IMPACT GROWTH, the startup acceleration programme, led by FundingBox and ISDI and backed by leading accelerators, venture capital entities and global brands, has announced the names of 14 startups selected within its first open call. These startups will receive, in the first stage, a minimum funding of €100,000 equity-free.
GymCraft, FASHION CLOUD, Bookingabus.com, YerbaBuena VR and Clarity have been selected under the Smart Content vertical, which received 41% of the applications and is led by DOCOMO Digital. In the Smart Cities and Infrastructures category, supported by Ferrovial, the selected startups are XapiX, OS Vehicle, Stratio Automotive and Watcher. For the Smart Agrifood division, led by Danone, the chosen startups are Tellspec, DelSuper.es and Farm Dog. Finally, Autonomous Manufacturing and INSYLO are the selected startup in Smart Manufacturing, partnered with MADE.
In addition to the initial funding of €100,000, two of the selected startups will each receive a further €150,000 equity-free. The best startups selected by IMPACT Growth will also be able to access private financing of €1.5 million led by Kibo Ventures and Accelerace.
The Jury Day, celebrated on 21st June in Madrid, was the pivotal moment of the startup selection process where 44 startups fought to enter the exclusive list of which 14 startups were selected for funding. A jury formed of renowned experts such as Sanyu Karani and Tomasz Mazuryk from FundingBox; Nacho de Pinedo and Rodrigo Miranda from ISDI; Peter Torstensen and Soren Lottrup from Accelerace; Aquilino Peña and Juan López from Kibo Ventures; Simona Torre from DOCOMO; Merete Norby from MADE and Isabel María González from Danone, all of whom had the challenging task of selecting the best 14 out of a total of 1900.
The selected startups will benefit from support by the FIWARE Foundation for the integration of this technology into the development of their projects. They will also participate in a training programme featuring international experts and entrepreneurs in Madrid, Copenhagen and Barcelona, plus gain access to an international network of over 100 esteemed mentors, founders and investors. Finally, the startups will participate in a range of international events organised over the course of the year by 4YFN, the business platform for the growing community of technology startups at the global level supported by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital).
The acceleration process, directed by ISDI and Accelerace, will officially launch during the second week of September, offering a week full of exclusive networking and training activities run by experts and innovation ecosystem leaders at ISDI’s headquarters in Madrid. This week will be the only part of the process whereby entrepreneurs are required to be onsite. The rest of the acceleration process will take place remotely, relying on a wide network of international mentors and participation at international events and missions.