GIST Innovates Ukraine, a program of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, is now accepting applications for its 2021 program.

GIST Innovates Ukraine is a ten-week pre-accelerator training program modeled after the Lean Startup methodology. Through an in-depth customer discovery process, early-stage entrepreneurs will identify and evaluate opportunities for their venture and make informed decisions on how best to move their idea forward. The program provides innovators with the training, mentoring, and resources they need to build their entrepreneurial skills and bring their ideas out of the university lab and into the market.

The program is designed to work with 25 three-person teams located in Ukraine that have technology affiliated with a government agency, university, research lab, incubator, accelerator or industry.

Teams must consist of a:

• Technical Lead: Serves as expert of the venture's technology.
• Entrepreneurial Lead: Serves as team spokesperson, leads efforts in business model development, and interfaces with potential customers.
• Business Mentor: Helps teams develop IP strategy, connects with funders, and advises on customer discovery efforts.

A select group of high-performing teams will qualify for the opportunity to receive further mentoring and acceleration through the GIST Network upon completion of the GIST Innovates Ukraine program. Other possible opportunities available to qualifying teams include incubation within the United States.

Program Highlights

• Experience in-depth training and mentorship through interactive online training at GISTNetwork.org in Summer 2021. If public health conditions allow, teams may have the opportunity to participate in an in-person workshop closing in Kyiv.
• Spend a significant amount of time engaging with industry experts, talking to potential customers, and testing hypotheses.
• Share experiences with other entrepreneurial teams engaged in similar work.