- March 9, 2023
- [post-views]
Press release
Ten teams of founders from Romania and Bulgaria can win up to 25,000 EUR through the pre-accelerator EIT Digital Venture Program
Startup Reaktor supports the second edition of EIT Venture Program, together with ROTSA and Techcelerator
Bucharest, March 7th, 2023: Ten teams of founders from Romania and Bulgaria can win up to 25,000 EUR through Venture Program, a pre-acceleration program launched by EIT Digital, part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Startup Reaktor incubation platform in partnership with Techcelerator and Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA) implements the second edition of this program in Romania and Bulgaria.
The EIT Digital Venture Program launched six years ago, was designed to support early-stage entrepreneurial teams from the Baltics, Eastern and Southern Europe in their journey to market and boasts a valuable track record. Starting this year, the program is running in 22 European countries. During the first six editions, EIT Digital Venture Program supported more than 200 entrepreneurs and launched 124 startups, several of which have quickly raised investment and signed outstanding clients.
Founders from Romania and Bulgaria who build a deep innovation product in one of the 5 market verticals supported by EIT Digital: Digital Industry, Digital Cities, Digital Wellbeing, Digital Tech, Digital Finance may apply to the program here until April 16th.
Selected teams will be offered an intensive eight-week pre-acceleration program; they will be coached, in particular, on how to develop their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), do the right customer discovery and get the problem-solution fit, then establish their startup company, and prepare to raise funds from capital investors.
At the final “Pitch Day”, teams will get the chance to validate their business solution by presenting it to early-stage investors, potential clients, and experts from the tech community.
All teams will receive an initial 5,000 EUR grant, supplemented by another 10,000 EUR for those who complete the program and incorporate their startup. Finally, the first ten ventures, from all participants at the European level, who will raise at least 50,000 EUR in funding from private investors or register sales of more than 10.000 EUR by the end of November will be entitled to an additional prize of 10,000 EUR, bringing EIT Digital’s total support to 25,000 EUR.
The outcomes of the first edition from Romania and Bulgaria
In 2022, the program’s first edition in Romania and Bulgaria registered 38 applications.
Five Romanian teams won a grant of 5,000 EUR [Foni.AI, Insuloc, Rastel.io, Dotstride (fost Smoek) și Eyelearn (fost WakeZ)]. All 5 got the second phase, registered their companies and got 10,000 EUR for 5% equity.
In the final stage, 3 teams from Romania, a quite impressive outcome, qualified among the ten European finalist startups, attracted a financing round of 50.000 EUR who was joined by EIT Digital with another 10.000 EUR.
“In its 6th edition, the EIT Digital Venture Program is a proven opportunity for early-stage entrepreneurial teams to establish their deep tech venture and join Europe’s largest digital innovation ecosystem. I am excited to see where this next generation of entrepreneurs take us, with the support and resources they will receive“, said Mirko Tadic, EIT Digital Venture Program’s Lead.
“Europe is slowly waking up to the challenge of tech leadership- and it doesn’t want to miss out on the new innovation race focused on AI and deeptech. It is our purpose at Startup Reaktor to build the next generation of digital ventures and breed digital entrepreneurial talent, helping businesses and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with talent and growth support, in collaboration with EIT Digital” said Alina Vasile-Floroaie, Startup Reaktor Managing Director.
“The great outcomes of the 1st edition implemented by us, for Romania and Bulgaria, got to the expectation of our partner, so the decision to continue the collaboration was somehow natural. This year we planned for our participants a more complex offer under the umbrella of our innovation platform, Startup Reaktor, with knowledge boosters starting from customer discovery to investment readiness and connection with VC investors” said Cristina Țoncu, Regional Director ROTSA and Programs Partner Techcelerator.
