This 4 week programme consists of 40 hours of theory and practical workshops led by professional mentors, industry experts, and experienced entrepreneurs. The topics range from legal and IP protection, to pitch deck design, to agile methodology, and more. Entrepreneurs learn how to choose and adapt appropriate business models, how to raise funds, and how to build a marketing and sales strategy. They also receive soft skills trainings, which include building leadership skills and team management. The programme is adapted to the needs of participating start-ups.

“Although there are many start-ups with great products that apply to our accelerator programmes, we have noticed that they are often missing critical business skills, which are needed for their market success – says Christo Balinow, InnoEnergy’s Business Development Director for CEE, Middle East and North America. – We created Primer, to fill this knowledge gap, and to increase the entrepreneurial potential in the region”.

In each country, the Primer programme ends with a local Demo Day, where all teams make a four minute pitch, followed by a three minute Q&A from the jury and audience. By the end of the programme start-ups develop a set of deliverables that are required by potential investors, which include a letter of intent, a go-to-market strategy, a roadmap, and a competitive landscape.

The upcoming edition of the Primer will be run in all twelve InnoEnergy Hubs. The first pilot edition of the programme took place in the past spring in four countries: Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Today, over 50 entrepreneurs have completed the Primer programme.

Primer is a free, nonprofit programme. We invite all early-stage start-ups from the Hub countries to apply.

For general information about the Primer, please contact the programme’s coordinator Bartlomiej Tokarski at bartlomiej.tokarski@innoenergy.com

If you are interested in joining the upcoming and next editions as a participant, mentor, or partner of the programme, please contact the local organizers directly:

InnoEnergy Hub Bulgaria hubbulgaria@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Croatia hubcrotia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Estonia hubestonia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Greece hubgreece@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Hungary hubhungary@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Latvia hublatvia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Lithuania hublithuania@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Romania hubromania@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Serbia hubserbia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Slovakia hubslovakia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Slovenia hubslovenia@innoenergy.com

InnoEnergy Hub Turkey hubturkey@innoenergy.com