Black Sea Climaccelerator 2021 EN

Black Sea ClimAccelerator 2021 – The acceleration program for green startups

Inspiration, education and know-how. 300K EUR funding and investment readiness education. Support for growth and scalability.

Black Sea ClimAccelerator is a business school, as well as an accelerator for growth, a platform with access to investors and finally, a funding opportunity. If you have an innovative solution to perhaps the most talked about and worrying aspect of our world – climate change, then this accelerator is the fuel that can take your startup from idea to scaling, from prototype to investment opportunities.

The program supports 42 startups from Romania and Bulgaria, all in a complex curriculum which consists of: workshops on business modelling, marketing, sales, finance management, business consultancy and investment readiness, one-to-one mentoring sessions, pitching sessions, peer sharing, access to international events and finally, grants of 300K EUR.

Registrations were open until the 15th of September. Each selected startup takes part in one of the 3 divided categories, depending on their startup development stage and growth needs: Early Stage, MVP or Growth.

The Black Sea ClimAccelerator program is organized with the support of EIT Climate-KIC by Impact Hub Bucharest and its main partner Raiffeisen Bank România, The Climate Vertical and its main partner Volta, as well as by Innovation Starter în Bulgaria.

Here is the list of the startups that have been selected in all of the stages of the program:

Early Stage

  • AgriKultura
  • AgroWaste
  • Bioconversia
  • BioMass
  • Caserole comestibile
  • Charger.ro
  • EasyPeasy
  • Ecosete
  • Evconnect.ro
  • bLuana
  • MOTUM
  • RE – centru de economie circulară
  • Sera Aquaponica Bio
  • Spot The Fire
  • TechArtisans – Biodigestor modular
  • The Perminator

MVP

  • 2030 Builders
  • Magazin Zero Waste București
  • MallȚărănesc
  • PolyMore
  • Verdoo
  • WasteBill

Growth

  • Caminota
  • EcoTree
  • EV SPOTS Drive
  • Foldo
  • R-Create – sistem de ambalare reutilizabilă
  • Verde

Stage 3 participants – Growth (with scalable solutions)

  • Caminota have natural products for quarrying and finishing, based on clay, that can be used for both new buildings and old buildings or historical monuments. Compared to modern technologies, Caminota products have more than 100 times lower carbon footprint and are natural and healthy. 
  • EcoTree is a digital B2B waste management platform, through which clients can easily reach collectors/recycling firms and which automates the flow of documents, providing traceability, control and transparency in recycling processes. 
  • EV SPOTS Drive is an application for the first EV station network with 100% renewable fast charging. 
  • Foldo produces 100% recyclable furniture to help parents quickly and easily decorate children’s rooms.
  • R-Create is the first end-to-end reusable packaging solution that offers online shops an alternative to waste resources caused by disposable packaging.
  • Verde is a marketplace that facilitates the continuous supply of fresh ingredients to restaurants, without storage, directly from local farms and local producers.

    Stage 2 participants – MVP (who have a validated prototype)

    • 2030 Builders is a platform that helps companies implement sustainability in their organizational culture through employee engagement. 
    • Magazin Zero Waste București is a store that makes shopping for everyday-use items possible in a waste-free and sustainable way. 
    • MallȚărănesc is a digital solution that implements the short food chain, ensuring that small producers have access to the market as well as the delivery of products to consumers, therefore generating a smaller carbon footprint.
    • PolyMore provides a solution that automatically detects missorted waste. The visible video camera along with the PolyMore software platform provide instant feedback to collection companies and tenants’ associations, related to the quality of waste sorting.
    • Verdoo is a solution that gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy exclusive discounts and plant trees 100% free of charge, for each product bought online.
    • WasteBill is the easiest waste management software, through which you can align your company’s legal requirements for waste management records. It was created with and for environmental consultants and for those responsible for the record-keeping, management and reporting of environmental obligations to the authorities.

     

    Stage 1 participants 1 – Early stage (early-stage/idea stage startups)

    • AgriKultura is a platform that unites agriculture specialists with anyone that wants to start a business in this field. The users sign up and upload data on the health and performance of their crops and receive back advice based on an algorithm that combines specific expertise with predictions made by artificial intelligence (AI).  
    • AgroWaste produces biodegradable packaging from plant residues, encouraging consumer behaviors that are environmentally friendly.   
    • Bioconversia transforms organic byproducts that contaminate proteins through insects.  
    • BioMass creates high-performant, natural, and durable products, putting nature and innovation together. BioMass cultivates organic materials from mycelium, agricultural residues, and other residues from everyday activities (ex. coffee grounds) 
    • Caserole comestibile produces 100% edible storage containers that are biodegradable, easy to transport, used for food delivery. 
    • Charger.ro is the first European marketplace for solutions, equipment, and products with charging based on renewable energy. The platform has a portfolio of solutions from electrical car charging stations, to products that ensure the electrical autonomy of your house. 
    • EasyPeasy is a platform that allows restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, and bakeries, but also farmers and local producers to sell their remaining products at the end of the day at a reduced price. The application wants to help with food waste and promote sustainable behaviours to consumers.  
    • Ecoșosete comes with a line of ecological, non-sewed socks, made of recycled cotton, produced 100% in Romania, whose production saves water, electricity, uses no pesticides, does not affect arable farmlands, and releases less C02 into the atmosphere.
    • Evconnect.ro is among the front-runners in Romania who developed a network of charging stations for electric cars. They offer charging solutions for electrical cars and software for remote station management. 
    • bLuana offers plant-based products, containing all the benefits of fish meat (Omega 3, etc.), made to replace actual fish meat consumption. They have 3 prototype products: Veggie sashimi, Veggie fish fillets in tempura, Veggie fish burger.    
    • MOTUM is a MaaS application that acts as an integrator of data sources in Bucharest, stimulating drivers to choose alternative means of transport through gamification and rewards.
    • Re-BeInvolved is a unique center that accepts donations, then repairs, reuses, and redistributes them to vulnerable groups.
    • Sera Aquaponica Bio has a system through which fish might serve as plant fertilizer, which then cleans the water and pumps it back to the fish. The result: no artificial fertilizers or chemical substances used, minimal water and energy use, and greater efficiency, better than by using the conventional agriculture methods.  
    • Spot The Fire is a device that detects vegetation/forest fires close to houses and shows in real-time the active outbreaks and their magnitude.    
    • TechArtisans is a modular biodigester created to drastically lower the number of organic waste sent to dump sites. 
    • The Perminator is an application through which users can create their own food forest design. 

