Climate-KIC Accelerator Bulgaria Is Open for Applications by Cleantech Startups
The Climate-KIC Accelerator Bulgaria program is open for the second consecutive year for applications by start-ups with ideas in the field of clean technology, environmental protection and sustainable energy solutions. Climate-KIC Accelerator is the largest European entrepreneurial initiative for clean technologies to tackle climate change. It is held by the Cleantech Bulgaria NGO and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Those willing to apply for the program must complete the application form on the Climate-KIC Accelerator website no later than July 3. The application must include a brief presentation of the company and the team.
The program will select eight teams that will go through a number of training sessions for 14 weeks. The sessions include mentoring courses, lectures and workshops for development of strategies behind the products, their marketing and presentation to investors. The teams will also work on individual schedules and on individual tasks and objectives pursuant to the nature of the business idea.
The format of Climate-KIC Accelerator is open to start-up companies at an advanced stage of development but also for those who do not have a ready-made project but have studied the market well and are ready to start their business during the 14 weeks of the program. Ideas offering sustainable energy solutions, innovations to tackle pollution and climate change, purification systems, etc. will be assessed. A basic requirement for all candidates is to have a well-formed team, a good level of English and a possibility for responsible participation in the training program for the period from August to December 2017.
The selection of the most promising eight teams and their ideas will take place in two stages. The initial selection is made by a local jury based on the submitted projects in the completed application form. The selected finalists from the first stage will have to present their ideas to an international jury consisting of representatives of the accelerator network. The best Bulgarian companies that will join the program will be announced at the end of July. In addition, the international jury will have to determine the amount of the grant that each team will receive, depending on the needs of the development on the way to its realization. The amount of the financial support is between EUR 15 000 and EUR 25 000.
Those who have participated in the first edition of Climate-KIC in Bulgaria will continue to develop their businesses. In 2016, the following companies took part in the accelerator: Agnon with a highly efficient and economical solid fuel burner “Gamera”; Coco Farm with IoT platform for management of egg and livestock farms; Ener Wall with the development of a home hydro-bathtub that allows users to store electricity at night and use it when needed; Green Corp, which develops an automated urban greenhouse; Mtech Bulgaria with a smart cloud system that monitors and controls the energy consumption in buildings in real time; Nano Bio Rem with the application of nanotechnologies for detoxification of water and soil; Synec with its platform for the integration of electric vehicles; and Hala Innovations, which is working on an innovative energy storage system in a compact electric battery.
