INTRODUCTION

 

The International Tourism Acceleration Program in Portugal “ACELER@TECH” (the "Program") is organized by the “Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal” (the "Organization") and is supported by “Turismo de Portugal”.

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The general objective of the Program is to contribute to the creation and development of new businesses based on innovative and challenging ideas related to tourism, accordingly they support startups that intend to develop components of innovation and scalability from the Portuguese entrepreneurial and technological ecosystem.

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The Program is oriented to already established startups that have business in the field of tourism with a technological and/or innovative component, or to technological startups that want to adapt their solution to tourism activity. In the Program it is given priority to startups that:

1. Promote solutions for the sustainable management of companies or tourist destinations, namely at an environmental, economic and social level;

2. Improve the tourist experience throughout their journey in the country, contributing to longer stays and the delivery of a satisfactory travel experience;

3. Promote smart and sustainable mobility, through reservation systems and payment systems that work in an integrated way, or by combining means of transport to offer faster, more convenient, healthier and more inclusive travel experiences;

4. Provide data-based management solutions with relevant, secure, complete and timely information to support tourism sector managers and its stakeholders;

5. Optimize companies' business operations, developing digital solutions for companies, namely SMEs, making them more competitive.

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The Program occurs between October 2023 and February 2024. It starts with a pitch session organized around each of the five verticals of the program. Aiming to introduce the startups to the partner companies, these sessions will be held online. 

Following the presentations, companies will determine the startups they would like to be connected with, and vice-versa. These will be the basis for further conversations aiming to co-develop pilots or commercial partnerships. The program will end on February 22nd, 2024, with an in-person demo day with the selected 3 finalists of the program.

 

I

GOALS

The goals of the program are to:

1. Contribute to the innovation and the digitalization of the tourism sector in Portugal, by connecting companies to tech solutions of international startups;

2. Strengthen and support the development of innovative ideas and projects with impact in the tourism sector;

3. Support networking initiatives and promote new opportunities between startups, potential partners, customers and investors;

4. Provide expertise and training to support companies thrive in the Portuguese Tourism sector.

 

II

RECIPIENTS

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1. The ACELER@TECH program is intended to support the development of innovative projects and to accelerate the go-to-market of startups in tourism, helping them to access potential clients, acquire knowledge, network and specialized support to transform and integrate their business in the Portuguese and European digital ecosystems;

2. Participation is open to entities established for more than 1 year and less than 10 years, in a seed-stage, with at least an MVP (minimum viable product) and/or revenues, with an innovative startup or project of technological scope, with application in the tourism industry.

3. “Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal” or people with connection, work or internship ties or who in any other way collaborate with the Organization cannot apply to the Program. First degree relatives of any person with associative, work or internship ties or who in any other way collaborate with the Organization cannot apply.

 

III

APPLICATIONS

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1. Only applications submitted via the online application form (link) will be accepted.

2. The application period runs from 00:01 (WET) on June 12th until 23:59 (WET) on to September 15th;

3. Participation is open to people from any nationality, older than 18 years old;

4. There is no limit to the number of participants per startup;

5. For contest purposes, the projects submitted are considered to be the creation of the person (Promoter) who completes the registration online and that person is free to add or exclude team members at any time.

6. If justified, the Organization may request additional information, establishing a deadline for its submission.

7. The finalists will be announced on October 4th, 2023, and the list will be published on the website of the ACELER@TECH program. The selected teams will be informed via the email address indicated in the application.

 

IV

SELECTION CRITERIA

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Startups will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. Adaptation to business needs: usefulness and suitability of innovations to the needs and pain points of Portuguese companies;

2. Startup Maturity: degree of readiness of the startup to carry out a pilot project, taking into account the team structure, the maturity of the solution and metrics such as revenue and number of sales; 

3. Team: multidisciplinary, dedication and capacity in the development of the startup;

4. Business model: quality of the solution compared to alternatives, addressable market size, and scalability;

5. Exclusion criterion: startups older than 10 years will not be considered for participation in the program.

 

The selection of the 20 Startups will be made by a jury appointed by the Organization and all decisions are final and cannot be contested.

