Amorim Cork Ventures, that is about to launch ‘Cork Challenge Barcelona’, an international accelerator program in partnership with Beta-i, has decided to extend the applications deadline, in view of the large number of requests that are coming in.
The program, that will be taking place from October to December 2016, is built around an 8-week acceleration program. The applications stage, that started on July 11th, and was to last until August 31st, has now been extended until September 21st. The selection phase will then take place, until September 28th.
According to Paulo Bessa, General Director of Amorim Cork Ventures: “Our bet in this program reflects the consolidation of the company as an innovation player in the cork industry. So, and considering the more than 250 applications we received so far, it makes all the sense to extend the deadline, because we want to attract as many quality startups as possible. We believe that the program can only benefit from this great influx of teams”. The ‘Cork Challenge Barcelona’ will select a maximum of 14 startups. The chosen teams will have 8 weeks of individual coaching and pitch practice sessions. They will also be exposed to numerous workshops & mentoring sessions, that are key to the development of the business model and product ‘market-fit’.
The program also includes access to Amorim Cork Ventures consultants that, together with the Beta-i network, means access to a platform of more than 200 mentors and over 500 startups, as well as top events.
"The main criteria is the quality of the startups that will be under pressure to adapt to industry standards and requirements, while also pushing the structure of Amorim Cork Ventures and to respond in time, testing its responsiveness and flexibility", says Pedro Rocha Vieira, CEO and co-founder at Beta-i.
