From Ideas to Impact

Between 2021 and 2025 BAU delivered awareness raising, coaching, mentoring, local training programmes and startup acceleration support within the EIT Jumpstarter ecosystem, as an official provider on behalf of EIT RawMaterials and EIT RIS. The work spanned the full entrepreneurial journey: business model development, customer validation, market analysis, intellectual property, financing, investment readiness and public pitching.

Each year BAU managed international learning groups through online bootcamp coaching complemented by individual mentoring, and organised Local Joint Training in Skopje combining face-to-face entrepreneurial training with online preparation and follow-up. Participants were guided on value proposition design, commercialisation strategy, competition analysis, market entry and pitch deck development, culminating in the EIT Jumpstarter Online Pitch Day.

Over the five editions BAU coached teams from across Europe in the EIT RawMaterials track, supported multiple Macedonian and Western Balkan startups into the programme finals, and delivered international coaching well beyond the national ecosystem.

BAU organised and delivered the EIT Food Startup Awareness Event 2024, combining the EIT Food Waste Challenge Labs with a final startup pitching and networking event. The initiative was designed to strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities, foster innovation in the food sector, and encourage the development of sustainable solutions to food waste.

The core activity was a six-week Challenge Labs programme in which multidisciplinary teams worked alongside academic experts, industry leaders and mentors to identify, validate and develop innovative food waste solutions. Participants were trained in entrepreneurship, design thinking, business modelling, customer validation, sustainable food systems, financial planning and pitching.

The programme concluded with a public pitching competition and networking event that brought together entrepreneurs, startups, corporates, researchers, investors and food sector stakeholders to discuss innovation opportunities in the Macedonian food ecosystem.

BAU organised and delivered the EIT Food Startup Awareness Event 2023, a two-day entrepreneurship and innovation programme designed to strengthen startup competencies and stimulate innovation in the agrifood sector. The event combined a practical startup workshop with a dedicated networking event, giving participants the knowledge, tools and connections needed to turn innovative ideas into viable businesses.

Participants were introduced to entrepreneurship, business modelling, customer discovery, market analysis, technology management, digital transformation, food systems innovation and sustainable business development, and interacted directly with experienced entrepreneurs, mentors and industry stakeholders.

The Entrepreneurial Challenge for NEETs (ECNEETs) was an Erasmus+ funded initiative designed to support young people aged 15 to 29 who were not in employment, education or training. The project addressed one of Europe’s growing social and economic challenges by helping vulnerable youth develop entrepreneurial competences, personal development skills, confidence and employability through practical, challenge-based learning, implemented through a partnership between organisations from Slovenia, Italy and North Macedonia.

The project developed and piloted an innovative four-stage methodology consisting of digital learning, entrepreneurial challenges, mentoring and ecosystem networking. Participants worked on real-life challenges proposed by civil society organisations related to sustainability, social inclusion, diversity, climate action and organisational development, developing practical business and social innovation solutions through hands-on teamwork and mentoring.

As lead partner for the digital learning component, BAU developed a comprehensive online learning programme and contributed expertise in entrepreneurship, startup development, mentoring and innovation culture. BAU also supported the design of challenge topics, facilitated mentoring activities and contributed to the development of the project’s entrepreneurship methodology.

ENTEG was a cross-border initiative designed to strengthen entrepreneurial skills and improve employability among young graduates in North Macedonia and Greece. Within the project, BAU developed and delivered the Virtual Entrepreneurship Lab, an online entrepreneurship learning platform combining digital learning, mentoring, practical assignments, networking and startup capacity building.

BAU created a structured entrepreneurship curriculum covering the complete startup journey, from idea generation and market validation to business modelling, financial planning, fundraising and pitching. Participants worked through practical exercises supported by individual mentoring sessions, enabling them to transform business ideas into viable entrepreneurial projects.

The project also delivered awareness events, career development activities, cross-border cooperation visits and networking that connected participants with entrepreneurs, experts and innovation stakeholders from both countries.

BAU partnered with the MINDSPACE initiative to promote and enable the participation of students and young innovators from North Macedonia in a regional entrepreneurship and innovation programme. Each edition brought together university students and alumni from across South-East Europe in an intensive two-month online experience combining entrepreneurship training, innovation challenges, mentoring, teamwork and sector-specific knowledge.

Every annual edition focused on a strategic industry theme: Transport and Logistics in 2021, Smart Cities in 2022, and Life Sciences in 2023. Through workshops, mentoring sessions, team projects and interaction with industry experts, participants developed entrepreneurial skills while addressing real challenges in their sectors.

