The CREDIT4CE Startup Support Programme - Accelerator is designed to support early-stage startups developing solutions enabling decarbonisation and to empower them to roll out their products across Central Europe and beyond. By combining tailored business coaching, peer learning opportunities, community- and relationship-building activities, and engagement sessions with investors and potential customers, the programme addresses common challenges faced by early-stage ClimateTech entrepreneurs in the Central European region. In particular, the small and fragmented market, limited access to capital, insufficient business experience, and the lack of targeted support structures

CREDIT4CE Accelerator aims to onboard 20 promising startups, helping them strengthen customer traction, enhance fundraising capabilities, attract venture capital to the CE region, and ultimately contribute to decarbonising the manufacturing sector

Structured as a two-cohort scheme, the program will run in two 3-month cycles (both cohorts in 2026). It will welcome innovative teams from across Central Europe that are ready to grow, learn, and scale. While it does not provide direct financial support, the program delivers high value through personalised coaching, mentoring, peer-learning activities, and expanded access to investor networks and potential customer pipelines.

Participating startups receive bespoke 1-to-1 coaching from seasoned experts within the Consortium of Project Partners. These customised sessions focus on strengthening business development, providing practical guidance, hands-on support, and regular progress reviews to maintain momentum and accountability. In addition, coaches help open doors by facilitating introductions to relevant partners, stakeholders, and networks that can accelerate your growth.

Individually tailored support is further strengthened by a series of deep-dive workshops led by seasoned experts with real-world, practical experience. Each session combines strategic insights with hands-on examples, covering essential topics such as business strategy, customer discovery, business development, intellectual property, and pathways to both dilutive and non-dilutive funding. Designed to be highly interactive, these workshops directly address the real-world challenges early-stage startups face.

These collaborative sessions are designed to foster learning and exchange within the cohort, encouraging meaningful sharing of know-how and experience among startups. Through interactive formats tailored to participants’ needs and interests, founders gain insights from each other’s journeys, challenges, and strategies, strengthening collective learning and accelerating individual progress.

Fireside Chat sessions give startups the opportunity to deepen their understanding of both investors and potential customers. Through interactive fireside conversations, participants gain firsthand insights into customer pain points, needs, barriers, and enablers, as well as investor expectations, preferences, and decision-making logic, equipping founders with the knowledge needed to refine their strategy and strengthen their market fit.