Three times higher investments that Romanian and regional startups can access through Startup Reaktor

12 early-stage tech businesses from Romania and South-East Europe can win up to €30,000 by participating in Startup Reaktor, a program dedicated to early-stage and tech startups from the region that want to launch in new markets. Startup Reaktor is the Romanian representative of the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program developed by EIT Digital, part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This is the third registration round of the spring edition of the Startup Reaktor 2024 program.

The EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program, third edition, is developed in Romania through the incubation platform Startup Reaktor, in partnership with Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA) and Techcelerator. Startup Reaktor is an “internationalization first” program dedicated to early-stage and very early-stage tech startups from Southeast Europe, with a focus on validation and launch in new markets.

Founder teams from Romania and Southeast Europe can apply on the F6S platform until 28 April by clicking here.

“The very good results we have recorded for the first two editions of the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program run through Startup Reaktor have prompted EIT Digital management to allocate funding of €360,000, compared to €125,000 in 2023 and 2022. This increased the number of early-stage startups that can apply to the program by 2.4 times and also increased the amount of funding that can be accessed. This program is an opportunity for young teams that want to get funding quickly and want to expand internationally,” said Cristina Țoncu, regional director of the Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA).

Startup Reaktor targets products in areas such as data automation, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, financial services, eHealth, proptech, cleantech, edutech & future of work, market places, SaaS, transport & mobility, aerospace & defence, smart-city, cyber security, gaming, data & analytics and agritech.

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For this submission round, teams that do not yet have a legal entity and start-up companies established after 1 January 2024 are eligible for funding. Teams of at least two members with an innovative business idea, who have built a prototype or already have a proof of concept in one of the areas mentioned are also eligible to apply.

Startups that apply will be evaluated on criteria such as team composition and expertise, business model, the impact targeted by the proposed product, the potential for international scaling, the size of the targeted market, identified competition, and validation actions carried out so far.

The program includes four intensive boot camps that will address topics such as adapting the business model for international development, validation techniques – together with the partner Linnify, analysis and identification of the right international market for launch, and market access.

In addition, 100 experts from ten countries in Western Europe and the Scandinavian area will mentor. The program is supported by more than 30 partners from the European tech startup ecosystem.

The EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program (previously called EIT Digital Venture Program) was launched in 2018 to support early-stage entrepreneurs in the Baltic States and South-East Europe. Starting this year, the programme is running in 24 European countries. During the first six editions, EIT Digital has supported more than 200 entrepreneurs and launched 124 startups, a number of which quickly raised investment and signed contracts with customers.