On Monday, July 10, at the Creative Industries Center, Artcor, the nine finalist teams of Moldova's first acceleration program for CreaTech startups, Creative Accelerator, presented their projects to a jury composed of national and international experts. Based on their evaluation, CPOST Studio, specialized in visual effects and video post-production, was declared the winner of the grand prize. They will receive financial support of $5000 from the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) to expand their sales and attract partners from abroad.
In addition, during the event, the teams from CPOST, HealthXR, and Inima Pură were awarded certificates worth $1500 by the Future Technologies Project in order to participate in an international conference in the creative field. The winners expressed their gratitude to the organizers of the Creative Accelerator program for the experience gained, especially for the chance to present their startup to investors.
"We thank the Yep! Moldova team, especially Viorica Cerbușca and Margarita Ursu, for their openness and support throughout the learning process. The knowledge obtained during the mentoring sessions was of great help to our team, and by learning to structure and present our project correctly, we were able to achieve this victory," said Ilia Crestincov, a member of the CPOST team.
In total, 9 teams reached the final of the Creative Accelerator program and, for 6 months, worked closely with colleagues and project mentors to develop their ideas and demonstrate their scaling capabilities. Together, they went through four stages: Inspiration, Ideation, Incubation, and Acceleration. The last stage, Demo Day, took place on July 10 and was decisive in determining the project with the most scalable potential. The pitching session took place in a presentation format (4 minutes) with responses (2 minutes) for each participant. For the first time, such an event included a Demo Zone, where the products and services of the participants could be tested or visualized.
Creative Accelerator is a program aimed at connecting creative startups with experienced mentors and entrepreneurs. It is worth mentioning that creators and artists developing new and growing brands in the CreaTech environment were admitted to participate. The 9 finalist teams include projects aimed at implementing recyclable circular fashion, offering innovative learning experiences in chemistry for middle and high school students, improving the quality of medical studies through the use of VR glasses, and others. All participating projects in the accelerator went through a rigorous selection process, and the progress of the 9 finalist teams is truly remarkable. Congratulations to all participants: VinArt, HomeLab, Memphis, CPOST, LAEN Studio, Artnfuze, FELICITA, HealthXR, Inima Pura.
The accelerator is implemented by Yep! Moldova and Artcor. Financial support is provided by the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) - a regional $150 million fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova, with over 28 years of investment experience in small and medium-sized companies. The program partner is the Future Technologies Project, funded by USAID, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
