medagoraXL Call for Proposals
Open Call for medagoraXL Accelerator – Guidelines for application submission
15 May 2024 – MedagoraXL announces its call for proposals and invites the innovation, research and startup communities who are designing and offer solutions addressing the HealthTech industry, including healthcare, medical, wellness, and pharmaceutical industries.
Below and in this link, interested applicants can review the Call for Proposals, which includes information about the acceleration program and guidelines for the application submission and assessment.
1. Introduction
This document outlines the requirements and expectations for the call of applications for the medagoraXL accelerator. It provides comprehensive guidelines for applicants to prepare their proposals. The Call for Proposals includes a detailed description of the call objectives, which explain the overarching goals of the project and the specific outcomes it aims to achieve. It sets out the eligibility criteria, detailing who can apply and what types of projects and activities qualify for funding. This section is crucial for applicants to determine if their project aligns with the call’s goals. Additionally, the document provides comprehensive submission guidelines, including instructions on how to submit proposals, the required format, and key deadlines. It also outlines the evaluation criteria, explaining how proposals will be assessed and what factors will be considered during the review process. Other pertinent details, such as contact information for inquiries and the language in which proposals should be submitted, are also included to ensure applicants have all the necessary information to participate in the call.
2. About medagoraXL
medagoraXL is a Greek HealthTech accelerator that connects academia, startups, healthcare, and patients, offering tailored support and targeted initiatives to enhance entrepreneurial skills, build startup teams, facilitate fundraising, and optimize healthcare workflows. The project’s overarching goal is to foster innovation and deliver solutions that empower patients, improve healthcare experiences, and contribute to the growth of the Greek health tech industry.
Focusing on enhancing entrepreneurial skills, building robust startup teams, facilitating fundraising, commercializing innovations, MedagoraXL introduces tools & methodologies to support business ideation and business validation.
medagoraXL is co-funded by EIT Health. The project was designed and developed during the EIT Health DRIVE Program, a training program for innovation ecosystem development, targeting the HealthTech Sector. This program was organized by EIT Health Innostars, was powered by TU Delft and co-funded by the European Union, hosting online and in-person trainings and mentoring, visiting innovation centers in the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary.
3. General Information
3.1 Who can apply
Who can apply:
Research teams, healthcare professionals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active or willing to become active in the HealthTech industry.
Participants should be operating in Greece or other RIS countries offering services for the health, medical, wellness and pharmaceutical industries.
Sector: Open to a wide range of sub-sectors offering services and/or solutions within the health, medical, wellness, and pharmaceutical industries.
3.2 Activities Provided from MedagoraXL Acceleration Program
The MedagoraXL Acceleration Program will support idea-stage & early-stage startups and tech-enabled SMEs proposing innovative solutions, product and/or service for the business and commercial readiness of their ventures.
The program activities are structured around three stages: (a) pre-acceleration stage including upskilling activities on business methodologies and IP commercialization open to researchers, startups, soon to be founders and health tech entrepreneurs, across the country and Europe in general; (b) the main acceleration stage where selected 15 teams will participate amongst which, newly-founded startup teams and startups, who will receive business training, workshops and mentoring for the commercialization and market readiness of their ventures; (c) the “go-to-agora stage” is a non-obligatory stage designed to support the product ready SMEs and startups in their efforts in product testing and go-to-market strategies.
3.3 Duration of the MedagoraXL Acceleration Program
The MedagoraXL Acceleration Program will begin in June 2024 and has a duration of 4-months, specifically:
- Pre-Acceleration & Upskilling Stage: 2 months
- Main-Acceleration Stage: 2 months
- The non-obligatory Go-To-Agora Stage: 1 month
3.4 Benefits for Selected Applicants
The MedagoraXL Acceleration Program offers the opportunity to transform your innovative ventures into business ready solutions for the HealthTech industry. The selected applicants will receive:
Business and Project Support Services:
Α) Online & In-person Training: The MedagoraXL Acceleration Program will provide training on business 101, including product design, business modeling, IP commercialization, innovation & investment strategy, marketing and communications. Each session will last from 2 to 4 hours. The training sessions will be open to all selected participants and will always provide the ability of digital participation via Zoom Platform. We encourage at least one member per startup team must participate in each training session.
B) Mentorship from EIT Health MCN Platform: All teams will have access to a pool of 10 sessions valued at a total €5,000 worth of mentoring and business support services from EIT Health Mentoring & Coaching Network.
C) Mentorship and Tailored Coaching: The program will offer virtual and in-person mentoring sessions, offering up to 10 hours per applicant
D) Networking with Founders & Investors: The MedagoraXL Accelerator participants will have the opportunity to join virtual and in-person sessions connecting with seasoned HealthTech founders, investors, and other financial services providers, promoting networking and exposure of the cohort.
Exposure to the Startup Ecosystem:
The MedagoraXL Acceleration Program will include networking sessions with industry stakeholders, healthcare professionals and industry experts. In addition, the MedagoraXL Demo Day will host pitches and presentations from the participating teams to showcase their ventures to investors and stakeholders of the startup ecosystem.
4. Submission of Applications
The open call is published widely and in conformity to EU standards concerning equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.
Proposals have to be submitted through the Monday platform (https://forms.monday.com/forms/cbcb8d2273ff6bda7a3b8ce4268e05ae?r=euc1), which will be open by June 28th 2024. Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered for funding.
