The most active accelerator in Macedonia X Factor Accelerator announces its new Investment Program and investments of up to 100,000 Euros in startup companies and additional technical support, mentoring and access to partnering companies. Open Call for application until March 15 with total investment budget of 300 000 euros that will be invested in 3-5 startups

X Factor Accelerator is the first of the three accelerators supported by FITD through the World Bank, which in the past year made two investments in the total amount of 200,000 euros in startups - Matryoshka and Vision Dynamix teams.

This year, despite the challenges of the corona crisis – X Factor Accelerator continues to create an environment that stimulates and encourages the development of new businesses by supporting growth for regional/global expansion.

What criteria do startups have to meet to apply to the call?

What we require from the companies as a condition for entry into the Investment Program:

• A well-established, experienced and dedicated team,
• Formed product that is in the market validation phase,
• Sales to the first clients,
• The company should be registered in North Macedonia with at least 51% ownership by Macedonian citizens

This year the focus is on innovative solutions from any industry with potential for global growth

What do startups get under the Investment Program?

This program aims to bring companies as quickly as possible to investment and new markets. For this purpose, X Factor Accelerator will start negotiations for investment and mentoring support with 5 to 10 of the applied companies through:

1. A specialized mentoring program conducted by our team, as well as by experienced mentors from partner organizations: FITD, World Bank, SwissEP, Startup Macedonia, Senior Experts Program.
2. In addition to expert assistance, we will emphasize the validation of existing solutions and business models for access to local and international markets with the experienced teams of our corporate partners such as Oracle for startups and other local and global corporations.
3. Technical support for companies through the advancement of their marketing strategy, digital presence and brand development with the Monday digital agency team, additional development and/or validation of software solutions with the expert support of IT professionals from SkillUp Academy and access to new markets through 36 Chambers .

The most important resource that startups receive during the program, apart from finance, is overall support for networking and increasing the visibility of businesses.

The accelerator enables the exchange of knowledge and experiences between the entrepreneurs themselves, from which there is a huge potential for the emergence of a large number of new partnerships.

  

What is the application process?

1. 18.02 Declaration of Interest: Applications are made through our website by sending a brief description of the business idea by filling in and attaching the application form in which the business is explained,
2. 09.03 Ask me Anything: A live session to ask the audience anything that interests them;
3. 15.03 EvaluationApplications that will be assessed by the Project Evaluation Committee to be the most innovative and have the potential for growth will qualify for entry into the next phase;
4. 20.03 Validation: In this phase, the selected teams should submit additional documents such as Pitchdeck, Financial Projections, CaseStudy which would confirm the initial business concepts and presentation before the Evaluation Committee;
5. 01.04 Negotiations and Mentorship: Inclusion of 5-10 companies in an 8-week Investment program and preparation of the company for investment through mentoring, expert support, meetings with potential clients and partners as well as presentation at local and regional events.
6. 01.06 Demo day: Startups are presenting before the Investment Board and the network of partners, corporations and investors who will select the companies with which the final investment negotiations will begin;
7. 01.07 Signing the Investment agreement: Finalizing the negotiation process and signing investment agreements.

What should I expect from X Factor Accelerator?

X Factor Accelerator aims to make an investment in the period of 4-6 months from application to the program in the amount of 30,000 to 100,000 euros per company, depending on the stage of development. The X Factor Accelerator aims to become a minority partner, with a percentage share in the company that is a subject to negotiation. A representative of the accelerator will get a seat on the board of directors and will continuously help in making strategic decisions and connecting the company with potential partners, clients and international investment funds.

This years' call is officially launched and we expect your applications until March 15, 2021 via the X Factor Accelerator website: http://xfacc.mk/

Responsible contact person: Jozefina Simitčieva 078 377 504