The Alliance of Boundary Crossing for Deep Tech (ABCD) was an EIT HEI initiative designed to strengthen deep-tech entrepreneurship, startup development and innovation capacity within higher education institutions across the Western Balkans and Hungary. The project brought together universities, startups, industry experts, investors and innovation support organisations to foster technology commercialisation, university entrepreneurship and ecosystem development.

A core component was the Founders ABCDeep Tech Startup Support Programme, a structured acceleration programme supporting deep-tech startups through training, mentoring, investor readiness preparation, business development support and international pitching opportunities. The programme covered problem-solution fit, value proposition development, startup pitching, sustainability, market validation, intellectual property, go-to-market strategies, finance and investments.

Beyond startup support, the project developed university incubation methodologies, startup acceleration frameworks and best-practice resources aimed at strengthening the long-term capacity of universities to support entrepreneurship, innovation and technology transfer.

As local implementation partner in North Macedonia, BAU promoted, scouted, evaluated and supported innovative startups for the FIA Region I Startup Challenge. The programme connected startups with FIA Region I's network of 103 mobility clubs representing more than 36 million members and consumers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, creating direct routes to market validation, business development and international commercialisation.

BAU provided outreach, application support, mentoring and pitch preparation to help startups present solutions for the future of mobility, including connected vehicles, road safety, electric mobility, mobility-as-a-service, urban and micro-mobility, digital services, personal assistance, health and smart lifestyle solutions.

Selected startups were introduced directly to innovation leaders, business development experts and decision-makers from the FIA mobility clubs through pitching sessions, one-to-one meetings, thematic discussions and networking aimed at pilot projects and commercial partnerships.

BAU and its ecosystem partners organised a series of intensive master classes led by Peter Adams, Managing Director of Rockies Venture Fund, Executive Director of Rockies Venture Club, board member of the Angel Capital Association and author of Venture Capital for Dummies. The programme set out to strengthen the Macedonian startup investment ecosystem by putting founders and angel investors in the same room, learning the same frameworks.

Delivered as four specialised masterclasses, the programme provided the practical tools, frameworks and case studies used by leading angel investors and venture capital ecosystems. Participants gained first-hand insight into the full investment lifecycle, from startup financing and valuation through term sheet negotiation, capital raising strategy and exit planning.

BAU participated in and supported the organisation of the Guinness World Record for the Longest Pitch Marathon, an entrepreneurship initiative that brought startups, investors, mentors and innovation stakeholders together in a continuous pitching event. It contributed to North Macedonia securing the world record for the longest startup pitch marathon while creating real investment and growth opportunities for early-stage ventures.

Beyond the record itself, the initiative worked as a startup scouting and investment platform. Founders gained exposure to investors, mentors and industry experts through pitching sessions, networking and a structured evaluation process designed to identify high-potential startups.

The BAU Acceleration Programmes are BAU's flagship startup acceleration initiative, designed to help promising technology startups transform innovative ideas into scalable and investment-ready businesses. Since 2019 the programmes have provided intensive entrepreneurial training, mentoring, coaching, business development support, investor preparation and access to funding.

Across the editions, startups received structured support covering customer discovery, market validation, competition analysis, pricing, sales, marketing, business modelling, financial forecasting, fundraising, pitch development and growth strategy, combining workshops, individual mentoring, expert coaching, real startup case studies and investor engagement.

The 2021 and 2022 editions introduced an expanded mentor-driven approach involving regional and international experts, successful founders, investors and industry professionals who worked directly with selected startups on business models, investor materials, commercial strategy and growth plans.

Booster Week 2019 was an intensive international entrepreneurship and early-stage acceleration programme for innovative startups and entrepreneurial teams in North Macedonia. Over seven days face to face, 72 MBA students and 6 professors from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts collaborated with 13 Macedonian startups, providing hands-on business mentoring, market validation support, business model development and strategic guidance.

The programme created knowledge exchange between international business experts and local entrepreneurs, helping participating teams refine their value propositions, strengthen go-to-market strategies and improve investment readiness.

BETAPITCH Skopje was a startup pitching competition organised by Business Accelerator UKIM in partnership with Betahaus Berlin, giving innovative Macedonian startups direct access to international investors, mentors, corporate partners and the European startup ecosystem. It served as the Macedonian edition of the global BETAPITCH competition, which runs in innovation hubs worldwide.

The programme brought promising early-stage startups together to present their solutions before expert juries and industry stakeholders. Winning teams earned the opportunity to represent North Macedonia at the BETAPITCH Global finals in Berlin, connect with international partners and explore investment and market expansion.

