Successfully completed Boot Camp

Unforeseen circumstances and the entire situation with the coronavirus slowed down activities, but did not completely stop them. Although IPC Tehnopolis, Amplitudo, and the Montenegrin Science and technology park had thoroughly planned the implementation of the first pre-acceleration program in Montenegro – BoostMeUp, some activities had to be implemented differently. However, this did not affect the pace of the planned activities, and thus the Bootcamp within this program was organized online via the Zoom platform, which was also successfully implemented for the first time in Montenegro.

“BoostMeUp” is the first pre-acceleration program in Montenegro, designed for innovators, development teams in the early stages of entrepreneurship, as well as entrepreneurs who intend to introduce new and innovative products or services to the market.

A total of 47 teams with innovative ideas applied for the program, of which 19 teams were selected to present their ideas within the Bootcamp.

Due to the current situation caused by the coronavirus, the four-day online Bootcamp was held via the Zoom platform from April 13 to 16. During the Bootcamp, teams had the opportunity to present their ideas, answer questions, and work with representatives from the project consortium partners and international, regional, and national mentors such as Tanja Seneković – Slovenia, Petra Karanikić – Croatia, Vladimir Nedović – Netherlands, Maja Miljević – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Đorđe Ćelić – Serbia, Nenad Novović – Montenegro, and Darko Ivanović – Montenegro. The BoostMeUp program was also supported by the BeSME project, which included key EU expert Phillipe Geffroy – France, as well as experts Alain Kagan, Arnaud Catinot, and Jean-Luc Scherer.

Ideas and teams were evaluated based on five criteria: area of activity and alignment with the priorities of the Smart Specialization Strategy, the team, the stage of project development, innovation and competitive market solutions, and pitch.

Out of the 19 teams that participated, six ideas that were rated the best and with the greatest growth and development potential were selected to be part of the four-month BoostMeUp pre-acceleration program, within which they will receive financial support of 4500 EUR per team, a mentoring program in 7 modules, coworking space services at Code Hub Nikšić, FILA innovation labs, biotechnology laboratories, and rapid prototyping space. The selected teams are: Flourish, Seljak.me, Orhis, Zahn 265, Solar Villager, Sunrocket solar cooker.

Additionally, five ideas that were rated by the consortium of project partners and mentors as having potential for further growth and development were given the opportunity to also be part of the aforementioned four-month program and receive all the defined non-financial support as the most successful six teams. The teams that received this support are: Partour, Innat, Light4Life, Smart Bike Parking System, and the Flat Wind Generator for Highways and Urban Areas.

A very important aspect of the evaluation was the alignment with the Smart Specialization Strategy, which strengthens the competitiveness of the economy by linking its strengths in research and innovation with the needs and developmental opportunities of the economy. Achieving the main goal of the S3, i.e., a modernized and competitive Montenegro, is based on four key strategic priorities:

Sustainable agriculture and food value chain
Energy and sustainable environment
Sustainable and health tourism
Information and communication technologies (ICT)
The selected teams that moved to the next phase have focused their areas of activity on ICT combined with other fields. In Sustainable agriculture and food value chains and IT, there are 3 teams, Energy and sustainable environment and IT – 2 teams, Sustainable and health tourism and IT – 1 team. Other teams are from the following areas: Traffic and IT – 2 teams, Psychology and IT – 1 team, Creative industries and IT – 1 team, and Sports and IT – 1 team.

What’s next?

Starting Monday, May 11, all teams will continue to develop their ideas with mentors. The entire program will continue to be implemented according to current events and recommendations received. A large number of workshops, training, consultations, and work on idea development will be organized online or at IPC Tehnopolis until the final of the program, which will be held on September 22, 2020, as part of the Western Balkan Startup Forum 2020, organized by IPC Tehnopolis for the second time. Within this international event, a competition – Montenegro Pitching Contest will be organized, where teams that successfully completed the program will have the opportunity to present their innovative ideas and the knowledge and skills they gained through the program to potential investors, business angels, and representatives of national and international business communities and institutions from the country and region.

After the program ends, participants will receive support from the Business Incubator for further development of their ideas as a continuation of the program, which includes, among other things, the use of data center resources, industrial design labs, FILA innovation labs, and two biotechnology labs, as well as the use of coworking spaces and other infrastructure of IPC Tehnopolis, the Montenegrin Science and technology park, and Amplitudo.