P&G environment. For example, in a session with a materials science startup, our packaging scientist and a product formulation expert could simultaneously assess a technology and its integration feasibility. This immediate, multi-faceted feedback loop is incredibly effective for rapidly identifying the most promising opportunities for collaboration.

P&G also participated in the EIC Multi-Corporate Day in Brussels in October 2025 alongside other leading corporates. What were the main takeaways from that activity, and how did the process and results differ from your experience at Impact Circle?

Both events were highly valuable and complementary. Their success was rooted in months of preparation, where we engaged internally to distill our key needs and opportunities, allowing the EIC to curate relevant startups. 

Impact Circle is a unique platform for in-depth conversations among startups, corporates, and academics. Expertly organized in partnership with the EIC, it was designed to address the strategic needs shared by corporates. The effective, multi-day format – combining hotel workshops with matchmaking at the festival site – allowed us to focus on specific challenges while drawing inspiration from new possibilities. This event has already led to the initiation of multiple pilots, which we hope will result in significant breakthroughs.

The Brussels event, in contrast, provided a more focused dynamic. Hosting it at our own facilities, we benefited from having many of our technical experts join directly. This allowed us to conduct detailed technical deep dives to validate specific solutions against our core business needs.

What were the most valuable insights or outcomes from the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme activities, whether in terms of partnerships, discoveries, or internal learnings?

The activity under the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme has been highly productive on all three fronts. In terms of partnerships, we have initiated follow-up conversations with several innovators to explore pilot projects. For example, we are looking at promising technologies to support our sustainability goals, like recyclable packaging solutions or upcycled, multifunctional ingredients. We also see great potential in leveraging AI to enhance manufacturing efficiency.

In terms of discoveries, the programme provides a fantastic real-time snapshot of the innovation landscape across multiple thematic areas and cohorts. It has been insightful to see the potential of technologies in areas like AI-driven formulation and advanced biodiversity monitoring.

Finally, the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme energises our organisation. It reinforces the value of our open innovation model and exposes our teams to new ways of thinking. Seeing the passion and ingenuity of these entrepreneurs firsthand is incredibly inspiring and serves as a catalyst for our own internal innovation culture.

For other corporates considering joining the next edition of the EIC MCDD at Impact Circle in July 2026, what advice or encouragement would you give?

My advice is simple: do it. The value proposition is exceptionally strong. But to maximise that value, I would offer two pieces of advice. 

First, come prepared and engage early. Be very clear and specific about the business and technology challenges you are trying to solve. The more focused you are in your problem statements, the better the EIC can be at matchmaking, ensuring your time is spent with the most relevant innovator. 

Second, bring the right team. Don’t just send only innovation scouts; bring technical experts, business leaders, and decision-makers who can truly assess the potential of a technology and champion a partnership internally. Their direct participation is key to moving from a conversation to a collaboration.

How does P&G envision deepening its engagement with the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme to drive strategic innovation outcomes over the longer term?

We view this as a continuous opportunity to present our strategic innovation challenges to the EIC, aligned with our mission to deliver irresistibly superior and sustainable products that create value. To accelerate value creation, we aim to establish clearer, faster pathways for our business units to engage directly with innovators, including startups and scaleups. Additionally, we are deepening our collaboration with non-competing corporate peers on shared challenges – whether in consumer understanding, sustainable materials, or automation. By partnering across the entire European innovation ecosystem, we can collectively create greater value for all stakeholders.

For more information, please visit the European Innovation Council Corporate Partnership Programme website and check the open application for corporations.

The post Scaling corporate-startup collaboration in Europe: Interview with Lieven Deketele of P&G appeared first on EU-Startups.