Press Release – 28 February 2018, Oslo – Katapult Accelerator selected 12 exponential technology startups in their second cohort to join the three-month accelerator programme in Oslo, Norway. The Katapult Accelerator made a selection from 1,500 impact-focused startups from all over the world. The 12 chosen startups will use exponential technology to solve the grand challenges of the world and with founders from and operations in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore, USA, Spain, UK, Turkey, South Korea, Morocco, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, they represent nearly all continents. 50% of the selected startups have female founders.
The Katapult Accelerator Fund invests up to USD 150,000 in each startup. Katapult Accelerator also provides a network of global investors and partnerships that can boost the startups in their next phase of development.
“The Katapult Accelerator is a fast-paced and hands-on program to help build and scale startups that can solve environmental or societal challenges through exponential technologies. Our goal for each company is to prepare them for their next round of investment, so that they achieve two to three times their original valuation,” says Haakon Brunell, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Katapult Accelerator.
Katapult Accelerator delivered on its goals for its first batch of companies. Of the original 12 startups, 11 raised additional funding, and 5 officially closed, or are in the closing process of their rounds.
“The Katapult Accelerator helped us understand and define our reason-for-being and we became laser focused on the next steps of the startup journey,” says Martin Majlund Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Sky.Garden, one of the startups accepted by Katapult in 2017. Sky.Garden recently closed their USD 1.2 million funding round, at a valuation of USD 4 million.
To ensure the same success with the 12 new companies, Katapult Accelerator is inviting the new startups to spend three months in Oslo, Norway and go through an intensive program to leverage their impact. The startups have access to 120+ international mentors, and hands on support from the Katapult Accelerator team.
At the end of the three months, the startups will have defined their vision, strategy, impact orientation, growth marketing and business model. A unique element in the Katapult Accelerator is the focus on team ‘body and brain’ improvement, to further enable the startups to build on their greatest asset; their mission-driven team. Katapult Accelerator’s partner network includes PWC, Amazon Web Services, IBM, and Microsoft.
