The first xEdu accelerator program will start on February 15th this year. xEdu is an accelerator company in the Finnish education business sector and was established for the need of bringing education excellence and entrepreneurial mindset together to boost the creation of future-proof education systems and products.
About the the reason for the program, the The Finnish Business Council in Singapore says: ”When a country has leading education and startup ecosystems, it creates an ideal foundation for game-changing education innovation. This is why xEdu was established in Finland as an accelerator company for startups in education business.”
xEdu provides a full startup, cross-domain ecosystem in the education, a partnership with relevant global tech companies brings and a liaison with recognized business influencers that provides insights into the latest market realities and business rules.
The application period lasted from from December 1st to December 31st of 2015 and the bi-annual accelerator program will see 10-15 startups participating in a 6 month long program where they will gain an access to funding and network of potential investors, lectures by a community of experts, a step-by-step curriculum from understanding pedagogical impact to business and go-to-market planning and corporate, testing and research in Finnish schools and education institutions and public sector partners for product validation and commercial deal.
“Unique to xEdu is that it brings together both public and private sector players. The city of Helsinki and Espoo as well as University of Helsinki and Aalto University are actively participating in xEdu activities. On the other hand, participating private sector companies bring the needed expertise in technology and business planning. The ultimate outcome is measurable impact on education,” the The Finnish Business Council in Singapore, whos principal mission is to promote trade between Finland and the various countries of Southeast Asia, writes on their website.
The xEdu Accelerator program is targeting companies that are creating services and products for the education business, have a capable and committed team for growth and a product or a service that is ready or almost ready for market validation and expansion. The funding for the participants starts at 10.000 € but for the best individual companies the investment can go as high as 300.000 €.
“It has been an absolutely amazing year: xEdu was established, our guild house – Fontell House – was opened, we received record high amount of applications to the first xEdu accelerator program and now we are all set for even more amazing year of 2016,” XEdu wrote on their Facebook page on the last day of the application period.
