Let's accelerate your impact venture together.
The H-Accelerator: an online seed startup incubator
Genuine Human Connections
The H-Accelerator is an online program that connects top tier students with impact entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Gain visibility, traction in new markets, meet potential investors and grow your early-stage impact startup.
We help do.
We work with students from the top universities worldwide
Accelerate your venture in just few months, remotely.
Accepted ventures will be connected with a team of students to tackle their most critical business, tech, and marketing challenges to boost their brand globally.
Next H-Accelerator is starting January 27th, 2025.
EARLY DECISION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 15TH.
*If applied by the ED deadline, interview guaranteed.
“Your program is really making an enormous transformative impact in the lives of entrepreneurs in developing nations. I am indebted for bringing two wonderful students into Pisces and we will recommend other entrepreneurs to apply in the next cohort as they will never regret it.”
Hendrix Sarpong
Pisces is a pioneering aquaculture company that lowers greenhouse gas emissions by creating sustainable fish production in Africa and empowers locals to engage in sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
Persistently Phenomenal in the Pandemic Program 2020
The Upcoming H-Accelerator
Join the Global Powerhouse
Sector Agnostic
Latin America, Africa & South East Asia
Global Collaboration
General Information
The H-Accelerator welcomes entrepreneurs from Latin America, Africa and South East Asia with ventures across all sectors.
Past companies have ranged from artisanship, med-tech, cosmetics, agriculture processing, the music industry, consulting services to food processing.
We follow a highly selective application process on a rolling application basis. Teams consist of one entrepreneur paired up with two to three university students — and three different nationalities.
Logistics
Program starts: January 27, 2025
Program ends: May 2, 2025
Your engagement lasts for the entirety of the H-Accelerator’s duration (till May). Typically, the time commitment ranges from five to six hours on a weekly basis. During the summer session, time commitment is ten to twelve hours a week.
The H-Accelerator is a 100% virtual program. Emails and video calls serve as the primary mode of communication.
Application Timeline
Applications currently open: rolling applications on a first come, fist serve basis.
Application are reviewed on a rolling basis.
In short: the sooner you apply, the more chances you have to get in.
All acceptances will be sent out by the end of May. However, you may receive your acceptance into the program much earlier.
APPLICATIONS CLOSING DECEMBER 15TH.
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis depending on availability after December 15th.
Eligibility
The entrepreneur’s venture needs to be in line with our social impact policy based on the UNDP’s Economic, Social and Governance (ESG) factors.
Entrepreneurs must have:
- been working on their venture for a minimum of 2-3 years
- a successfully tested a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- a company that is currently in a validating or scaling stage
- submit Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they wish to achieve throughout the program
It is imperative that the applicant be the strategic decision-maker for the company (CEO or founder).
Entrepreneurs must possess a working knowledge of English, French or Spanish. The H-Accelerator will be conducted primarily in English, however students who speak your preferred language can work with you in said language.
Application Process
The application process is highly competitive. We look for reliable and resilient entrepreneurs who are excellent communicators.
We conduct in-house due diligence to assess the entrepreneur’s venture’s compliance through a thorough application process requiring official documentation, referrals, interviews, and performance data.
Following an initial screening process, selected entrepreneurs will be interviewed by two members of our management team. If the interview is deemed successful, the entrepreneur will move into the third application phase for further interviews.
Accepted applicants are matched with entrepreneurs based on corresponding demands and skills.
Are STARTUP ACCELERATOR WORTH IT ?
Finding the correct startup incubator can help you address the most important problems that you want to solve in the next months. Additionally, accelerators can plug you into an amazing network of entrepreneurs and investors.
HOW STARTUP ACCELERATORS WORK ?
Startup accelerators often function as mentor-based programs where experts and hard-working people from the same industry will help the startup to grow faster. It, most of the time, functions as cohorts and last several months.
HOW TO JOIN A STARTUP ACCELERATOR ?
You can apply directly to startup accelerators. They will assess the potential of your team, the traction of your product or service and the market opportunities that your startup could address.
WHY DO EARLY STAGE STARTUPS FAIL ?
Most of early stage startups fail because they can’t find the product market fit and run out of money. It can be prevented by accessing a community that can help you and by confronting your product to your market early.
how does our matching work ?
Based off written application and in-person interview, we are evaluating the personality and passion of students, which ensures that we find collaborators half-way across the world whose skills align with your objectives and challenges.
HOW do we select ventures ?
Your venture needs to be in line with our social impact policy based on the UNDP’s ESG factors with emphasis given to official documentation, referrals, interviews, and performance data. If you’re selected, you will be contacted for a Zoom interview.
How do we select students ?
Based on past experiences, we evaluate if they are a good fit in the program. Our team will conduct a remote interview to gage their analytical skills, responses to hypotheticals and evaluate their knowledge of the market they will be working in.
I worry about intellectual property.
During the application process, students sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement stating that any work done during the program belongs to the entrepreneur as proprietary knowledge. As an entrepreneur, you have ownership of all the work done during the program.