The final editions of IMPACT Accelerator’s Acelera Startups program came to an end on May 29 with a celebration at ISDI business school in Madrid.
The programs, from Spain’s Escuela de Organización Industrial (EOI) and IMPACT Accelerator from ISDI, provided a 100% subsidized accelerator program for early-stage startups.
Part of a broader public-private partnership which witnessed Acelera Startups programs offered from educational institutions and accelerators across the country, ISDI’s IMPACT Accelerator celebrated the success of its programs in Madrid, Barcelona, and a Digital program open to startups across the country.
To celebrate the achievement, ISDI hosted a capstoone closing event at its headquarters for the 4th Madrid cohort that featured informational discussions on themes ranging from AI to startup branding, as well as an exposition where startups from the cohort pitched their companies in front of various investors.
Startups that participated in the all-day event came from a range of different industries, including health-tech and wellness, sports, artificial intelligence (AI), human resources, sustainability, pet-tech, edu-tech and personal development.
Overall, over three days, IMPACT Accelerator hosted four events with 20 investors and over 60 startups. y 60 startups.
The events were organized by IMPACT Accelerator’s Head of Startups and Innovation, Nacho Hortal; Project Manager Ana Aguilar Pérez; and Paloma Alarcón Núñez, an intern with IMPACT Accelerator.
Also in attendance was special guest Fernando Garrido, director of public funding programs at the EOI Business School.
As part of the Acelera Startups program designed by ISDI, participating projects evolved and matured their ideas over the course of weeks.
Participating startups received a total of 52 hours of workshops and group activities, as well as 40 hours of personalized mentoring designed to boost project growth and development, along with networking opportunities and access to funding.
With more than 3,365 active technology startups in Spain by the end of 2024, acceleration programs act as catalysts for growth, allowing many emerging startups to overcome initial barriers and scale their business models.
Acelera Startups has supported over 100 startups with its acceleration programs, of which 97 have completed or are in the process of completing.
IMPACT Accelerator also noted that the program carried out more than 40 networking events and over 2,000 hours of mentorship for startup founders.
Since its inception, IMPACT Accelerator has accelerated hundreds of companies and distributed more than €80 million in funding.
Some notable startups from the program include e-bot7 (acquired by LivePerson), Antlos (acquired by Sailology), Wheeliz (acquired by APF France Handicap), and Clarity AI, which raised €50 million from investors like SoftBank and BlackRock, and reached a valuation of $450 million.