The accelerator scene of Bavaria is growing

(Find a newer article incl. Infographic of the bavarian accelerators here)

Munich has gained yet another accelerator. In July, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) established the WFP Innovation Accelerator.

WFP Innovation Accelerator in Munich

At the numerous start-up accelerators, digital entrepreneurs are in the best hands when it comes to further developing their ideas on products and services and making them market-ready. The WFP Innovation Accelerator also wants to support digital economy entrepreneurs, with the ulterior motive of accelerating the development of solutions for a world without hunger. To this end, it brings together WFP employees with experts and companies from the world of business as well as civil society, in order to get new ideas off the ground globally by promoting them with the required expertise, financial funding and interdisciplinary cooperations. Approaches as well as prototypes shall be developed, refined and tested in day-to-day business. To make this happen, the teams engage in selected projects, which can be submitted either by supporters of WFP or external idea providers, for a period of three to six months. Twelve projects from WFP support programmes are already being funded.

The choice of Munich as a location was well-considered: On the one hand, the new accelerator and the funded ideas benefit from the well-established start-up scene in Bavaria, which, in turn, also takes advantage of the new approaches. Thanks to the lively start-up scene and the existing innovation network of universities, research centres and large companies, the WFP falls on fertile ground. On the other hand, the excellent infrastructure ensures outstanding connections to international traffic routes, for example via the Munich Airport.
 

Enjoying excellent company

As one of Munich's accelerators, the WFS enjoys excellent company in Bavaria's capital. The idea to support start-ups by providing them with expertise and the resources to, ideally, bring their products and services to market within a few months is very well received – not only by entrepreneurs but also by the companies and public institutions that initiate the accelerator programmes. One of them is Werk1.Bayern, which recently started the InsurTech Accelerator Programme. But the private sector has also long been aware of the think tanks' value.
 

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG Accelerator: The current application round will be open until the 23rd of August. The accelerator is not limited to start-ups from the media sector, but is open to all B2C ideas.

Wayra from Telefónica Germany: The deadline for submitting applications for the Digital Innovation Day Award ends on the 9th of September. The finalists can not only expect attractive prizes and networking opportunities, but also a shorter application procedure for the accelerator programme.

Media-Saturn Tech Accelerator: In line with this focus, the accelerator of Media-Saturn Holding promotes start-ups dedicating themselves to consumer electronics topics.

Starburst Accelerator: In line with this focus, the accelerator of Media-Saturn Holding promotes start-ups dedicating themselves to consumer electronics topics.
 

In addition to the large companies based in Bavaria, start-ups are also actively supported by science.
 

Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE): The University of Applied Sciences Munich's initiative builds on the strong foundation of the academic world and supports the founding of science projects.

Bavaria Israel Partnership Accelerator (BIPA): Amongst others, the programme is sponsored by the SCE and offers digital founders from Israel and Bavaria the opportunity to developing their ideas in multicultural teams.

TechFounders: The initiative of UnternehmerTUM (Centre for Innovation and Business Creation of the Technical University of Munich) brings start-ups together with investors and partners from industry.

As such, the WFP Accelerator joins a lively start-up scene, supplementing it by adding new focus points and enabling Munich to once again demonstrate its strong position in the international start-up scene.