6 Years of the EIT Digital Venture Program – and 6 success stories that make us proud

Don’t get us wrong – we love all of our teams, whether they are included in the list you will see below or not. We talk about successes, but the opposite is not failure. All teams learn valuable things in the process, making their journey worthwhile.  

Found.ation has been implementing the EIT Digital Venture Program in the Eastern Balkans region, providing early-stage startups with a comprehensive acceleration program and mentoring, for six consecutive years. During these years, many companies were able to stand out and gain additional funding beyond the support of the program. So, we’d like to focus on these here, just to show how the program can act as a starting point and how these teams made the most of it, and of course to offer some inspiration for your venture – which could be featured next (but first, apply!).

EIT Digital Venture Program: An overview 

The accelerator is specifically designed to assist new startups in developing and completing their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), establishing their company’s legal foundation, and seeking their first funding with the help of experienced mentors from Found.ation’s team and the network of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. The program offers funding of up to €25,000 per company (with an initial €5,000 provided to each selected team, followed by €10,000 upon completion of the acceleration cycle, and an additional €10,000 if they secure their first funding by the end of November). In addition to funding, the EIT Digital Venture Program provides specialist support for MVP development and completion, training in entrepreneurial thinking and networking opportunities.  

The Success Stories of EIT Digital Venture Program 

Throughout these 6 years, the program has generated numerous success stories for startups. OMNIO, a Bulgarian company, was one of the seven winners of the pan-European prize in 2020 and received an additional €10,000 from EIT Digital, while raising €450,000 in total funding. Their ML and AI-supported solution offers compliance checks, customer automation, anti-money laundering, and fraud checks. In 2022, Terra+, a company with the goal of enhancing transparency and traceability in agri-food products, was also awarded the Final Prize II (€10.000), while having over €50,000 in additional funding. 

Two additional companies managed to exceed 200,000 euros in financing. Oliveex, a 2020 program graduate, closed a €270.000 financing round in March 2022 to expand its team. The company provides an IoT platform for monitoring food storage and fermentation conditions. The 2019 winner, Alumni Reach, whose platform connects companies with former employees to capitalize on alumni network opportunities, raised €200,000 in financing.

Two more standout companies, considered pioneers in Deep Tech, emerged from the EIT Digital Venture Program. Enforge, a production management application designed for small businesses, secured €90,000 in funding and the support of EIT Manufacturing. Additionally, Morphé, a developer of precision 3D printing software, raised €160,000 in funding, receiving support from Horizon 2020. 

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Applications for participation in the EIT Digital Venture Program 2023 are currently open. If you are a founder of a startup that meets the specifications, you can apply on the EIT Digital Venture Program website. Hurry up – the deadline for application submissions is April 16, 2023! 

So far, the EIT Digital Venture Program has provided a total of 580,000 euros to 41 selected startups on the eastern side of the Balkans. Through the Venture Program, 124 new technology companies have been created at a pan-European level. 

Will you be the next team to join our #FoundationFamily?