An online Pre-Jumpstarter workshop was held yesterday, which brought together more than thirty innovators, students and entrepreneurs from Montenegro and the region, who are interested in developing their ideas through the Jumpstarter pre-acceleration program and thus get the opportunity to win 10,000 euros!
The workshop was organized by IEC Tehnopolis as a strategic partner of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology for this program, with the aim of presenting all detailed information, eliminating possible doubts and providing technical support, so that as many startups as possible apply for the program.
Aleksandar Janicic, the coordinator of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development and Project Management at IEC Tehnopolis, pointed out that this program is very important for the Montenegrin startup scene, and that he is especially pleased that a large number of participants interested in various fields have applied and that our innovative community expands and takes advantage of the development opportunities that are provided to it.
The first part of the one-hour workshop was dedicated to presenting basic information about the program, defining the seven thematic fields to which the program refers and what is considered an innovation in each of these fields. The conditions that a startup needs to meet in order to be able to apply for the competition are specified, as well as the deadlines by which applications are open. Also, participants had the opportunity to hear tips on how to prepare the application and what to pay special attention to in the process, in order for the application to be successful.
After the first part, startups continued to work in “break out” rooms, where they presented their ideas and worked directly with mentors on preparing the application for applying to Jumpstarter.
In addition to the representatives of Tehnopolis, the representatives of the EIT scientific and innovative communities – EIT Health and EIT Climate, as well as the representatives of the Commercialization Reactor were also participating at the workshop.
The deadline for applications for the Jumpstarter program is April 16, 2021. 23:59h and applications are made exclusively through the application form at this link.
After selecting the submitted ideas, the selected teams will develop their idea into a business model through Bootcamp and training sessions and present them at an online pitching competition in July. After this competition, 120 teams will be selected to continue with the next phase of the program – local joint trainings that will be organized in September and during which the teams will work on creating a concise business plan for their business models.
The jury will select the three best teams from each area, who will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros for first, 7,000 euros for second and 5,000 euros for third place!
Since 2017,348 startup teams have passed through the program, and in addition to the cash prize, participation in this program opens the door to European markets and connects the best teams with three major industry partners of the EIT community, such as GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips, Roche, Bosch, Nestle, Pepsico and Maspek, among others.
All additional information can be found at the following link: https://eit.europa.eu/our-activities/opportunities/eit-jumpstarter-2021
