InnovX-BCR, the technology business accelerator programme, has selected seven Scaleups alumni from the 11 start-ups that entered the bootcamp between 1 November and 16 December 2021. The seven companies have entered the post-acceleration phase, where they will have access to top investors and executives. Alumni will participate in the Elevator Pitch, in front of BCR’s top management team, and the Demo Day, pitching in front of potential investors.
The technology companies are active in the installation industry, aviation, medical equipment, fiber optics, all-in-one computer systems and fintech. The following start-ups became alumni as a result of the accelerator program:
- ICS International Cooling Systems (Romania) – company specialized in the design and execution of cooling, filtration and water treatment installations
- Fagura (Moldova) – a fintech that created a P2P lending platform (alternative investment in lending), registered in Estonia and launched in Moldova, with the ambition to become a digital bank
- Coinscrap Finance (Spain) – a fintech/insurtech company offering micro financial planning services for banks and insurance companies
- OLSTRAL (Romania) – manufacturer of aviation, defence and space parts, which has divisions specialised in sales of advanced CNC manufacturing equipment and IoT solutions for industrial applications, as well as medical equipment (orthopaedic implants)
- Headlight Solutions (România (Romania) – IT company providing B2B technology products and solutions, offering shielded computers, All-in-One computers, self-service terminals, conferencing systems or ellaborate software
- Fibercon (Romania) – manufacturer of fiber optic cables
- STEMI (Slovakia) – company that creates tools for paramedics and medical professionals who manage patients in the most sensitive cases of heart attack, stroke and trauma.
“Out of the 11 companies that were selected in the accelerator programme, 7 start-ups from four countries will continue to be supported and promoted to potential partners and investors. Companies with turnover or attracted funding of more than EUR 1 million are looking for partnerships, new customers and business consolidation. The InnovX-BCR Accelerator supports these businesses to grow further on a solid foundation, with access to top executives, investors and mentors to help them scale further,” declares Ana-Maria Crețu, BCR Social Banking Coordinator.
“In 2021 InnovX-BCR accelerated 45 start-ups, surpassing 110 companies in the last three years. We have started the applications for this year’s programs and we plan to accelerate two groups of start-ups of about 20 companies each and we will initiate a group dedicated to investors, Romanian entrepreneurs who want to form VCs in order to further support technology ideas Created in Romania,” says Diana Dumitrescu, CEO InnovX-BCR.
The start-ups were selected by a jury composed of: Dragoș Petre (Partner Morphosis Capital), Sorin Vișan (Executive Director – IT Solutions at BCR), Liviu Munteanu (Partner Founders Bridge), Bogdan Hristescu (Regional Director FIS&T Euronet Worldwide), Nicu Iancu (President I2DS2), Elena Barsu (CFO Intesasanpaolo), Ana Bobîrcă (Chief Investment Officer CEFS), Diana Dumitrescu (CEO InnovX), Daniel Dumitrescu (CIO InnovX), Luiza Drăghicean (Growth and Community Manager InnovX) and Silviu Florea (Program Manager InnovX).
The companies participated in a 12-week bootcamp in which they had access to parallel educational programs dedicated to different members of the start-ups according to their responsibilities: 1. CEO – Financial and business education program to attract grant and equity funding; 2. CIO – Innovation education program and 3. CTO – Emerging Technology Education Program.
The Accelerator is a project in partnership with UiPath, Microsoft, Startup Grind, Mindspace and MIT CEE Forum. BCR covers the costs for all scholarships allocated to entrepreneurs in this project, courses and logistical costs. More details about the InnovX-BCR Accelerator: www.bcr.ro/accelerator and www.innovx.eu.