    Reasons to join

    Funding

    300.000 EUR total grants
    /

    Mentorship

    One-to-one sessions with experts

    Community

    Connect with leading actors in the ecosystem

    Know How

    Specially designed workshops to accelerate your startup

    Consultancy

    Resources and experts’ advice based on your needs
    l

    Events

    Access to national and international themed events

    Investors

    Connecting to investors and venture management

    Peer sharing

    International community sharing meetings
    What solutions are we looking for?
    • Eco-innovative solutions for clean urban mobility
    • Green and sustainable solutions for cities and buildings
    • Waste management projects
    • Intelligent agriculture for a cleaner climate
    • New forms of transformation of systems and logistical food chains
    • Nature education projects
    • Circular economy development projects
    • Solutions for carbon emissions
    • Green technologies and services for economic activities
    • Solutions to reduce the impact of manufacturing activities on the environment
    • Technologies, new systems and solutions that promote sustainable consumption
    • Solutions for clean, green and sustainable energy projects
    • Green transport solutions
    • Technologies or artificial intelligence solutions which have a positive impact on the environment
    • Development of sustainable materials projects

    The program is not limited to the domains mentioned above, so if you have an innovative solution that can solve some of the global problems we face nowadays, apply now! The program is suitable for green startups in the idea stage and those with a validated prototype, clients and scalable solutions.

     

    Selection criteria include:

    • Innovativeness: Is the solution new in research? Are there protected patents? Is the product or the solution already on the market?
    • Feasibility: Is the idea realistic? Is it technically feasible? Is there a prototype available? How much time would it take to get the product to market?
    • Team: Are there the “right” competencies at place? Do the members have market experience? Is there a track record to measure the startup’s performance?
    • Climate Benefit
    • Scalability: Is the idea scalable to international markets?
    • Long-term perspective: Is the concept sustainable? Can it stay on the market and bring long-term results?
    • Program-Fit
    Black Sea ClimAccelerator 2021
    Black Sea ClimAccelerator Agenda

    The program targets 3 different startup categories, based on growth and their development stage

    • Early Stage
    • MVP
    • Growth

    Support activities are specially designed for each category, and startups can take part in just one of those categories.

    • Until the 15th of September: open applications
    • 22nd of September: Announcement of selected start-ups
    • October – November: Support activities – Early Stage
    • October – November: Support activities – MVP
    • October – November: Support activities – Growth
    • 9th of December: DEMO DAY

    Find out more about the program on the organizers’ websites

    Organizers
    EIT Climate KIC
    EIT Climate-KIC is a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and climate-resilient society. Over the past 10 years, EIT Climate-KIC’s acceleration program has been the leading provider of climate innovation solutions, with over 1,500 accepted solutions and almost €1 billion of guaranteed capital.

    Impact Hub Bucharest

    Impact Hub Bucharest is the dynamic space where professionals and entrepreneurs work to develop business projects and initiatives. Since 2012, Impact Hub Bucharest is the first coworking space in Romania, with a community of about 2,000 members in 2 central locations in Bucharest, and globally the organization is present in over 100 locations in over 50 countries. Impact Hub Bucharest’s mission is to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering startup acceleration programs and direct funding, as well as the largest online entrepreneurial education platform.

    The Climate Vertical

    The Climate Vertical is an initiative in Romania that aims to solve critical climate challenges by activating and engaging the community to help startups build sustainable solutions. We believe that every climate challenge creates the space for a great business opportunity. We build TCV on our 4+ years of experience working with startups and deliver programs designed to (A) bring people together to support each other, (B) inspire them to get started, (C) educate them to build solutions people really need, (D) accelerate the growth of teams willing to scale their solutions globally. The Climate Vertical’s values are the red thread running through the programs: Focus on impact and drive change, Aim high and start now, Innovate for a sustainable future, Respect nature and those around you.

    Innovation Starter

    Innovation Starter is Bulgaria’s first specialised innovation agency, founded by Leona Aslanova in 2014. It works with business (companies and startups), the public sector, academia and the non-governmental sector to design a long-term innovation culture. Innovation Starter’s mission is for Bulgaria to become a leading European innovation country.

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