Virtual Connectors is a monthly activity of the Ecosystem Connectors | Berlin Sarajevo Tirana project, bringing the networking experience to you wherever you’re based. The sessions bring people together from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Berlin to share learnings and experience, start-up stories, and market access insights.
The main topic of this session was “Running Sustainable Accelerators” and our discussion centred around running sustainable accelerators – and making them profitable.
A huge thank you to our speakers for sharing their insights and experiences for launching impactful and sustainable programs.
From Sarajevo
Edin Mehic, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, Co-Founder of Bloomteq. With several multimillion-dollar exits, including founding the largest job board in the region, MojPosao.ba, Edin has led companies through acquisitions, mergers, and growth.
From Tirana
Ravik Mima, CEO of Keiretsu Forum Southeast Europe. With Ravik’s leadership, the region’s first cross-border Angel Investor Network connects investors from nine countries, significantly expanding financing opportunities for early-stage founders and startups, particularly in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
From Berlin
Emilie Vallauri, Program Lead, Techstars. Emilie is also a Board Member of French Tech Berlin where she is spearheading the community growth efforts through meetups and events gathering 1k+ community members every year.
The discussion was very engaging, and we walked through key topics shaping accelerator programs today.
These included what makes an accelerator sustainable in terms of long-term value, the different business models such as equity, fees, sponsorship, and public funding, and the trade-offs involved in each. We also examined the potential for cross-border accelerators that serve multiple smaller markets, as well as ways to ensure greater access to opportunities outside of capital cities.