*** About Startup Reaktor
Startup Reaktor is an incubation platform launched in 2022 to connect hundreds of early-stage tech startups, scaleups, investors, accelerators, corporate networks, universities, and the media from Central and Eastern Europe. The platform was designed by a national consortium by ROTSA – Romanian Tech Startups Association in partnership with Techcelerator and Rōnin.
About EIT Digital
EIT Digital believes in making and shaping a competitive digital Europe that is inclusive, fair and sustainable and aims at global impact through European innovation fuelled by entrepreneurial talent and digital technology.
EIT Digital embodies the future of innovation by mobilizing a pan-European multi-stakeholder open-innovation ecosystem of top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and investors address the technology, talent, skills, business and capital needs of digital entrepreneurship.
EIT Digital builds the next generation of digital ventures, digital products and services, and breeds digital entrepreneurial talent, helping businesses and entrepreneurs be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support.
EIT Digital is a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). EIT Digital is co-funded by the European Union.
About Techcelerator
Techcelerator is the SEED accelerator that targets high-tech startups in Romania and South-East Europe. Headquartered in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, Techcelerator is an accelerator and investment partner for seed, accelerator and post-accelerator hi-tech startups. The target for acceleration and investment are young innovative companies with high growth and international expansion potential in growth industries such as artificial intelligence, and cyber security. FinTech, B2B SaaS, eHealth, PropTech,, digital transformation and others. Techcelerator benefits from the strategic support provided by GapMinder, Google for Startups and also collaborates with other local and European investors to support the tech ecosystem in Romania and South Eastern Europe.
Techcelerator has successfully supported over 200 startups during previous accelerator rounds, but also through various support programs, organized by itself or in partnership with other entities in the ecosystem. Since its launch, Techcelerator’s portfolio companies have benefited from a total investment of more than €20 million from the investment rounds attracted so far.
About ROTSA
ROTSA (Romanian Tech Startups Association) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support, and represent the interests of technology start-ups in Romania. ROTSA, by collaborating with players in the national ecosystem, carries out the national mapping of the tech start-ups in Romania, to generate data related to the status and evolution of the tech start-up companies. ROTSA’s vision is to develop and support the ecosystem of technology start-ups, while also being a connector for the leading players and a link with other international ecosystems.
***
Contact:
Diana Iosu
Corporate Communication Senior Advisor DiFine PR
0784 222 555
diana.iosu@difinepr.com
The EIT Digital Venture Program launched six years ago, was designed to support early-stage entrepreneurial teams from the Baltics, Eastern and Southern Europe in their journey to market and boasts a valuable track record. Starting this year, the program is running in 22 European countries. During the first six editions, EIT Digital Venture Program supported more than 200 entrepreneurs and launched 124 startups, several of which have quickly raised investment and signed outstanding clients.
Founders from Romania and Bulgaria who build a deep innovation product in one of the 5 market verticals supported by EIT Digital: Digital Industry, Digital Cities, Digital Wellbeing, Digital Tech, Digital Finance may apply to the program here until April 16th.
Selected teams will be offered an intensive eight-week pre-acceleration program; they will be coached, in particular, on how to develop their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), do the right customer discovery and get the problem-solution fit, then establish their startup company, and prepare to raise funds from capital investors.
At the final “Pitch Day”, teams will get the chance to validate their business solution by presenting it to early-stage investors, potential clients, and experts from the tech community.
All teams will receive an initial 5,000 EUR grant, supplemented by another 10,000 EUR for those who complete the program and incorporate their startup. Finally, the first ten ventures, from all participants at the European level, who will raise at least 50,000 EUR in funding from private investors or register sales of more than 10.000 EUR by the end of November will be entitled to an additional prize of 10,000 EUR, bringing EIT Digital’s total support to 25,000 EUR.
The outcomes of the first edition from Romania and Bulgaria
In 2022, the program’s first edition in Romania and Bulgaria registered 38 applications.
