Capsule^T Travel & Hospitality Accelerator, the accelerator that focuses exclusively on technology-based tourism startups in Greece, returns with its fifth cycle. Ο επιταχυντής αποτελεί μια πρωτοβουλία του Ξενοδοχειακού Επιμελητηρίου Ελλάδος.

Following the successful implementation of four Accelerator Programs, Capsule^T Travel & Hospitality Accelerator, invites industry startups to register for the 5th round of the Accelerator Program from Monday, May 23, 2022 to Thursday, June 23, 2022.

As the fifth cycle (September 2022 - February 2023) is just around the corner, the accelerator expects to include in its community new startup teams that are at an early stage of development and provide technological solutions with applications in tourism. Also startups whose services promote the key drivers of global tourism recovery such as sustainability/saving solutions:

• food
• energy
• natural resources

within the aforementioned period, taking into account the evaluation criteria and the conditions for participation in the five-month programme.

CapsuleT - Τι προσφέρεται

Through the programme, help is provided to young entrepreneurs to upgrade their technology start-ups, which provide innovative solutions in the travel and hospitality industry. The main objective, as a technology startup tourism accelerator, is to offer essential support and guidance through the free content-rich programme, which responds to the business needs of startups. At the same time to provide practical opportunities for training, interface with the industry - with owners, executives and representatives of hotels and tourism businesses. Also provide useful tools on how they can be upgraded to meet market requirements.

More specifically, the Acceleration Programme is offered to the selected teams free of charge and without any other financial requirement (e.g. equity or shares from their company). Its duration is 5 months. During this period the selected start-ups - in addition to their participation in the programme - can use the accelerator's office space free of charge. It is possible to extend the period of their use for an additional 3 months after the end of the programme.

The programme includes actions such as:

• workshops/seminars (workshops)
• mentoring meetings (mentoring)

An important part is also, οι ευκαιρίες παρουσιάσεων και οι συναντήσεις με στελέχη του τουρισμού (meetups), visits to hotels and leading travel agencies (on-site visits), but also networking activities through attendance at networking events. In addition, extroverted activities - through conferences and participation in exhibitions and delegations in Greece and abroad - constitute another pillar of the programme, in order to to effectively connect startup teams with prominent representatives of the Greek and global tourism market.

Which companies can participate

Companies that provide technological applications and solutions for:

• the Hotel and Catering industry
• the tourism/intelligent transport sector (smart cities/mobility)
• booking engines and online tourist offices for tourist and cultural activities/guided tours/events

Also companies that provide applications and services:

• sustainable development
• sustainable growth
• energy and natural resources
• accessibility solutions or specialised communication and promotional solutions

Indicatively, the categories to which they can belong in order to join the programme are:

• Internet & web platforms
• Mobile apps
• Chatbots
• Software
• Hardware
• Energy solutions
• Mobility & Transportation solutions
• Blockchain / Fintech solutions
• AI solutions
• Big Data
• Internet Internet of Things

CapsuleT - Κριτήρια αξιολόγησης

The evaluation criteria, which are examined in detail by the Accelerator's jury and must be derived from the entire application in order for a startup to join the Accelerator Program, are:

1. The idea in terms of its innovation and the solution offered to a problem of the tourism market, the degree of originality and uniqueness of this solution, as well as the degree of use of technology for its implementation.
2. The team in relation to its members in terms of their formal characteristics, their qualitative characteristics, as well as their perception and commitment to the implementation and expansion of their team/company in the market.
3. The business maturity and prospects of the product or service in terms of its potential for further growth and expansion in the Greek and global market and its profitability prospects.

Cash prizes up to €40,000

At the end of the fifth Acceleration cycle, companies compete for final prizes totalling €40,000 - as an additional financial support - and free services/privileges from strategic partners of the Capsule^T community.

Timetable of the 5th cycle of the Acceleration Programme

- Application period: 23 May to 23 June 2022

- Evaluation period: until 22 July 2022

- Acceleration Programme period: 5 September 2022 to 6 February 2023

Submission of an application

The application period starts today, Monday, 23 May 2022 and ends on Thursday evening, 23 June 2022. Οι αιτήσεις πρέπει να κατατεθούν ηλεκτρονικά και υποχρεωτικά στην αγγλική γλώσσα στον ακόλουθο σύνδεσμο: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/CapsuleTApplicationForm5thCycle. Οι υποψήφιοι πρέπει να έχουν διαβάσει αναλυτικά τους όρους και τις προϋποθέσεις συμμετοχής.

Terms/Conditions for participation in the programme

Αναλυτικά οι όροι και οι προϋποθέσεις συμμετοχής για το πρόγραμμα εδώ.

Capsule^T in numbers

From September 2019 to February 2022, 37 startups with 81 founding members have successfully completed the Acceleration Programme and have been carried out by Capsule^T:

• 4 cycles of acceleration
• 22 pivots - thanks to the guidance of project mentors
• 290+ hours of training
• 56 hours of guidance from the accelerator guidance and evaluation committee
• over 200 hours of mentoring in collaboration with project mentors
• More than 350 meetings held at the exhibitions and on-site visits with owners and industry executives
• 239pilot projects with partner tourism groups/companies
• Over 345 new partnerships and 880 new customers have been acquired.