The ACCELERATOR project, which incubated more than 170 startups in the Danube Region, including 23 teams in Hungary, has come to an end. The international incubation program spanning 2,5 years in 8 countries, led by Széchenyi Venture Capital Fund Management Ltd. concluded via a two-day conference. Among others, the HUNBAN Angel Investment Day 2019 also hosted Peter Cowley, president of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), an entity which has over 150 member organizations. Let us see what the event reserved for the audience!

The best of the business angel scene

The two-day summit, which began on the 28th of May, was held in two venues in Budapest, BRKLYN and Akvarium, with nearly 200 registered participants for the program. In addition to the closing event of the ACCELERATOR project, this event also included the program series of HUNBAN Angel Investment Day organized by the Hungarian Business Angel Network (HUNBAN). The investor side is closely related to the accelerator phases: recently launched small and medium-sized enterprises are more and more keen on using financial resources from angel investors on the domestic market, as well as utilizing their professional mentoring and networking assistance. The lecture series gave an insight into the activities of business angels like Peter Cowley, President of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), Antal Károlyi, President of the Hungarian Business Angel Network (HUNBAN) and Péter Balogh, founder of angel investment firm Baconsult.

We can call the economy of a country innovative if more promising startup companies, small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in the market. Business angels play an important role in Hungary in this matter, as they monitor the operation of the management and help the business with their capital, advice, and professional relationships – said Antal Károlyi, president of HUNBAN.

ACCELERATOR in a nutshell

The ACCELERATOR project, under the professional leadership of Széchenyi Capital Fund Management Ltd., aimed at startups, early-stage businesses and entrepreneurs in Austria, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia&Herzegovina and Hungary. Enterprises participating in the program received extensive mentoring in areas such as intellectual property, business planning, market research, legal issues and marketing. In one year, two Hungarian accelerator phases were organized by the Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency, which was successfully completed by 23 teams. Participating startups, mentors and representatives of accelerator programs from surrounding countries were able to share their experience at the conference.

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Within the framework of the ACCELERATOR program, we have laid the foundations of our international network of relationships, working with excellent partners over the past 2,5 years. Thanks to the program, we have found partners in the countries of the Danube Region, as well as in the German-speaking countries, who will be our cooperating partners in the international construction of portfolio of around 100 companies. In addition to these goals, we are very pleased that the project made a number of founding teams ready to level up. We see these companies getting closer to their goals with the help of our mentoring – said József Török, Business Development and Start-up Investment Director of Széchenyi Capital Fund Management Ltd., professional manager of the program.