A new national incubation program, Incub8, has been launched in Ukraine, designed to support 70 early-stage university-based startups. The three best teams, following intensive training, will receive sub-grants of up to EUR 10,000 for further development and integration into European markets.
A new national incubation program, Incub8, has been launched in Ukraine, designed to support 70 early-stage university-based startups. The three best teams, following intensive training, will receive sub-grants of up to EUR 10,000 for further development and integration into European markets.
The project is implemented by the Home of Startups Accelerator (HOSA) in collaboration with the Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University. Financial and organizational support is provided by the EU4Innovation East program. The launch of the initiative was officially announced on September 27 during a presentation event in Lviv.
The initiative is based on a six-month training course for pre-seed and seed stage startups and entrepreneurs. The program will reach participants from ten regions and focus on practical business training. Teams will work on business model validation, product development, sales, and will also study the legal aspects of technology transfer and intellectual property protection.
The finale of the incubation will be Pitch Day, where developers will present their projects to investors. In addition to financial support for the three winners, the organizers have set a social quota: at least one grant will be guaranteed to go to a team led by a woman. The strongest startups will also be able to join the annual congress of the European Business Network (EBN).
The head of the HOSA team, Yuliya Darchych, notes that the project's ambitions go beyond one-time financial support. According to her, the main goal is to build a sustainable ecosystem based on Ukrainian universities, uniting mentors, developers, and investors into a single chain that will operate even after the program ends.
In parallel with training startups, Incub8 focuses on training personnel within educational institutions themselves. As part of the initiative, 70 university representatives will undergo coaching training and become certified mentors.
