OPEN CALL for participation in the start-up program Tourism Innovations in the Vardar region

Description of the Program

The Center for Development of the Vardar Planning Region announces a call for applications in the start-up program within the framework of the Inno Ecosystem project.

The program is intended to support teams with innovative ideas at an early stage of the development of the idea in the field of tourism. All interested teams working on the development of an idea, application, platform or that have already a solution in the prototype phase can apply to the start-up program.

Region

The program supports the development of innovative solutions in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the Vardar region

The program provides:

®free mentoring and training services for defining business models

®networking opportunity

®presentation of business ideas to potential investors

THE CALL IS OPEN UNTIL 20 AUGUST 2003

All those interested can apply at the following link: START-UP PROGRAMME

What do you get?

The main goal of the tourism start-up program is to promote the development of innovative solutions in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the Vardar region.

Participants in this program will receive:

• free Design Thinking training and certificate for it (the market value of the training is 1,000 euros)
• free mentorship from eminent domestic and international professionals at a 48-hour hackathon
• access to investors – presentation of business ideas to potential investors – investment networking event
• space for discussion on trends and future perspectives on the topic of tourism at a specially organized Round Table
• and, of course, lots of new contacts and great fun

Who can apply?

The program is intended to support teams with innovative ideas in the development phase. All interested teams working on the development of some idea, application or solution for a certain problem in the field of tourism can apply to the program.

The program does not support ideas of individuals. The idea should be presented by a team of at least two members.

Conditions for participation:

• Only teams consisting of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 members can participate in the Program.
• the ideas and concepts that will be submitted should be in the field of tourism within the proposed topics and beyond
• the proposed business solutions refer to the Vardar region
• the solution can build on an existing product, but the team must demonstrate that it is also developing it during the hackathon
• age of participants: no restrictions

A maximum of 20 participants (team members) will be selected to participate in the program.

Only selected teams can compete in the hackathon.

The participants who will be selected will sign a statement committing themselves to actively participate in the entire start-up program: a five-day training on Design Thinking (the first step for testing a business idea) and the hackathon (developing and testing business models).

Suggested topics / challenges that should be addressed by the business idea applied for (the list is not final and limiting)

• innovative tourism solutions that promote sustainability and positively impact local communities
• “smart” destinations and “smart” mobility
• rural development
• catering
• software and technology tourism solutions

Criteria for selecting an idea

• innovation and creativity of the solution
• understanding of the described problem
• team compatibility

Time frame of realization of the start-up program

The start-up program will be implemented in September in Veles.

July 20 – August 20: Open call for participation in the start-up program for the development of business ideas in the field of tourism.

The call was published on 20.07.2023.

The application will take place exclusively electronically, by filling out the application at the following link: START-UP PROGRAMME

Applicants will be notified of application status in early September 2023.

September 11 – 15, 2023: Design Thinking training (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

This training is based on Design Thinking methodology adapted for start-up businesses.

Through the five stages of the training, participants will be guided through the process of validating business ideas and creating a viable start-up. During the training, participants will work on: finding, validating and acquiring clients, as well as developing their team and teamwork, communication and other skills.

At the end, every participant who successfully and regularly goes through the training will receive a “Design Thinking Certificate for Startup Innovation”.

September 21 – 23: 48-hour Hackathon

The hackathon will connect participants with eminent tourism mentors in order to further develop their tourism, travel and hospitality ideas / products / services and discover new technologies.

Selected hackathon participants will spend 48 hours validating their ideas, networking, and being mentored by industry professionals. At the end, they will have the opportunity to present their ideas and solutions to a panel of potential investors, company directors and entrepreneurs.

The start-up program:

Tourist innovations in the Vardar region is organized by the Center for Development of the Vardar Planning Region within the project “Creating an innovative ecosystem to support the employment opportunities of IT young talents in the cross-border region” (INNO-ECOSYSTEM). The INNO – ECOSYSTEM project is co-financed by the European Union and the national funds of the participating countries