 

V

GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION

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1. Participation in ACELER@TECH is free, no fees or taxes are charged, and no equity participation is required;

2. The Acceleration Program will be conducted in English;

3. The program will run virtually, with the exception of the Demo Day, in which the 3 finalists will be invited to be in-person in Lisbon;

4. During the Learn & Connect phase of the program, startups have access to “Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal”s incubation space located in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal;

5. The Program may be adapted due to unforeseen circumstances and  conditions.

 

VI

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

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1. The ACELER@TECH program runs from October 2023 to February 2024, and foresees the realisation of:

   1. Application Phase, through an online platform: June 12th to September 15th;

   2. Forming the Batch, to select the 20 participating startups: September 11th to October 20th;

   3. Learn & Connect, from October 30th to January 26th, 2024:

      1. Startup diagnosis, to identify the key objectives and challenges of each startup;

      2. Webinars, focused on how to do sales in Portugal, startup financing through government programs, legal process to move startup to Portugal, the reality of the tourism sector in Portugal;

      3. Pitch Sessions to introduce startups and industry partners to each other. These will be online events, organised in cohorts according to each vertical of the program. It will follow the structure of 5 minutes pitches, followed by up to 15 minutes of Q&A;

      4. Virtual speed datings between entrepreneurs and investors;

   4. Demo Day:

      1. 1st Moment: February 7th and 8th 2024 - online demo day where all 20 startups will pitch their projects to the jury. Each team will have 5 minutes to pitch and up 15 minutes of Q&A. After the two sessions, the 3 finalists of the program will be selected and announced;

      2. 2nd Moment: February 22nd, 2024 - in-person event, held in Lisbon and broadcast online, where the 3 finalists will pitch their project.

 

Participant startups will get expense support to cover their costs in attending the Demo day in Lisbon and to meet with potential clients.

Amounting up to 1090€ for 1 person per startup, this support includes:

• Up to 600€ for a flight ticket to Portugal

• Up to 40€ per night in a hotel

• Up to 30€ per diem 

 

This payment is dependent on sending proof of the participation on the demo day and the conducted meetings with potential clients and partners. The reimbursement is applied for the day of the Demo Day and the working days with meeting with potential clients, except for the demo day, for a total period of up to 10 straight days.

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Invoices must contain Acredita Portugal’s company details:

• Company Name: Acredita Portugal

• VAT: 508664144

• Address: VAT: 508664144, Rua Diogo Cassels, no121 loja 12, 4430-076 Vila Nova de Gaia

 

 

VII

AWARDS

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1. It is foreseen that the 3 winners will be awarded as follows: 

   1. Up to one year of physical incubation at our offices in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal;

   2. Support in the internationalisation process to Portugal (for the startups from outside of Portugal); 

   3. PR support in developing a content plan for promoting the startup in Portugal; 

   4. Perks offered by our partners;

2. The selection of the 3 (three) best projects is the responsibility of a jury appointed by the Organization and its decision cannot be contested.

3. The prizes are attributed to the startup free of charge.

 

VIII

COPYRIGHT AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

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1. Any intellectual property rights, including copyrights and industrial property rights, that exist and are related to the Startup's project submitted to ACELER@TECH belong and will continue to belong to the participating Startup.

2. The participating Startup declares and warrants that it is the owner of all intellectual property rights, including copyrights and industrial property rights, or its rightful user, relating to the project, including trademarks.

3. The participating Startup further states and acknowledges that the support to be provided by the Organization will be limited to the actions listed in this Regulation and, as such, will not imply any use or exploitation of any work or the use of any inventions of the participating Startup by the Organization.

4. The Organization cannot be held responsible for improper use of the work or violation of industrial property, and the defense of copyrights or industrial property rights related to the project, including against claims, complaints or actions filed or brought by third parties, shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the participating Startup.

5. The participating Startup will indemnify the Organization for all losses, damages or costs arising from actions or proceedings for violation of intellectual property rights as a result of or in any way related to the participation of the participating Startup in the Program.

6. The participating Startup cannot use the brands, logos or any other identifying element of "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal", for any purpose, without its prior written consent.

7. The members of the participating team may not invoke any personal rights regarding intellectual property rights in order to prevent the fulfilment of their obligations under this Regulation.

 

IX

CONFIDENTIALITY

 

1. Without prejudice to compliance with legal reporting obligations, the Organization and the participating Startup expressly undertake to treat and keep confidential all information concerning their business, as well as, in general, all information concerning the Organization or the participating Startup, of which they may become aware by virtue of this Program, henceforth referred to as "Confidential Information”.

2. For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, if the participant Startup wishes that certain information not be disclosed or made public, it must, in writing and prior to sharing it with the Organization, expressly mark such information as "CONFIDENTIAL". All information transmitted by the Organization to the participating Startup shall be assumed to be Confidential.