Additional material, which has not been included in the online application form, will not be considered for the evaluation of the proposals. Proposals will be evaluated as submitted. Information not included in the proposal will not be considered. The data provided will remain confidential and will only be shared within MedagoraXL team members. The Applicants are solely responsible for verification of the completeness of the form.
Application period: from 15/5/2024 (opening of the call) to 28/6/2024 (deadline of the call)
In case of technical problems with the submission of applications, please write to: teamgr@envolveglobal.org
To submit your application, it is required to fill in the “Expression of Interest” form.
You will then receive a verification e-mail including the link to your application form.
The application form includes the following fields, from which those including the following symbol “(*)” are obligatory:
- Step 1: Personal Details
- Name (*)
- Surname (*)
- E-mail (*)
- Mobile Number (*)
- Personal LinkedIn Page
- Step 2: Business Venture
- Business Venture Title (*)
- Which sector best applies to your venture? (*)
- Have you formed a legal entity yet? (*)
- Year of establishment
- Website URL
- Business Venture Summary (*)
- What problem/challenge is your venture addressing? How does your product/service solve this problem? (*)
- Pitch Deck – please attach (*)
- Step 3: Team
- Do you have a team – Yes, No (*)
- How many people are on your team? (*)
- If you have a team, please mention the core members of your team (co-founders & management team) as well as their respective roles. If you don’t have a team, what kind of profiles & roles are you looking for? (*)
- Do you have expertise in this domain? How will you or your team’s expertise support your venture? (*)
- Is this your first startup attempt? (*)
- Are you looking for a co-founder? (*)
- Step 4: Progress
- What is the status of your product/traction? (*)
- Are people using your product? (*)
- Have you raised startup funding? If yes, at what stage are you?
- Do you have revenues? If yes, at what stage are you? (*)
- If you have already participated or committed to participate in an incubator, accelerator or pre-accelerator program, please mention the program and year participated. Here you may also mention any other awards, grants or distinctions you have received. (*)
5. Evaluation Criteria
After submission, all proposals will be evaluated based on specific selection criteria and subject to a two-phases selection procedure – 1) Eligibility Phase, 2) Evaluation Phase – carried out by medagoraXL team members. The Eligibility Phase consists of the eligibility criteria of applicants and proposals. Applicants will be checked for their compliance with the eligibility criteria to confirm that the minimum requirements are met. Eligibility criteria can be answered with a “Yes” or “No.” Proposals that do not meet the eligibility criteria are rejected.
MedagoraXL members will then evaluate the technical content of the applications (Evaluation Phase).
5.1 Eligibility and Admissibility
- Soon to be founders, startup teams, tech-enabled SMEs operating in the RIS countries.
- Proposals must present innovative and/or tech-enabled processes, products or services addressing the health, medical, wellness, and pharmaceutical industry.
Moreover, to be considered admissible, a proposal must be:
- submitted in the “Monday” electronic submission system before the deadline stated in the Call;
- written in English or in Greek languages;
- complete in all its parts;
- respecting the field limits, files and layout requirements set out in the application form.
Absence of conflict of interest. Partners and medagoraXL members shall not have any potential conflict of interest with the medagoraXL Accelerator selection process. All cases of potential conflict of interest will be assessed case by case.
Failure to comply with the above eligibility requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.
5.2 Evaluation
Eligible proposals will be evaluated by medagoraXL team members. The application will be assessed with a score from 1 to 5 for each criterion.
5.2.1 Project Quality Criteria:
- Relevance to the program and overall clarity of the proposal (scale 1-5, Weight 25%)
Clearly articulate how your venture’s solutions align with the objectives of medagoraXL and ensure your proposal is well-structured and easy to understand for the evaluators. Explain how the business idea will contribute or be considered as an improvement to the objectives of the and the scope of this call.
- Innovation potential of the business idea; (scale 1-5, Weight 25%)
Demonstrate a creative and forward-thinking approach to addressing challenges in the HealthTech industry, showcasing how your SME’s project offers a solution that stands out for its innovation and potential impact within the sector. Additionally, demonstrate the innovativeness of the proposed outputs, particularly emphasizing the cutting-edge nature of your SME’s contributions to the general HealthTech industry.
- Feasibility of the business idea; (scale 1-5, Weight 25%)
Provide a detailed and realistic plan for implementing your SME’s innovative project, including a clear timeline, budget, and resource allocation, to ensure the feasibility and long-term sustainability of the proposed idea.
- The participants’ capacity, competence, and commitment to implement and scale the business idea through long-term sustainability. (scale 1-5, Weight 25%)
Highlight your SME’s team’s expertise, skills, and dedication to implementing the proposed project successfully, demonstrating a strong commitment to the venture’s implementation. Provide a detailed overview of your SME’ operational capacity, previous startup experience, including resources, infrastructure, and processes, to demonstrate the ability to effectively implement the proposed project within the designated timeline and budget constraints.
MedagoraXL team members will score each award criterion on a scale from 1 to 5.
1 = Poor – criterion is inadequately addressed or there are serious inherent weaknesses.
2 = Fair – proposal broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant weaknesses.
3 = Good – proposal addresses the criterion well, but a numbercof shortcomings are present.
4 = Very good – proposal addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of shortcomings are present.
5 = Excellent – proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion. Any shortcomings are minor.
See the full Call for Proposals here: Call for Proposals_medagoraXL.pdf
For further information on the Call for proposals, in case of any doubts regarding the eligibility rules, the information that is to be provided in the Application Form, or if you encountered problems with the Application Form, please contact the following e-mail teamgr@envolveglobal.org
