On September 16 and 17, Macedonian and Greek finalists were pitching at the final brokerage event in Thessaloniki, which is part of the ICBA Cross-border program financed by EU IPA Interreg.
The event featured regional investment funds, business angels, VCs, and members of the project partners including Alexander Innovation Zone, SEERC, Technopolis Thessaloniki ICT Business Park, UIST “St. Paul the Apostle,” NCDIEL, and YES Foundation.
The Macedonian jury was comprised of renowned professionals including Zoran Martinovski, PrimePoint, Suzana Tunteva, Factor Trust, Eli Zhabevska, South Central Ventures, Igor Madzov, SwissEP & Startup Macedonia, Ivana Stankovic, FITR, and Elena Stojanovic, YES.
The goal of the pitching was to identify companies that are investment-ready so that our team of experts at PRIMEACCELERATOR proceed to work with them in the next stage of growth assisting them with access to finance and access to market. The jury has decided to proceed to work with the following companies:
- Esnaf Exclusive (high-end Macedonian designer products promoted and sold internationally by making a social impact): 5K Euro’s pre-seed investment and 5K Euros in consulting services
- Blink (Sharing economy eco courier service that combines an efficient use of city transport, reduce the time of delivery while making a positive environmental impact) – a free membership at the YES incubator and using all services available to their tenants, meetings with clients, investors, etc.
- Challenger 2.0 (Digital product that helps companies become socially responsible and be part of the UN SDGs Agenda) – a free membership at the YES incubator and using all services available to their tenants, meetings with clients, investors, etc.
- Bintern (online platform that connects companies with students and graduates for internship and employment through algorithmic searching and matching) – assistance with obtaining 3 months of a paid internship at an EU based company, meetings with potential clients, and additional financial advisory
- Khora – (marketplace connecting homeowners with home professionals) – assistance with obtaining 3 months of a paid internship at an EU based company and additional financial advisory
- Kenzo (Online platform for residential real estate market with great user experience for the buyers and sellers of apartments) – assistance with obtaining 3 months of a paid internship at an EU based company and additional financial advisory
The other companies will also be included in our PRIMEACCELERATOR alumni network and will receive continued mentoring and access to additional programs. We congratulated the organizers for the excellent event and the startups for their openness to learn and network.
