The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Ascendis, the training and consulting company active in Romania and Moldova, have launched IncubatorX SME, a program allowing companies in Romania and the region to "engage with top entrepreneurs and consultants, who will support them in turning their ideas into innovative products and services."

SMEs with revenues below EUR 50 million from Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia can apply for the program on the XbyAscendis website until February 28.

More than 100 SMEs are expected to apply to IncubatorX SME, out of which up to 20 companies will be selected. The selected companies will work on their ideas together with Ascendis innovation experts. 

The program consists of three phases and will start on March 15. In the first phase, selected teams will speak to successful entrepreneurs and visit their companies (virtually or, if the epidemiological context allows, in person). In the second phase, teams will participate in facilitated workshops and a hackathon, where they will learn to validate their business idea, build a viable business plan and prepare for incubation.

The third phase, incubation, will incorporate 5 to 7 teams and will run for 16 weeks, during which teams will continue to work on their business idea and will benefit from mentoring, workshops, and project management support. The result of their work should be a viable product ready for launch at the end of the program. Access to the incubation phase is based on jury selection. The jury includes EBRD experts, Cornel Amariei, CEO and founder of .lumen, and Ionuț Tarcea, co-founder XByAscendis.

Participation in the first two stages is free of charge, and the third stage requires a participation fee of EUR 784. The cost of the participation in the program is made possible by funding provided by the European Union under Horizon 2020.

"Over the past three years, together with the European Union, the EBRD has supported over 50 advisory projects that have helped innovative companies in Romania to grow their business and become more competitive. Now we want to expand this support by offering companies in Romania and the region access to new instruments that stimulate innovation," Mark Davis, EBRD Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria, said.

"In recent years, we have proven that innovation can also start in Romania. We've learned a lot along the way, and we want to teach other companies how to turn the region's native creativity into innovation, into new products and services. Within the program, we will teach SMEs to create first versions of innovative products or services," Cornel Amariei, CEO & founder of .lumen and Ascendis consultant, said.

(Photo:  Pop Nukoonrat | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com