Following the online lectures by various business professionals throughout April, 28 participants were selected for having the most outstanding business ideas. These entrepreneurs had entered the mentoring stage, where each participant was paired with one of our selected mentors with exceptional business insights.
Over a two-month period, mentors worked together with the entrepreneurs and their business to help them develop a business plan and business model canvas, as well as assist them in preparing their presentation for the Ohrid bootcamp. The remarkable mentors all came from different industries, and the attendees had a chance to select an area in which they needed mentoring.
As part of the business acceleration, the selected entrepreneurs will take part in a business ideas competition in Ohrid, where they will be able to pitch their business ideas to investors and bankers. This will help the businesses to get exposure, raise more funding, access to new costumers and clients and more. The finalists of the investors pitch will have the opportunity to take part in the finals in Thessaloniki, going in the draw to win awards which will help them further encourage and support their business ideas.
Some of the most innovative ideas that have emerged throughout the iCBA project are the following: craft beer microbrewery, interactive interior design application, digital theatre production, 3D virtual sightseeing, solar park, premium Macedonian design items, online internship platform, microgreens production, smart fields, digital transport synchronization app, organic honey production, cross-border rehab centre, rural tourism in the cross-border area, organic cakes, biodegradable packaging, cell phone radiation protection units, and various organic grape products.
The mentorship program plays a crucial role in the iCBA project as it has the potential to create an everlasting impact on the businesses. As mentioned by Esnaf’s Founder Izabela Sokolovska: “The mentorship program at the moment is the piece of the puzzle that I was missing in order to uplift Esnaf to a higher level. I am overjoyed that Valentina and I are developing the business model into a more productive and fast- growing one, and her experience is invaluable. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to PrimePoint for this project and for advocating for our development and promotion. Thank you for the opportunity to develop and uplift Esnaf.”
Read more testimonies below about the mentorship program’s impact:
“There’s always something to learn. There’s always room to improve. The experience with the mentorship iCBA accelerator program strongly confirmed this once again. Not only I got an opportunity to introduce a business idea that I got a mentorship for, but I also gained knowledge that I apply on my already established business. Thank you for the opportunity you offered us.” – Sasho Spirkoski
“Having a mentor means a lot, it helped us a lot in defining our goals and strategy how to achieve them, we are very grateful to be part of this mentoring program.” – Dimitar Mitrevski
“The youth should be the solution – not a part of the problem. Mentoring support will uplift us to hence achieve this.” – Kristina Todorovska
“We have a great mentor, she always helps us when needed and is full of understanding. She successfully guided us through the process and all of our meetings were very productive. We are grateful that she is available to us at all times and for the help she has provides to us unselfishly.” – Maja Arnaudova
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