On February 10th, 2016, applications will open for Swiss and European startups who wish to participate to the MassChallenge Switzerland acceleration program.
In addition, the same day Lift and MassChallenge Switzerland will join forces to present the MassChallenge Startup Summit hosted on February 10, 2016 at the Campus Biotech in Geneva.
The MassChallenge Startup Summit is a yearly event awarding the most promising companies graduating from the MC acceleration programs in Boston, London and Israel. This year to celebrate Switzerland’s entrepreneurial talent, and mark the launch of MassChallenge Switzerland we have selected several startups, among them former MC alumni as well as a selection of “the 50 Swiss startups in which to invest” (an initiative by Bilan). For this exclusive event, after a first round of selection, around ten startups will be allowed to pitch their projects to the audience composed of experienced entrepreneurs, investors and academics.
The MassChallenge Startup Summit is a one day event organized at Campus Biotech Geneva hosting investors meetings, pitching sessions, keynote speakers and a networking evening cocktail. The summit will mark the official launch of MassChallenge Switzerland.
Among the presenting speakers attending the event, Stefan Catsicas, Executive Vice President Nestlé S.A and George Koukis, founder of Temenos, market leader in banking technology, will provide their invaluable experience of world-class entrepreneurs. Attendees will also have the privilege to receive a message from M. Johann Schneider-Ammann, national council and president of Switzerland.
Join us for this exciting event and learn more about MassChallenge Switzerland !
MassChallenge Switzerland
The accelerator will combine MassChallenge’s no-equity, competition-based model with the talent and potential of Switzerland’s startup ecosystem. Based in the Lake Geneva Region, the accelerator attracts startups from Switzerland, other parts of Europe and beyond, who want to understand and access Switzerland’s unique innovation culture and prowess in high technology. Four founding partners are supporting the MassChallenge Switzerland launch: Bühler Group, already a diamond sponsor of MassChallenge in Boston, Nestlé, Inartis Foundation and the Swiss Economic Forum. A high-profile supervisory board has been formed to launch MassChallenge Switzerland in 2016. Members include Stefan Catsicas, Executive Vice President Nestlé S.A., CTO; Calvin Grieder, Chairman of the Board of Directors & CEO Bühler Group; Benoît Dubuis, Director of Campus Biotech and President of the Inartis Foundation; Peter Stähli, Chairman of the Swiss Economic Forum Group; and John Harthorne, CEO of MassChallenge.
About MassChallenge
MassChallenge is the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. It is a non-for-profit that takes no equity in the start-ups. They are obsessed with helping entrepreneurs from all industry sectors. The highest-impact startups share a prize pool of several million dollars in equity-free cash awards. Through its global network of accelerators in Boston, London and Jerusalem and unrivalled access to its corporate partners, they can have a massive impact – driving growth and creating value the world over. To date, the 835 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $1.1 billion in funding, generated over $520 million in revenue and created over 6,500 jobs. In December 2015, MassChallenge announced the expansion of its global accelerator network to Switzerland with a full accelerator programme in 2016.
For more information, visit www.masschallenge.org