Accelerators, incubators and platforms play an important role in building a startup ecosystem in a country. They create an environment for sharing experiences, networking, mentoring and creativity. Accelerators are growing in popularity in Poland and the variety of programs offered is getting wider and wider each year. In this article, we want to share our top picks for present accelerators, incubators and platforms that can support you in building your venture.
ReaktorX
ReaktorX is a pre-acceleration program for first-time founders, founded by Diana Koziarska and Borys Musielak. The 10-weeks accelerator helps to find experienced mentors, validate the business idea and get funded. ReaktorX is a part of Reaktor Warsaw project that includes a startup coworking space in Warsaw and networking possibilities.
Startup HUB Poland
Startup HUB Poland is a non-profit organization that supports Polish and international startups to set their team and develop business in Poland. It offers different acceleration programs as well as organizes conferences and international projects, building the startup ecosystem in the region.
MIT Enterprise Forum CEE
MIT Enterprise Forum CEE is an equity-free startup acceleration program providing legal and consultancy support for startups from the CEE region. The aim of the program is to support the development of startups by combining their potential with the knowledge and resources of leading global and regional enterprises and the experience of Polish and international mentors. MIT Enterprise Forum CEE helps startups to scale abroad, especially to the US market. The program is focused on fintech, energy, smart buildings, industry 4.0, health-tech and med-tech sectors.
HugeThing
HugeThing offers a pre-acceleration program in partnership with Google for Startups. It’s tailored for pre-seed and seed startups from the CEE the MVP or the first version of the product. It aims to validate the business model and prepare for first investments. The accelerator has many years of experience in supporting startups in the process of acquiring innovation.
NextGrid
NextGrid is a Warsaw-based accelerator, focused on startups. Their Seed Program is a 3-months acceleration program for startups that use deep learning or reinforcement learning as their central component. The program is open to startups on all stages of development beyond the concept stage. It’s 100% online and open to teams from around the world. Participants will benefit from weekly business and technical mentoring sessions as well as free cloud computing credits.
Rzeszów Startup Accelerator
Rzeszów Startup Accelerator is aimed at young, ambitious people who have innovative ideas in the field of IoT, automotive, fintech or healthcare industries. The accelerator provides comprehensive support in the form of a series of training to prepare for market entry. Each participant will have the opportunity to present their idea to investors during DemoDay organized at the end of the acceleration. Most promising projects will be assisted in obtaining financing for further business development.
Space3ac
Space3ac is an acceleration program for startups able to provide business solutions for large industry players and corporations. The accelerator offers support of international mentors, both technical and business, R&D equity-free financing, and access to corporate investors such as Orange, Orlen or PZU.
Akcelerator Gliwice
Akcelerator Gliwce supports seed projects from hardware, advanced materials, sensors, AI and robotics sectors. Akcelerator Gliwice offers co-financing of up to 1M PLN. The accelerator is open not only for startups but also for universities, research institutes or individual innovators.
Białystok Science and Technology Park
Białystok Science and Technology Park is a startup program designed for hardware, manufacturing, IT and ICT industries that have been operating for less than 3 years. There are 8 incubation rounds and each startup will have the guidance of a mentor, especially chosen for the needs of a specific project. Startups will be advised to launch their MVP and the most promising companies will be awarded an invitation to Silicon Valley.
Startup Platforms by PARP
If you have an idea for an innovative product or a service and you want to develop it with the help of experts, a startup platform may be a good place to start. Startup Platforms by Polish Agency for Enterprise Development offer services including support building business model, mentoring, accounting, law and tax services, training, office space, and many more tailored services. After a successful realisation of the incubation plan, a startup can obtain up to 1 million PLN funding.
These are the PARP Startup Platforms by verticals:
- Unicorn Hub - smart city/transport, healthcare, IT/ICT,
- Hub of Talents 2 - machinery, IT/ICT,
- Startup Heroes - food production, eco-energy, IT/ICT,
- Wschodni Akcelerator Biznesu - ecology, food and agriculture, IT/ICT,
- Start in Podkarpackie - aeronautics, transport, construction, IT/ICT,
- Idealist - energy, tourism, healthcare, IT/ICT.
Related Posts:
Best Startup Accelerators And Incubators in Lithuania (by Konrad Koncerewicz, VC Community Builder, Vestbee)
Best Startup Accelerators And Incubators in Czech Republic (by Konrad Koncerewicz, VC Community Builder, Vestbee)
How To Spot The Best Startup Accelerator? (by Cristobal Alonso, Global CEO & El Patron of Startup Wise Guys)
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