Born Global Academy: Initiative of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce
Internationalization is high on the agenda of many Austrian startups. According to Start-up-Monitor, 80 percent planned to export their business model this year. The Born Global Academy was launched last year by Aussenwirtschaft Austria and weGrow International offers an internationalization program for startups.
The Born Global Academy is implemented as part of the internationalization offensive go-international, a joint initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labor and Economics and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Thomas Ledl [CC BY-SA 4.0]
The program is designed to introduce growth-hungry start-ups and their business models to international markets. Scaling experts advise and support young companies in specific market entry and growth steps.
Michael Otter, head of AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA, explained that the Born Global Academy had "hit the nerve of the time and the community" and that the feedback from the 700 or so participants in the first year of the Academy had been very positive. On their way across borders, the project supports young companies with experience, know-how and a broad network. "Our goal is to get even more startups on board the export boat and make their success stories even more visible abroad," Otter adds.
Program kick-off at the Web Summit in Lisbon
Following the motto "Good ideas know no borders," the Born Global Academy is crossing Austrian borders for its kick-off this year. "In a prominent masterclass at the Web Summit in Lisbon, we will summarize the highlights of the ultimate technology conference together with tech experts on November 3, 2022, and discuss them from an Austrian perspective," outlines Renate Schnutt, Head of Scaleups at AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA. For the initiator of the Born Global Academy, the Web Summit "forms the perfect networking and learning environment for the Austrian startup community, which will be represented in Lisbon in large numbers, as it is every year."
Bootcamp Day in Linz
On January 26, 2023, Austrian founders are invited to work with experts on a toolbox for growth issues at Bootcamp Day at the LIT Open Innovation Center at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Here and at the Scaleup Globally program, the focus is on topics that are of particular interest to domestic startups, such as financing, legal frameworks, human resources and sustainability.
8-week Scaleup Globally Program and Demo Day in Vienna Due to the great interest in the previous year, AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA is increasing the number of participants in the intensive Scaleup Globally program from March to April 2023 from 10 to 15 startups. "It is very important to me personally that the proportion of female founders is at least 50 percent," emphasizes Renate Schnutt, because making women visible in the tech sector has a role model effect that should not be underestimated.
The final event of the Born Global Academy, Demo Day, will take place in 2023 as part of Austria's largest startup festival, Vienna'UP23, at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. The goal is to attract at least 100 national and international investors and potential business partners to Demo Day, in front of whom the newly graduated Academy alumni will pitch their business models.