Oana Coșman
The founders can register here by October 1, 2020. Up to 12 selected startups from this specific area of focus for Techcelerator will enter the NEXT FinTech, a mixed online & offline Techcelerator program.
The acceleration program will focus on four intensive modules: Corporate sales & matchmakings with financial institutions in the region, Product Marketing, Go-To-Market, and Investment Readiness, delivered with top experts and experimented mentors and investors in the Fintech space.
The accelerator program is powered by European Fund for Southeast Europe from Luxembourg, having as program partners GapMinder VC, Google for Startups, RoFintech Association, Seedblink, TechAngels, and Stripe.
By the end of the program, according to the progress made, the startups are eligible to receive up to 200,000 euros from Techcelerator’s investment partners: GapMinder VC, TechAngels, SeedBlink, and several other regional investors.
“We are excited to support the further development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Romania, a country that is brimming with startup talent,” says Markus Aschendorf, Chairperson of the EFSE Development Facility. “Techcelerator is an experienced on-the-ground partner in seeking and fostering impactful new business ideas, and together, we are looking forward to being a part of the emergence of the next generation of Fintech experts in Romania – the <<NextFintech>> powered by EFSE”.
Techcelerator targets Fintech companies in the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or in the Beta testing phase. The start-ups should also have a feasible product, an internationally scalable solution, and a strong team.
The targeted start-ups should be in areas like alternative financing for SME’s, eCommerce & alternative financing for retail, contactless payments, personal & digital financial services, customer experience & loyalty, asset management & capital markets, open banking & new financial management systems, security, and fraud Prediction, Blockchain, Data & Predictive Analytics, RegTech, PropTech, InsurTech.
"The pandemic changed significantly many consumption behaviours, on top of the new European regulations focusing on digital banking. Having several investments in this industry we see many opportunities in Fintech and together with our partners, mentors, and successful young companies from our portfolio like FintechOS, Typing DNA, Beez, Finqware we aim to give also to new Romanian startups a boost on the market and connect them with the financial institutions in the CEE to scale regionally and more", said Cristian Dascălu, Co-Founder of Techcelerator and GapMinder VC Partner.
The fifth Techcelerator batch will have a 10 weeks program, during October 2020 – January 2021, taking place, in a mixed online-offline setup, with the support of regional corporate partners companies and approximately 60 Romanian and foreign mentors and business angels.
Additionally, at the start of the program, all the companies can enjoy benefits from Techcelerator partners, for a total package value of over 150,000 euros, consisting in Google Cloud Credits, Stripe credits, HubSpot startup accounts, Freshworks software products, and many more.
The program will end with a Demo Day event, during which they can highlight their progress and potentially attract funds from the investors’ community.
Techcelerator proudly supported over 40 startups during its previous batches and also during various assistance programs organized standalone or in partnership with other ecosystem entities. In only 2.5 years since it is established on the market, the accelerator portfolio benefited from a cumulated investment of over 5 million euros from the investment rounds attracted until now.
GapMinder is a 45 Million USD venture capital fund investing in high technology companies born in Romania and Central Europe and scaling-up at the international level, at Seed or Series A-stages. GapMinder’s partners have a hands-on approach as investors, enhancing companies’ growth via strategic advisory and direct involvement in operational streamlining, corporate governance, and financial discipline.
GapMinder’s portfolio includes companies such as FintechOS, TypingDNA, SmartDreamers, Deepstash, Frisbo, etc.
The fund is co-financed through the Competitiveness Operational Program 2014-2020.
