NUMA Barcelona is the first European acceleration programme for growth-phase digital startups. The initiative is a cooperation between mVenturesBcn and NUMA and will invest €4.8 million in order to attract more digital talent to the city. The lucky ones who are going to be accepted will get support for the further development of their projects with particular focus on scalability and global impact.
NUMA Barcelona is a joint venture of the French global innovation network NUMA and mVenturesBcn – the programme launched by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCB) with the aim to create and support new digital projects and businesses.
“NUMA Barcelona is a reflection of the talent and innovative potential in our city. We are generators of ideas, but we have an extraordinary capacity to provide the environment necessary for developing digital projects and making the leap to the international arena,” says Aleix Valls, General Director of Mobile World Capital Barcelona.
This is the second programme for the company. The one started earlier operates in the field of the Internet of Things with Startupbootcamp IoT & Data. mVenturesBcn also focuses on the acceleration of technological transfer and the creation of new digital companies as a catalyst for economic growth.
NUMA Barcelona will accelerate 30 startups over the next 3 years, and will launch its first programme on the 1st of November. The international reach of this programme is clearly illustrated by the applications that have already been received during the first call for proposals – 37 countries so far on 4 continents: Africa, America, Asia and Europe.
The 10 selected startups will follow a 4-month programme (November to February) which will culminate in a Demo Day on the main stage at 4YFN 2017 during the GSMA Mobile World Congress. Each startup will receive initial funding of €30,000 at the beginning of the programme to develop their project. Consulting services, mentoring and offices are also going to be avilable. NUMA Barcelona will acquire a 5% equity stake, allowing the accelerator to become involved in and monitor the project once the programme has come to an end. For this reason, the initiative has allocated a further €1.5 million for possible financial contributions after the programme has been completed. These investments will be made in startups whose proposals possess significant international potential in addition to a strong innovative element.
The application deadline for NUMA Barcelona is on September 30. Grab your chance and apply now!
Aside of funding and a nice office space, NUMA Barcelona provides access to a solid network of international mentors who will provide the business teams with constant support. Just to mention some of them – Ali Partovi, investor and consultant in projects such as Facebook, Uber, Airbnb or Dropbox; Gary Shainberg, ex-Vice President of Technology and Innovation at British Telecom and one of the first promoters of Tech Pioneers in the World Economic Forum; Jorge Carulla, ex-Marketing Director of eDreams and cofounder of ShakeUp; and Francisco Pérez, cofounder of Hawkers.