The EBRD Youth in Business Mentoring Programme 2026 was a ten-week hybrid growth and capacity-building programme designed to help young Macedonian MSMEs become growth-ready and investment-ready businesses. Delivered by BAU in partnership with EBRD and ProCredit Bank, it combined intensive one-to-one mentoring, practical business workshops, networking and strategic planning based on the internationally recognised Scaling Up methodology.

Participants worked closely with experienced mentors to identify their key growth challenges, define measurable objectives and develop a twelve-month One-Page Strategic Plan covering market positioning, revenue growth, operational efficiency, digital transformation, sustainability and access to finance. The programme also included specialised workshops on Digital Transformation and AI, Sustainable Competitiveness and Resource Efficiency, and Access to Finance and Investment Readiness.

BAU designed and facilitated a two-day ESG Design Thinking workshop at Veze Sharri Group in Tetovo, bringing together 15 ESG company representatives from AmCham and other stakeholders to address strategic business and sustainability challenges through collaborative innovation. Using Empathy Mapping, Problem Statement Canvases and Innovation Canvases, participants co-created practical solutions aligned with environmental, social and governance principles.

The workshop focused on three priority areas: leadership succession and governance, utilisation of surplus energy from the company biogas facility, and workforce attraction and retention in the agri-food sector. Through cross-functional teamwork and structured facilitation, participants developed actionable concepts, pilot project ideas and longer-term ESG initiatives.

The Textile Waste Valorisation into New Products project was a circular economy pilot focused on identifying, validating and commercialising innovative applications for textile waste in North Macedonia. It brought together industry, academia, startups, public institutions and EIT communities to explore how textile waste can be turned into high-value products while reducing environmental impact and creating economic opportunity.

Through research, stakeholder engagement, prototype development, market validation and awareness raising, the project assessed more than 200 kg of textile waste samples and identified mechanical recycling as the most viable pathway for large-scale valorisation. It produced circular business models, prototype concepts for construction and insulation materials, and new routes into EIT-supported innovation and entrepreneurship.

BAU designed and delivered an interactive Design Thinking workshop for 30 young entrepreneurs from the Pelagonija region as part of the EBRD Youth in Business Programme. The workshop set out to strengthen entrepreneurial skills through empathy-driven problem solving, user-centric innovation, creative thinking and practical analytical approaches to business growth.

Combining presentations, hands-on exercises, case studies and collaborative learning, participants were introduced to the five stages of Design Thinking — Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test — and explored how the methodology applies to real business challenges. A practical exercise covered customer needs discovery, idea generation, rapid prototyping and iterative feedback, so participants experienced the full innovation cycle first hand.

The project focused on enhancing the e-Metrix industrial monitoring and analytics platform through the integration of advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence and process optimisation techniques. By leveraging AI-driven insights and real-time data processing, the initiative aimed to improve operational efficiency, support predictive decision-making and accelerate the green and digital transformation of manufacturing industries.

Implemented under the national Smart Specialisation Strategy support measures, the project fostered collaboration between industry, academia and innovation ecosystem stakeholders to develop and deploy innovative solutions for advanced manufacturing, improving industrial competitiveness through more efficient data utilisation, process optimisation and digital transformation.

BAU was responsible for the dissemination and promotion of project results, stakeholder engagement and ecosystem-building activities. Through its national and European innovation networks, including the EIT Community RIS Hub ecosystem, BAU increased the visibility of the project, facilitated collaboration between academia and industry, and supported the presentation of the solution to manufacturing companies, innovation stakeholders and potential adopters, while strengthening pathways for commercialisation and knowledge transfer.

The project strengthens technology transfer capacity, digital health innovation and cancer diagnostics in Albania and RN Macedonia through international knowledge exchange, professional training, telepathology implementation and cross-border collaboration between healthcare, academia and innovation ecosystem stakeholders. It supports the adoption of modern digital healthcare solutions, promotes public-private cooperation and contributes to the development of innovation-driven healthcare systems.

A key component is the establishment of a regional knowledge-transfer network focused on telepathology, digital diagnostics, innovation management and healthcare technology commercialisation. Through international webinars, expert training, stakeholder engagement activities, conference sessions and a healthcare innovation hackathon, the project supports the transfer of know-how from leading European institutions to healthcare professionals and organisations in the region.

BAU is responsible for connecting the Macedonian healthcare sector with the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, supporting the promotion and moderation of international training activities, stakeholder engagement, technology transfer awareness and collaboration between healthcare institutions, innovators, startups and industry partners. BAU also contributes to the organisation of the international conference in Tirana and facilitates the participation of Macedonian healthcare institutions, innovation experts and ecosystem stakeholders.