Acceleration Support Programme
The WE-RISE acceleration programme is tailored to create tangible impacts for women-led startups, enabling them to thrive in the competitive European innovation ecosystem while contributing to the green transition.
Programme Goals
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Enhance the market presence of women-led startups.
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Improve investment readiness and access to funding.
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Foster ecosystem integration through cross-border collaborations.
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Empower women entrepreneurs to scale their innovations and drive sustainable growth.
Two-Phase Support Structure
​Phase 1 – Nurture - Duration 3 months
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Focuses on foundational growth through targeted training, workshops, and coaching.
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Startups develop or refine their Strategic Action Plans (SAPs) with the guidance of dedicated business coaches.
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Topics include investment readiness, market entry strategies, product development, and regulatory navigation.
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Participants receive an initial grant of €5,000 to engage in critical growth activities like networking and partnership building.
Phase 2 – Bloom - Duration 4 months
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Supports the implementation of the SAPs developed in Phase 1 over a 4-month period.
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Offers advanced business coaching, investor matchmaking, and stakeholder engagement.
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Top-performing startups from Phase 1 receive an additional grant of €50,000 to further scale their solutions.
Key Features of the Program
Business Coaching
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Each startup is paired with an experienced coach who provides personalized guidance throughout the program.
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Coaches help startups identify growth opportunities, overcome challenges, and align their strategies with market demands.
Investor Matchmaking
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Startups are connected with a curated network of investors, corporates, and public procurers aligned with their profiles.
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Activities include pitch preparation, investment readiness assessments, and one-on-one meetings with potential funders.
Showcase and Matchmaking Events
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Startups present their progress and innovations at curated events attended by investors, corporates, and public-sector stakeholders.
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These events amplify visibility and open doors to cross-border collaborations and market opportunities.
Workshops and Learning Nuggets
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Startups participate in hands-on workshops covering diverse topics like revenue modeling, funding strategies, and scaling operations.
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Bite-sized “Learning Nuggets” provide easily accessible, on-demand training to address immediate knowledge gaps.
Networking and Peer Learning
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Roundtables, peer review sessions, and thematic discussions facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration among startups.
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Opportunities to network with industry experts, mentors, and ecosystem stakeholders.
Meet Your Mentors
Valentine Louis, AgTech and innovation strategy coach at BPI France
Passionate about AgriTech, she supports financing and developing agricultural projects. With expertise from Bpifrance and the French Chamber of Commerce, she has built SME acceleration programs, led innovation communities, and assessed funding applications for France 2030. A graduate of La Sorbonne, AgroParisTech, and Neoma Business School, she blends financial analysis, sectoral facilitation, and matchmaking to drive agri-food transformation.
CONTACT
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.