3. The Organization and the participating Startup shall be respectively responsible for the compliance of their employees, consultants, advisors or representatives with the confidentiality obligation set forth in this article.

4. The Organization and the participating Startup undertake to use the Confidential Information solely and exclusively for the purposes of the present Regulation, including, to the extent necessary, for the execution of the ACELER@TECH Acceleration Program, as well as for its dissemination and promotion.

5. The participating Startup grants the Organization sufficient authorization to use the non-confidential information that integrates its projects, as well as its identifying elements and distinctive signs, in promotional and marketing actions or that, by any form and means, imply the dissemination of the Program, as well as of its participating teams and the respective projects presented.

6. The confidentiality obligation contained in this clause shall not apply if the information is in the public domain or when the party that disclosed it demonstrates to the other party that its knowledge did not result from the execution of the Program.

7. The confidentiality obligation provided for in this Article shall remain in full force and effect even after the termination of the Program.

 

X

DATA PROTECTION

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1. By enrolling in the ACELER@TECH program by filling out the application form, you accept the privacy policy of the "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal", which can be consulted online: https://www.aceleratech.com/privacy-policy/ .

2. For the purpose of applying to the Program, participants must submit a set of personal data. This data is considered essential to the participation process and will be processed in the framework of the relationship established between participants and "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal".

3. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" is the entity responsible for processing the personal data mentioned in the preceding paragraph, under the terms of the applicable legislation in force, undertaking to respect the applicable rules.

4. The personal data collected are intended for various purposes inherent to the management and organization of the Program.

5. If given consent by the participants, the Organization may also process personal data for the purpose of sending news, communications, initiatives, or other matters related to "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal".

6. Additionally, with the consent of the participants, "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" may also capture and share images that are taken during the Program, both internally and externally, to the general public, regardless of the medium, by all known means and ways. This authorization to capture and use images implies the granting to "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal", under the broadest terms allowed by law, of all rights arising from the images captured in this context, which may be freely processed in any existing media or those to be developed in the future, as well as altered, edited, and adapted, without limitation as to the content of the participation, degree of exposure and also as to the territorial and temporal scope.

7. Without loss to what is referred in the preceding paragraph, the participants declare and accept that if they are part of the winning projects, "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" may disclose their personal data (namely their identification data and data related to their involvement in the project), as well as their image. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" will process this data based on the legitimate interest of "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" in sharing the winning projects to the general public.

8. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" may use other entities to provide certain services or to develop events and partnerships, in order to provide the best possible service to the participants. This provision of services or the partnership established may involve access, by these entities, to personal data of the data subjects.

9. The entities that act as subcontractors of the organization will process the personal data on behalf of "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal", and only in accordance with its documented instructions. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" seeks to ensure that these subcontractors offer sufficient guarantees of execution and adequate technical and organizational measures so that the processing will meet the requirements of the applicable legislation and ensure the security and protection of the rights of the data subjects.

10. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" may also transmit personal data to third parties when it deems such data communications necessary or appropriate (i) considering applicable law, (ii) in compliance with legal obligations/judicial orders, (iii) to respond to requests from public or government authorities, (iv) as well as within the scope of partnerships it has established.

11. "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" will keep the personal data for as long as the relationship established plus the limitation and forfeiture periods of the rights arising from them unless it is required to keep them for a longer period by law.

12. Participants may, at any time, exercise their rights regarding personal data, including the right of access, rectification, erasure, limitation of processing, objection, and portability, by emailing hello@unlimit.ventures.

13. Without loss to any other administrative or judicial remedy, the participant has the right to file a complaint with the National Data Protection Commission, if he/she believes that the treatment of his/her data by "Unlimit | Associação Acredita Portugal" violates the legal regime applicable at any given time.

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XI

FINAL PROVISIONS

 

1. Participants must act in a cordial manner and with respect for the rules and procedures of operation and programming defined by the Organization.

2. Failure by any participant to comply with the rules set forth in this Regulation may result in expulsion from the Program and possible exclusion of the Startup from the finalists group.

3. The Organization reserves the right to change this Regulation, informing the participants of the changes through its online page.

4. All cases not covered by this Regulation will be resolved at the sole discretion of the Organization.

5. The present Regulation is interpreted under the Portuguese law.

6. For the resolution of all disputes arising from the participation in this Program, whether concerning the interpretation of these Regulations or its execution, the Court of the District of Porto has exclusive jurisdiction.

7. By participating in the Program described in this document, candidates declare that they have read, understood, and accepted, without reservation, the terms and conditions of participation in the contest set forth in this Regulation.