Aspire

Date of Implementation: 01.09.2022 – 01.12.2022

Description of the Project:
Aspire Balkans is a pre-accelerator program whose goal is to create a community of women entrepreneurs coming from the Balkan countries, and who want to build startups from their innovative ideas. This program aims to build a network of women’s businesses that will connect and encourage creative women from the region to be entrepreneurs and leaders, collaborate and empower each other.

The program was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, with the main partner Aspire program at the AtoBe accelerator in Jerusalem. In Macedonia, the official partner is TAKT , and from Kosovo STIKK, ICT association.

In the open call of the program, chapter Macedonia/Kosovo, 60 applications arrived. Due to the large number of applications, the chapter was divided into 2 cycles. The first cycle was attended by 34 participants, of which the best 13 gave their presentation last week. Part of the jury were Ivana Stankovic, Fund for Innovations in Macedonia, Mihail Mizrahi, AtoBe Accelerator Israel, Liora Kaspi Investor from Israel, Vjolca Chavoli, STIKK from Kosovo.

The program received huge support from the Palladium Group by providing consultancy assistance to all 13 finalists, to help them in the process of developing their startup/business idea, and of course to help them secure access to finance. The first places in the evaluation went to participants Marija Burgieva with O-Krug and Olga Rajcic with Challenger, who shared the first place and will have the opportunity to present themselves at the Demo Day of the Aspire program in Israel and present to numerous investors. Then second place went to Kamelia Kostovska with SWAP and Jona Kastrati from Kosovo in third place with the business idea Internet Clinic.

The program has already planned numerous activities related to special sessions for the development and assistance of the participants in the next period and expansion of the activities in Macedonia and the countries in the region.

Supported by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel