Challenger Accelerator

#OpportunitiesForUkrainianStartups Ukrainian innovations deserve more 💪 L'Oréal Ukraine and UNIT.City are launching applications for L'Oréal Startup Hub 3.0 – a program that provides direct access to the global industry, resources, and opportunities of an international company, helping Ukrainian innovators scale their solutions and expand far beyond the country's borders. We invite early-stage Ukrainian startups that see potential for collaboration with L'Oréal. The focus is on innovative solutions for data management and operational efficiency: smart route planning, automating team preparation for client meetings, integrating fragmented systems, predictive analytics, and optimizing logistics, shipments, and product labeling. To better understand the company’s needs and explore potential opportunities for collaboration, startups are invited to join a Q&A session with the L'Oréal Ukraine team on September 29, where they will have the opportunity to ask their questions directly. 📆 Applications are open until October 7 🔗 Details and application via the link: https://l-startuphub.com/ Participation is free. Innovation becomes truly valuable when it finds real-world application. The program is implemented by leading international company L'Oréal Ukraine at UNIT.City innovation park. Exclusive media partner of the program: Vector Media. Ecosystem Partner: EUNITED Digital Hub

🎤Meet the speakers behind the practical work! As part of the Challenger Sustainability Accelerator, our participants are learning from experienced experts who bring hands-on knowledge and practical insights across different areas of business development and growth. This time, we’re introducing two speakers leading workshops focused on finding the right customers and turning sales into a more structured, actionable process: 🔹Mariia Tintul, Fractional Strategy Lead at YEP Accelerator — helping teams better understand their customer segments, identify decision-makers, and turn customer profiles into concrete business opportunities. 🔹Patrick Collins, GM and Sales Coach, Founder of Relationship of Sales — bringing practical sales expertise to help teams move from customer profiles to real, findable prospects and build a more focused approach to sales. Both Mariia and Patrick have already worked with Challenger participants as part of the previous Challenger AI program, and we’re happy to have them back for the Sustainability Accelerator. In their recent workshops, they helped the teams look more closely at their customers, identify the right people to reach, and turn their assumptions into more focused and actionable steps.🚀 These sessions are just one part of the practical work happening throughout the Challenger Sustainability Accelerator, with more expert-led sessions and hands-on learning ahead! 💪 The program is implemented by Civitta in partnership with THINGS AB and funded by the Svenska institutet 🇸🇪🤝🇺🇦 #Challenger #Sustainability #FundedBySI #SIforUkraine

What Tech Leaders Need to Know about Diia.City On 24 September, our partners Diia.City United, together with SKELAR, will host a practical workshop in Lviv 🇺🇦 for founders and senior executives of technology companies. 🗓 24 September, 10:30 📍 Lviv + online The session will focus on real business cases and the key tools available within Diia.City, including: ▪️ eligibility and applying for Diia.City residency; ▪️ the distributed profit tax and choosing the right tax model; ▪️ gig contracts and structuring cooperation with teams; ▪️ critical enterprise status and employee reservation; ▪️ stock options, investment structuring and corporate tools. The workshop will be led by Olena Diachenko, COO at Diia.City United and an expert in tax and legal matters. Participants can also submit their own questions and business cases when registering — these will help shape the final agenda. Participation is free with prior registration. Offline places are limited. 👉 Register: https://bit.ly/46kzaKz