Five Romanian teams won a grant of 5,000 EUR [Foni.AI, Insuloc, Rastel.io, Dotstride (fost Smoek) și Eyelearn (fost WakeZ)]. All 5 got the second phase, registered their companies and got 10,000 EUR for 5% equity.
In the final stage, 3 teams from Romania, a quite impressive outcome, qualified among the ten European finalist startups, attracted a financing round of 50.000 EUR who was joined by EIT Digital with another 10.000 EUR.
“In its 6th edition, the EIT Digital Venture Program is a proven opportunity for early-stage entrepreneurial teams to establish their deep tech venture and join Europe’s largest digital innovation ecosystem. I am excited to see where this next generation of entrepreneurs take us, with the support and resources they will receive“, said Mirko Tadic, EIT Digital Venture Program’s Lead.
“Europe is slowly waking up to the challenge of tech leadership- and it doesn’t want to miss out on the new innovation race focused on AI and deeptech. It is our purpose at Startup Reaktor to build the next generation of digital ventures and breed digital entrepreneurial talent, helping businesses and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with talent and growth support, in collaboration with EIT Digital” said Alina Vasile-Floroaie, Startup Reaktor Managing Director.
“The great outcomes of the 1st edition implemented by us, for Romania and Bulgaria, got to the expectation of our partner, so the decision to continue the collaboration was somehow natural. This year we planned for our participants a more complex offer under the umbrella of our innovation platform, Startup Reaktor, with knowledge boosters starting from customer discovery to investment readiness and connection with VC investors” said Cristina Țoncu, Regional Director ROTSA and Programs Partner Techcelerator.
*** About Startup Reaktor
Startup Reaktor is an incubation platform launched in 2022 to connect hundreds of early-stage tech startups, scaleups, investors, accelerators, corporate networks, universities, and the media from Central and Eastern Europe. The platform was designed by a national consortium by ROTSA – Romanian Tech Startups Association in partnership with Techcelerator and Rōnin.
About EIT Digital
EIT Digital believes in making and shaping a competitive digital Europe that is inclusive, fair and sustainable and aims at global impact through European innovation fuelled by entrepreneurial talent and digital technology.
EIT Digital embodies the future of innovation by mobilizing a pan-European multi-stakeholder open-innovation ecosystem of top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and investors address the technology, talent, skills, business and capital needs of digital entrepreneurship.
EIT Digital builds the next generation of digital ventures, digital products and services, and breeds digital entrepreneurial talent, helping businesses and entrepreneurs be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support.
EIT Digital is a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). EIT Digital is co-funded by the European Union.
About Techcelerator
Techcelerator is the SEED accelerator that targets high-tech startups in Romania and South-East Europe. Headquartered in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, Techcelerator is an accelerator and investment partner for seed, accelerator and post-accelerator hi-tech startups. The target for acceleration and investment are young innovative companies with high growth and international expansion potential in growth industries such as artificial intelligence, and cyber security. FinTech, B2B SaaS, eHealth, PropTech,, digital transformation and others. Techcelerator benefits from the strategic support provided by GapMinder, Google for Startups and also collaborates with other local and European investors to support the tech ecosystem in Romania and South Eastern Europe.
Techcelerator has successfully supported over 200 startups during previous accelerator rounds, but also through various support programs, organized by itself or in partnership with other entities in the ecosystem. Since its launch, Techcelerator’s portfolio companies have benefited from a total investment of more than €20 million from the investment rounds attracted so far.
About ROTSA
ROTSA (Romanian Tech Startups Association) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support, and represent the interests of technology start-ups in Romania. ROTSA, by collaborating with players in the national ecosystem, carries out the national mapping of the tech start-ups in Romania, to generate data related to the status and evolution of the tech start-up companies. ROTSA’s vision is to develop and support the ecosystem of technology start-ups, while also being a connector for the leading players and a link with other international ecosystems.
***
Contact:
Diana Iosu
Corporate Communication Senior Advisor DiFine PR
0784 222 555
diana.iosu@difinepr.com
