The ICF has closed the first operation of the ICF Girona Fons d'Innovació, the financing programme for young innovative companies launched by the public promotion bank of Catalonia and Girona City Council last April.

The financial institution of the Government of Catalonia has financed the Clyype project with a loan of 300,000 euros to support the development, production and marketing of an innovative comprehensive respiratory protection mask created by a group of entrepreneurs from Girona.

The advanced technology of this device, aimed at health professionals and other sectors such as veterinarians, livestock farmers and laboratory workers, allows 99.8% of the air intake and exit to be filtered. In other words, it exceeds the characteristics of FFp3 masks up to ten times and protects 110 times more than an FFp1 mask.

Clyype was born in 2020 in the context of the coronavirus pandemic with the aim of creating a safer respiratory protection device to prevent contagion and save as many lives as possible, more comfortable for professionals, friendlier for patients and more sustainable.

That is why, after a five-year process of research, Clyype has been designed to offer comprehensive head protection and filter 99.8% of aerosols both at the air intake and exit. In addition, its ergonomic, lightweight and tubeless design allows total freedom of movement to the user and avoids direct contact with the skin, reducing the risk of allergies or irritations.

It also has a wide, transparent screen that does not fog up and allows the user's face and lips to be clearly seen, making it easier to see and communicate between professionals or with patients. Likewise, unlike disposable equipment, Clyype is sustainable and reusable: it can be washed and disinfected several times, uses long-lasting filters and is manufactured with local suppliers, which extends its useful life and reduces its environmental impact.

The CEO of the ICF, Vanessa Servera, stressed that "the ICF Girona Fons d'Innovació was created precisely to support projects like this". "Its commitment to innovation and technology, its great impact on the world of health and people's lives and the joint work with local suppliers and collaborators make this a strategic project for Catalonia".

The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Economic Promotion and Legal Services of Girona City Council, Gemma Geis Carreras, remarked that "this project is the best demonstration of why we created the ICF Girona Fons d'Innovació: to support local entrepreneurship, projects with a clear vocation for transformation and with a direct impact on people's health and well-being. With Clyype, we not only contribute to making the work of many professionals safer, but we also position Girona as a benchmark in technological innovation and social responsibility."

Jordi Bellvehí, CEO of Medtech Catalonia SL, the company that produces Clyype, states that "once you have the product patented, certified and in the manufacturing process, you enter a critical phase in which you need to increase the structure to be able to sell with guarantees. At this time, it is essential to have financial support that allows you to obtain income from sales." He adds that "in this sense, the ICF Girona Fons d'Innovació will help us a lot. And not only to us, because it can also give a blow to other entrepreneurial projects in Girona".