Hungarian Startups to Receive Special Funding

The lighting company Tungsram and Startup Campus is launching a new acceleration program specifically aimed at hardware startups in Hungary. Participants will receive an initial capital investment of HUF 20 million (EUR 60,000), resources for production and testing, as well as business training.

By the end of the half-year program, they should be able to provide a prototype that is ready for large-scale production, and a marketable business model. Further program partners include Hiventures, the venture capital fund manager of the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB), as well as Deloitte Private, the Hungarian export promotion agency (HEPA), and EDC Debrecen, the program's official smart city partner.

The program will at first focus on preparing the teams with business knowledge before the prototyping and testing period starts. In order to enable their advancement, participants will be able to use Tungsram's manufacturing capacities and borrow its engineering expertise with the HUF 20 million capital investment provided by Hiventures and Startup Campus Incubator. Various workshops and individual mentoring will also support their business success. At the end of the acceleration, the demo day will present an opportunity for the teams to introduce their solutions to the public. The best projects can then move forward to applying to the next round of capital investment of HUF 50 million (EUR 150,000).

Startups or teams can apply with their validated idea or early stage prototypes that provide solutions within the areas of mobility, smart cities, health and wellness technology, energy, or agrotechnology.