The startups recruitment to Poland ClimAccelerator has been completed

PKO Bank Polski and Accelpoint have completed the recruitment of startups for the “Poland ClimAccelerator” program. In the next stage, fifteen of the most promising greentech startups will be given the opportunity to accelerate their solutions, of which twelve will be able to develop their products together with PKO Bank Polski.

“PKO Bank Polski supports the fight against climate change and is involved in the development of innovative tools that can help in this regard. During the recruitment for the “Poland ClimAccelerator” program, together with Accelpoint, we analyzed nearly a hundred applications, from which we selected those that, in our opinion, have the greatest potential for scaling up and achieving success. We hope that thanks to this cooperation, we will be able to better use our potential to implement innovations in the field of green technologies and, together with startups, develop tools to solve timeless challenges related to climate change,” – said Marek Myszka, Director of the Innovation Office of PKO Bank Polski.

“We decided to treat the acceleration program focused on climate challenges as a priority. We are fully aware that Poland is in the infamous European peloton in terms of climate challenges, and this situation requires radical action on many levels. On the other hand, moving around in the startup environment, we constantly come across great technology solutions that are begging to be implemented on a large scale. Using our experience and contacts, we decided to take up this gauntlet and assume the role of the entity that will create the largest and most developed climate program in Central and Eastern Europe. Achieving this goal would be impossible alone, which is why we are extremely grateful to our partners for choosing to support us in this task,” – emphasizes Maciej Kołtoński, Head of Communications at Accelpoint.

Among the ideas submitted to the program, solutions from sectors such as clean energy, increase in energy efficiency, green transport, clean industry, water management and purification, green finance, improvements in agriculture, and decarbonization prevailed. A large group consisted of startups supporting the reduction of greenhouse gases through the use of advanced analytical tools for measuring and reporting, and then reducing CO2 emissions, e.g. through more efficient energy management. A significant part of the applications also concerned tools that help them to implement the Zero Waste idea into their operations.

One such solution is, for example, a circular ecosystem, designed for sustainable consumption of FMCG products, whose main goals are to reduce the amount of plastic produced and protect the environment. Bank experts also drew attention to the tool facilitating the inclusion of climate risk in risk analyses in financial institutions and to the precision farming system, which supports farmers in making decisions to provide high-quality products and have a positive impact on the environment.

During the recruitment process, Bank experts from the business areas met with representatives of startups and evaluated nearly one hundred submitted solutions. When choosing the best ones, they paid attention not only to the possibilities of their implementation in the Bank itself but also to the potential of using the tools by the business customers of PKO Bank Polski. An important feature that was taken into account during the selection was, apart from the final impact on the improvement of the natural environment, also the creation of business incentives to undertake activities aimed at this goal.

The following startups will participate in the next stage of the program: AgronetPRO, Beholder, Connect Earth, Ecobean, H+H Labs, Insignes Labs, Listny Cud, Maas Loop, Nanosci, Plan Be Eco, Redigo Carbon, RadicalZero, Solwena, TerGo, VivaDrive.

“Poland ClimAccelerator” is part of the global EIT Climate-KIC network dedicated to supporting the development of climate startups. Thanks to the support of this organization, climate startups around the world have already obtained funding exceeding EUR 2 billion. The acceleration program was launched on the Polish market in 2022. It aims to accelerate the business acceleration of the most promising, pro-environmental technologies in the areas of sustainable development.

Thanks to participation in the 5-month acceleration program, selected startups will gain access to an international investor network and to a community of industry experts and mentors. In addition, the best of them will get a chance to finance technological tests in cooperation with PKO Bank Polski, and thus will have the opportunity to implement their solution and acquire new customers.

The organizer of the program is Accelpoint, a technology accelerator that has supported the development of nearly 100 startups since 2018. Graduates of the accelerator programs have obtained a total of financing exceeding EUR 100 million. The main partner of the program is PKO Bank Polski.

Our previous news about the “Poland ClimAccelerator” program by PKO Bank Polski can be found here:

PKO Bank Polski supports green technologies via Poland ClimAccelerator

Source: the Bank`s press release dated February 27, 2023