🌱Challenger Sustainability: Three Months of Mentorship Ahead The Mentorship Matchmaking phase is complete, and our teams have now been matched with their mentors! ✨Meet our mentors: Patrick Collins, Kristine Sylvest Brinks, Yaroslav Yaroslavskiy, Matas Ramanauskas, Ryan Grant Little, Beth Susanne, Manfred von Richthofen, Dmitry SOFYNA, Christian Marcus Over the next three months, teams will work closely with their lead mentors. Together, they will set goals and track progress, identify challenges to tackle, and work through business-related questions and opportunities along the way. 🌎Our mentors bring together expertise from Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Spain, Canada and beyond, covering business strategy and operations, sales and internationalisation, business development and finance, and investment readiness. It’s a diverse mix of international experience and hands-on expertise — all focused on helping our teams get the most out of the programme and take their ventures further🚀 A huge thank you to all our mentors for joining Challenger Sustainability and for being ready to share their experience, challenge assumptions and support our teams over the next three months! The program is implemented by Civitta in partnership with THINGS AB and funded by the Svenska institutet 🇸🇪🤝🇺🇦 #Challenger #Startups #Sustainability #FundedBySI #SIforUkraine

🇺🇦 Big plans for your startup’s next chapter? Here’s something аrom our partners 1991 Accelerator worth a look 👀 Applications are now open for the second cohort of Bridge to Scale, an equity-free acceleration programme by 1991 Accelerator and EBRD designed to help Ukrainian-founded pre-seed startups in CEE become investor-ready and scaling-ready, backed by experts who can take them further. Over 12 weeks, 12 selected startups will get: 🟡 A dedicated mentor 🟡 Access to 15+ VC funds from CEE, Europe and the UK with at least two facilitated investor sessions 🟡 Three months of intensive acceleration tailored to your startup 🟡 A two-day Bootcamp and Demo Day at Venture Café Warsaw 🟡 Support beyond the programme through the 1991 Community, and potential investments from 1991 Ventures. The first Bridge to Scale cohort already raised €125,000 after the Demo Day and keep scaling their ventures, now much more ready for it. If you’re a Ukrainian-founded startup in CEE, preparing to take a big leap — this is your shot. Apply by Oct 2 → https://lnkd.in/dq6CwFGh Bridge to Scale is implemented by the 1991 Accelerator with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, carried out with funding by the European Union. 

Our partners Mission Possible is launching Batch 5 and introducing a new application format for tech startups. From now on, startups can apply to Mission Possible at any time. Instead of one large annual intake, they will form several smaller cohorts throughout the year, bringing together teams at similar stages of development. This means more relevant peer connections, deeper work with mentors, and the opportunity to join without waiting for the next major programme launch. Applications are now open for the first Batch 5 cohort. Participants will receive: ⏹︎ Access to mentors from diverse industries ⏹︎ A programme with Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford ⏹︎ Workspace at Kooperativ ⏹︎ A Demo Day with investors ⏹︎ Growth Experiment Credits of up to $6,000 to test hypotheses during the programme ⏹︎ Lectures, workshops, and Q&A sessions ⏹︎ Investment-readiness support and access to 20+ funds, angel investors, and founder communities Mission Possible alumni have already raised more than $1.6 million in funding and generated over $2 million in revenue. Batch 5 is an opportunity for new teams to join this community and accelerate their progress. 🙌 As partners, we are glad to support this format and help more Ukrainian tech teams access relevant support at the moment it can make the greatest difference. If you are building a technology company and ready for the next step, apply here: https://tally.so/r/1AxzY1

The event for UA 🇺🇦 startups and businesses Back in the day, all you needed to start a business was a Nokia, a stack of business cards, and preferably someone who knew their way around computers. A lot has changed over the past 20+ years. But good connections still make all the difference 😎 On September 10, our partners from UNIT.City are kicking off a new business season at Business Season Launch “Nostalgia Code: From the 2000s to the Future”. Guests will look back for a bit and dive into the 2000s: Dendy, Sega, arcade games, familiar tunes, tokens, and other artifacts of the era 📺 So yes, there’ll be plenty of nostalgia. But even more networking and conversations about what’s ahead — with CEOs, business leaders, founders, and investors. 💿 September 10, 4:30 PM | UNIT.City Amphitheater Registration: https://lnkd.in/dxuhC4U3 See you in the 2000s. Let’s talk about the next twenty 🖤 Partners: UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group, Payoneer × Superteam Ukraine, Bolt Refreshment partner: Morshynska

