Raise
Programme
Are you an investor interested in investing in Belgian diverse-founded impact startups?
Request your invite via hello@impactshakers.com
Raise Funding to Scale your Impact Solution!
Join a programme, a community and an ecosystem to help you build a successful impact business.
This Raise cohort is set up to help more diverse founding teams in Belgium successfully fundraise and scale their business.
Raise offers access to knowledge, network & capital through a mix of knowledge, insights, practical tools, exercises, technical understanding and networking opportunities with local investors.
This bespoke programme is adapted to the participating founders and works with small groups of underrepresented founders that are ready to scale their business.
Investor Event 20 Nov, Brussels
Raise is a hybrid yearlong support programme including a kick off retreat and an intensive 10 week sprint to help diverse founders with impact businesses in Belgium get investor ready.
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Applications closed​​
"I am immensely grateful for the remarkable learning journey that the Raise programme has afforded me. The collective improvement among us is nothing short of impressive!"
Marie Logé
Co-Founder - Better
Join Raise
Raise was set up to help diverse founding teams get the unfair advantage of being the best prepared person in the room. You will get to learn and grow with a community of exceptional founders and impact investors. The programme is designed and taught by investors, which makes it unique.
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Join the other side of the table.
The programme will focus on the following subjects and will host sessions with experts and networking events with investors.
Understanding
the Basics
Fundraising
Strategy
Creating
an excellent
pitch deck
Venture
Economics
Talking and negotiating
with investors
Navigating and addressing bias
Residential Leadership
Retreat
Investor Event
Our Approach
Modules
During 10 weeks we'll host in person sessions in Brussels in which we'll take you through the material and make room for questions and discussion.
Tools & Exercises
​We developed tools to support you during and after the programme and a number of practical exercises that help you integrate what you learned.
Guest Q&A
We invite some of the most credible investors out there to share their experience with you.
Curated Content
We share some of the best sources we have come across from experts across the globe.
Case Study
We built a case study so you can go through at least one full process that helps you apply the new investment skills. The best way to learn about fundraising is to discuss different possible scenarios and implications of different instruments and economics.
"Best learning experience of the past years!"
Nora Van Cauwenbergh
Co-Founder - BitaGreen
"A fantastic opportunity for personal and professional development in a safe environment"
Diane Umunyurwa
Founder - GHitech
Who we're looking for
Impact Businesses in Belgium
Exceptional Diverse Founders
We invest in people. Your business will still change a lot and we invest in those that have the resilience and strength to steer it and their team into the future.
Scalable Impact Solutions
Understand the impact you want to make. You don't have to have a shiny impact model yet, we'll build one together and help you keep your mission in focus.
Problem Market Fit
We love learning about the problem you want to solve and the market and your place in it. Teach us something new and we'll be the happiest and most curious kids in class.
User Passion
If you understand and care about the real pain points of your users and can offer them a solution, you're well on your way to building a successful business.
Residential Retreat
We will kick off the programme with a residential retreat in Belgium.
You take care of transportation and we take care of everything else!
The retreat will be focused on personal development and will give us the opportunity to truly understand who wants to build which type of business and how.
Timing
Rolling Applications
Applications Close
17 June 2024
​Interviews
Rolling
Selection
30 June 2024
Kick off - Retreat
Sept 2024
The Team
FAQ
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When will you open applications again?We will open applications again in the Fall of 2024. In the meantime, if you believe you will be an amazing match for the next group of startups, please get onto our radar by submitting your details HERE.
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Who should apply?Any early or growth stage for-profit company registered in Europe (including the UK), that has a social and/or ecological impact with at least one underrepresented* founder with significant shareholdership. The startups should ideally be ready for a pre-seed/seed investment round by March 2024. *An underrepresented founder has a broad definition to reflect and acknowledge the many dimensions in which our founders have had to beat the odds. This includes women, people of colour, differently-abled people, people with a migration background, members of the LGBTQAI+ community.
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Do I have to have a legal entity?Preferably yes, but it could also be registered by the starting date of the accelerator, March 18th 2024.
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Do you take equity?Yes, the investment will be made in exchange for equity. However, we appreciate that your business might be at a very early stage and so we prefer to invest via a SAFE note.
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​​How many companies will you accept?We will accept maximum 6 companies in this cohort.
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What if I'm building a non-profit?In this programme, we're focusing on businesses that have or will take a for-profit legal form. If yours is non-profit, please drop us a line, we're looking to do a cohort of one of our other programmes with non-profits and will keep you posted!
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How much will you invest?We will invest €150.000 in a SAFE type convertible note at the start of the programme. We will provide the candidates with all details and help you understand the nitty gritty of our note as well as support you to find co-investors for this round if desired. We ask for a fixed fee of €40.000 (excl VAT) for the support we offer. We chose the model of a fixed fee over a fixed percentage of equity because we believe it's a fairer model and allows for startups with a range of valuations to accept the investment without having to worry about future implications.
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How do you select participants? What are the selection criteria?The choice of projects is made through a rigorous selection and validation process, involving the Impact Shakers team as well as external experts. We added four main pillars we’ll select on: Founder team, Problem & Market, Impact & User focus.
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When and how will we participate? How is the programme structured?We provide extensive support during 6 months consisting of masterclasses, coaching, expert connections, deep fundraising & market research support. Consider us your extended team. Please put the dates of the retreat in your calendar already (March 18 to 22), we count on full participation for this in person part of the programme.
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When will I hear back?If you pass to the next round, we will get in touch with you for an interview. Please submit ASAP. We want to get to know you better before we agree to work together for years to come. Submitting early is definitely a good idea! We will notify all applicants before the start of the accelerator.
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Can I change my application after submission?If you believe the new information is crucial, feel free to email us at hello@impactshakers.com.
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Which HQ countries can participate?All countries on the continent Europe (including the UK).
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This page will be regularly updated.Keep an eye on it. Any other questions you need answered before applying, email us at hello@impactshakers.com.