DIVERSE

What DIVERSE does

Diverse (legal name: Asociación para el fomento del liderazgo y talento juvenil Diverse, CIF G75471425) is a Spanish non-profit association headquartered in Bilbao, Bizkaia, founded circa 2021 by Ane Ortega, Gorka Legarra, and Koro Arregi. The organization operates as an open-innovation platform that connects young creative talent with enterprises and public institutions in the Basque Country, structured around two core services. The "Lab" service applies an open-innovation methodology in which Diverse identifies challenges from client companies and organizations and activates "Human Creative Units" (Unidades Creativas Humanas) — teams composed of young creative talent, Diverse staff, and the client — to develop solutions. The "Academy" service delivers training and capacity-building programs aimed at developing and consolidating the local creative community, drawing on a partnership with the UPV/EHU Faculty of Fine Arts as a primary talent pipeline.

Commercially, Diverse generates revenue through project-based professional services fees for Lab engagements and Academy training contracts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and contracts appear to be negotiated on a per-project basis with a diverse client mix that includes municipal governments (Ayuntamiento de Bilbao, Ayuntamiento de Gasteiz), a provincial youth institute (Instituto Foral de la Juventud), Basque public broadcaster EITB, industrial firm Danobatgroup, technology cluster GAIA, sports organization Gipuzkoa Basket, and various SMB retailers and associations. Strategic projects include "Desfiles que empoderan" (fashion shows), "Impacto coreano" (Korean entertainment research), "I+D cultural en Berlín" (Berlin cultural R&D study), "Sorreran" (audiovisual sector collaboration model), and "Mizelio" (a collaborative fanzine produced under the European iCOSHELLs project). Distribution is direct and regional, with go-to-market reliant on Instagram presence, direct outreach, and word-of-mouth within the Basque creative community. The organization has no disclosed external funding, no parent entity, and operates with a small team of approximately 10 employees under founder-controlled governance.

Name

DIVERSE

Legal name

Asociación para el fomento del liderazgo y talento juvenil Diverse

Website

https://diverse.eus

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Diverse is a Bilbao-based non-profit association operating an open-innovation platform that connects young Basque creative talent with enterprises and public institutions through project-based Lab engagements and Academy training programs. It primarily serves Basque Country cultural and creative industries clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Industries Innovation Services

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

akta.pro primary industry

Inclusive Leadership & Leading Diverse Teams (EDABAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Cultural Competence & Inclusion (EDABAMAJ), Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Creative industries consulting
• Open innovation services
• Youth talent development
• Creative skills training
• Cultural industries programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bilbao

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Innovation Lab Services: Project-based innovation consulting services where Diverse forms Human Creative Units to address specific challenges for client companies and organizations. Revenue derived from service fees for open innovation project execution.
2. Academy Training Programs: Training and capacity-building activities aimed at developing and consolidating the local creative community. Likely project-based or funded through training contracts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DIVERSE is a non-profit association that integrates innovation into Cultural and Creative Industries through two complementary lines: Diverse Lab, an open innovation program that connects young creative talent with companies and institutions to work on real challenges under mentorship, and Diverse Academy, a structured training program offering workshops and courses in creative disciplines (photography, video, fashion design, graphic design, community management, among others) aimed at youth aged 18–35. The association operates from Bilbao, serving regional enterprises, retailers, public administrations, and other non-profits through project-based engagements.

Product overview

DIVERSE is a platform that integrates innovation into Cultural and Creative Industries through two core services: Lab (open innovation laboratory with Human Creative Units) and Academy (training and community development). The platform operates across multiple creative sectors including audiovisual, editorial, musical, design, and plastic/visual arts. DIVERSE connects young creative talent with companies and organizations to solve challenges through collaborative projects such as Desfiles que empoderan (fashion shows), Impacto coreano (Korean entertainment research), I+D cultural en Berlín (cultural R&D), Sorreran (collaboration model for audiovisual sector), and Mizelio (collaborative fanzine on sustainability).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diverse Lab An open innovation program that connects young creative talent (ages 18–35) with companies and institutions to work on real business or institutional challenges under mentorship. Designed for organizations seeking fresh creative perspectives and youth engagement, the Lab delivers project-based outcomes through structured collaboration between selected talent and the contracting organization.
• Diverse Academy A structured training program offering workshops and courses in creative disciplines including photography, video, fashion design, graphic design, and community management. Targeted at young people aged 18–35 in the Basque Country, the Academy also acts as a delivery vehicle for public-sector skills development contracts.

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• iCOSHELLs (European Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean art and sustainability project uniting art and sustainability to reflect on soil health and biodiversity in Urdaibai. Diverse contributes by creating 'Mizelio', a collaborative fanzine accompanying a thematic traveling exhibition developed with local stakeholders. Over 40 students from the UPV/EHU Faculty of Fine Arts participated, creating works addressing environmental regeneration.
• UPV/EHU Faculty of Fine ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the University of the Basque Country's Faculty of Fine Arts for student participation in creative projects, including the iCOSHELLs initiative where over 40 students created works addressing soil regeneration and biodiversity.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy running open-innovation engagements for large enterprises. Represents the scaled, incumbent version of the kind of human-centered innovation work Diverse performs, with much broader reach and proprietary methods.
• Founders Factory: London-headquartered venture builder and corporate innovation partner that designs and runs innovation programs for large enterprises. Comparable at the level of 'open innovation program delivery for corporates' but operating at a far larger scale and with equity-linked models.

Direct peers

• Impact Hub: Global network of community-led innovation hubs connecting entrepreneurs, creatives, and impact organizations. Most directly comparable to Diverse in combining a membership/community layer with project-based innovation services for enterprises.
• La Nave: Madrid's municipal innovation hub, supporting startups, corporate innovation, and training programs. Comparable in mixing community-building, training, and enterprise innovation services under a public-sector umbrella.
• Betahaus: European coworking and innovation community offering events, labs, and corporate programs. Closely comparable to Diverse on the community-led GTM motion and the combination of membership-style engagement with paid enterprise work.
• MediaLab Matadero: Madrid-based cultural innovation laboratory that prototypes projects at the intersection of art, technology, and community. Closest Spanish analogue to Diverse's Lab, with shared emphasis on open innovation methodology and creative-industry projects.
• Talent Garden: European innovation and coworking platform running education programs alongside enterprise services. Comparable operating model to Diverse's Lab + Academy combination, with similar emphasis on community and skills development.

Regional players

• Etopia Centro de Arte y Tecnología: Zaragoza public innovation center focused on art, technology, and creative industry projects. Spanish regional peer with similar mission around cultural-and-creative-industry innovation, though serving a different geography and broader program mix.

Others

• Innobasque: Basque Country innovation agency representing the public-sector innovation ecosystem. Less a competitor than an ecosystem stakeholder and potential funder/partner for Diverse's Basque-focused activity.

Emerging players

• Rockstart: Amsterdam-based accelerator running domain-specific programs (energy, agri-food, health, emerging tech). Overlaps with Diverse on open-innovation and ecosystem-building, though its primary model is equity-linked acceleration rather than talent-pool consulting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/diverse.eus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/diverseuskadi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DIVERSE