🚀We’re officially kicked off! Challenger Sustainability Accelerator 2026 is officially underway, with 14 teams ready to take on the next 3 months of intensive training, mentoring and practical learning🌱 Throughout the program, the teams will actively work on their businesses, exchange experiences, test new approaches and put what they learn into practice. We’re looking forward to seeing their progress, ideas and achievements along the way💡 We wish all the teams an exciting and productive journey — make the most of these 3 months, challenge yourselves and let’s see what you can achieve!🔥 🤝🏻 TechNovator/Quantum Charging Soily.World PRANA CarsWork Fibrolitan Brooko Astrum Systems SPEROW SolarPlex Releaf Paper ® Geodesic.Life Rentsoft Recycle Solarify Special thanks to the Challenger team for making it all happen — Iurii-Volodymyr Blavt, Linda Krondahl, Natalia Alvarez Liebana, Jakob Heiberg, Olena Shershun, Nataliia Kravtsova, Daryna Prydka, Daryna Bubniuk. The program is implemented by Civitta in partnership with THINGS AB and funded by the Svenska institutet 🇸🇪🤝🇺🇦

Applications for the IT Arena Startup Competition 2026 are still open: https://cutt.ly/hyabyJWh Our partners at Lviv IT Cluster are inviting startups to apply! 🏆 Compete for a $60,000 prize fund and access an investment fund already at $12,500,000 — and still growing. Eligibility criteria: 📌 registered in Ukraine as a sole proprietor or legal entity; 📌 have $10,000+ in confirmed sales or $25,000+ in investments/grants; 📌 are at MVP stage or above and ready to scale; 📌 have no russian or belarusian citizens among founders or team members; 📌 are ready to pitch in person in Lviv. Apply for the IT Arena Startup Competition 2026 and get: ✨ PR support in Ukrainian media; ✨ mentorship from international investors and entrepreneurs; ✨ an opportunity to present your startup to 150 investors; ✨ а booth at the Startup Expo Zone or Defense Expo Zone; ✨ networking with European investors and partners. Pitch in front of 150 investors and 7,500+ participants, gain visibility, and unlock real growth opportunities at the IT Arena Startup Competition 2026. 📅 Application deadline — September 4, 2026.

What does it really take to build an AI startup?  Turns out, there is no universal recipe – but there are a few ingredients founders keep coming back to. Challenger Startup Burger: Cooking with Founders brought AI founders into the "kitchen" for an honest conversation about building a company, while literally building burgers along the way 🍔 Together with Anna Chorna, Co-founder & CMO at Mindship, and Bohdan Khaietskyi, Co-founder & Owner at Tayra_ai, we talked about the choices founders face at different stages of the journey: team vs. idea, data vs. intuition, the right moment to raise funding, and how to know whether your strategy actually works. A few takeaways we’re taking with us: ⏹︎ A strong idea is not enough. The people around it and their ability to adapt can make all the difference. ⏹︎ In AI, technology itself is rarely the whole product. Start with the problem you are solving and the value you create for the customer. ⏹︎Data matters, but it won’t make every decision for you. Building a startup means knowing when to follow the numbers and when to trust customer insights. ⏹︎ Funding is a tool, not a milestone. Raising too early or without a clear understanding of how the money will accelerate the business can create more pressure than progress. ⏹︎ There is no single recipe for building a successful startup. Test, learn, adjust — and figure out which ingredients actually work for your company. The conversation was moderated by Alex Orap 🇺🇦, Founder of YouScan Social Listening ✨, who kept the discussion sharp, dynamic, and engaging throughout. A huge thank you to our partner Sigma Software Labs for co-organizing the event 🤝 Also thank you to everyone who joined us, asked questions and brought their own experience to the conversation. 🤝 Startup Burger: Cooking with Founders was organized with the support of Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) and Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund. And yes, the burgers turned out pretty good too 🍔 #ai #challenger #startups