As reported by the Startup Ecosystem Rankings 2020, Poland with its booming economy is on the 27th place throughout 100 the most technologically advanced countries globally.
According to the report, there is a strong impact of public sector investments to the Polish startup ecosystem that causes “glut of artificially inflated valuations, of zombie startups that are life-supported by government funds.” Nevertheless, Poland has the potential to become a strong economic European startup hub.
AIN.TECH selected the accelerators that promote the developing of the Polish startup ecosystem.
Huge Thing
Created in 2012, Huge Thing is one of the first acceleration programs in Poland powered by SpeedUp Venture Capital Group.
For whom and what is offered: Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program in partnership with Google for Startups is dedicated to a pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE with a draft version of MVP or first version of the product from finance, marketing, HR, medicine, sustainability, gaming, e-sport, IoT, energetics areas.
Huge Thing also offers SpeedUp PoP $13,000 grant for innovators from Poland that develop technology and want to commercialize it.
Currently, the application process for both programs is closed. More details about the next programs can be found here.
Terms of participation: Participation in the program is free of charge and Huge Thing does not take equity from the startups.
Portfolio: StethoMe, Salesbook, Survicate, Vitalia and Prodio are among alumni of the Huge Thing programs.
Startup Spark
Startup Spark is a project, created by the Lodz Special Economic Zone in cooperation with 11 partners, including international corporations and local companies.
For whom: Micro- and small enterprises registered and operating in Poland no longer than 5 years in IoT, AR/VR, AI and cybersecurity areas.
What is offered: Startup Spark acceleration is based on the Venture Building model – during the acceleration process, the startup develops its solution in close cooperation with one of the program’s 11 partners that are interested in developing and implementing its product/service and with an operational mentor. Startup Spark provides investment for startups in the amount of $42,000.
Terms of participation: Startup Spark does not take equity from startups.
The recruiting process is already closed. You can follow the news on the Startup Spark’s website.
Portfolio: BeautyClick, Blesu, the Construct, Jivit, Suprema Solutions.
Startup Hub Poland
Startup Hub Poland is a non-profit foundation that has been running acceleration programs since 2012.
For whom: Startup Hub is focused on Polish startups and deep-tech innovations from the CEE region. The organisation is aimed to create a strong startup ecosystem in the CEE region by building the community where corporate and public organisations are involved.
What is offered: Startup Hub Poland provides mentorship, financial support and international investors connections to the high-tech Polish and international projects in the CEE region and helps them to expand its global presence.
Terms of participation: List of Startup Hub Poland acceleration programs and terms of participation can be found here.
Portfolio: Spottitt (UK),Housebook (Austria), Whelp (US) are among others.
Space3.ac
Space3.ac is an acceleration program for startups, young technology companies, programmers, and scientific teams that is aimed to create connections between startups and corporations or technology recipients.
For whom: Downstream space technologies solutions, as well as solutions in the field of IoT, AR/VR, Smart City, Prop-Tech, AI, HR, Hardware and Software.
What is offered: Space3.ac offers business mentorship and customer acquisition help from entrepreneurs and mentors from all over the world. It provides investment for the startups in the amount of maximum of $53,000 in cash for R&D activities for each team in the acceleration phase and more potential investment from space industry investors.
Application phase is already closed, but you can follow the news here.
Terms of participation: Participation in the program is free of charge, and the acceleration does not take equity from the startups.
Portfolio: HUGO Legal, Symmetrical, Surveily, Witbee are among others.
Orange Fab Polska
Orange Fab Polska is a startup accelerator of Telekom company Orange that has been working since 2014.
For whom: 5G, IoT, AI, Big Data, e-commerce, cybersecurity, fintech companies.
What is offered: Orange Fab Polska offers access to an international network of startups and accelerators in 18 countries and a customized program to make their business grow globally. The companies accepted in the program will receive support for pilot projects, to validate their products and market interest.
For any additional information, there is a contact e-mail.
Hub:raum Krakow
hubraum is Deutsche Telekom’s tech incubator.
For whom: It selectively invests in early-stage startups that work with massive broadband connectivity (5G) or ultra low latency (Edge), smart narrowband technology (LTE-M, NB-IoT) or further enhancing their solutions with IoT, AI and AR/VR.
What is offered: hubraum offers mentorship, investment, unique access to Deutsche Telekom’s networks, data assets, clients and technology and free coworking space in Berlin and Krakow locations. Startups are able to receive an investment of up to €1 million, in addition to financial support for any subsequent pilot project.
Terms of participation: List of hubraum Krakow acceleration programs and terms of participation can be found here. For any further information, there is a contact e-mail.
Portfolio: CiValue, Contiamo, HypeLabs are among hubraum’s alumni.
