The first Call For Entrepreneurship came to life in mid-October. With the active support of our partners from the Ignition Partners Network, a critical goal was achieved: the unleashing of the entrepreneurial spirit in hundreds of new entrepreneurs whose dreams and global ambitions are founded in solid scientific and technological backgrounds.
The numbers on record are the best testimony of the enthusiastic response that the Call received: nearly 400 registrations on our web-based platform, 143 submitted projects and teams of 386 entrepreneurs and a total potential investment of 49.4M euros.
It was indeed a good start to what we all hope will also be a better future for many of those who have dared to dream!
 | Life Sciences |
 | ICT, Electronics & WEB 107 Submissions 35,9M€ Funding for Seed Phase 335 k€ Average Investment |
 | Endogenous Resources, Nanotechnologies and Materials 17 Submissions 5,8 M€ Funding for Seed Phase 341 k€ Average Investment |
The evaluation process began with the Portugal Ventures Seed Innovation Capital team working hard with entrepreneurs and experts to qualify and select the most promising investment opportunities. At the beginning of December, entrepreneurs of the almost 100 selected projects were invited to prepare and present a live pitch presentation and Q&A session with an expert assessment panel.
The projects’ assessment involved 20 panels with a total of more than 60 experts, in 10 different countries (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA). We are grateful for having alongside us experts who have generously offered their experience, knowledge, time and effort to ensure the soundness and quality of our investment decisions. Meet some of these experts here.
Now, we are working with the entrepreneurs of the selected projects, to whom we will present investment term sheets, and expect the first investments of the Ignition Programme to occur in March.
16.01.2013
