Three fashion and design innovations receive HUF 15 million investment offer: The second HFDA Startup Program has now closed

The second joint startup incubation programme of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, Startup Campus and Hiventures (part of the MFB Group) has successfully closed. At the closing Demo Day, five selected teams were given the opportunity to present their innovative ideas and business proposals in the hope of receiving Hiventures' HUF 15 million investment offer. Compared to last year, this year three projects won the approval of the professional jury, and in two further cases, the creative concepts were awarded a special prize.

Taking into account domestic and international good practices, this year the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) launched the HFDA Startup Programme in joint cooperation with Startup Campus and the Hiventures Venture Capital Fund (part of the MFB Group) to provide support to the next generation of emerging designers, their ideas and the realization of their plans. Already under university years, a number of much needed innovative ideas can come to light which does not end up being fulfilled due to a lack of capital. It is important that socially beneficial innovations and technological advances are positively received, and the HFDA Startup programme is helping to bring these ideas to the surface for them to be launched. A record number of 61 applications were received for this year's programme, and the professional jury selected the ten most promising teams to take part in the online incubation programme in early October. In the following period, the selected teams participated in intensive business development training, and professional/business mentoring. During the eight-week-long incubation period, the teams created a business plan based on their ideas or prototypes, and the products or services of the participants that were ready for the first round of investment were invited to the Demo Day, the closing event of the programme. Demo Day - the closing event of the programme, took place on the 3^rd of December, where the five selected teams were able to present their ideas to the professional jury, investors and the general public, as this year’s event was streamed online. The MOKA team presented children's furniture that develops a sense of balance and motor skills. Perceptual Thinkers showcased a multifunctional belt pouch taking into account the habits of people with autism. The team at Try ONline is developing a social media platform focusing on fashion products, and Measure.me joined the race with an application that helps choose your clothing size online, based on artificial intelligence. Lastly, the members of S.w.e.d. explained why the design wall covering they developed is special. In the end, three of the introductory teams, MOKA, Measure.me and S.w.e.d. each received an investment offer of HUF 15 million from the Hiventures Venture Capital Fund. The three ideas shed new light on the relationship between fashion, design and technology. At the end of the presentations, the general public was also able to vote for the project they liked the most, and the audience award was won by the TryONline team. The professional jury also awarded a special prize to the Perceptual Thinkers team for their outstanding social responsibility in the project. The HFDA offered them and the Audience Award-winning team a five-session, personalized professional support programme. By implementing the programme on a regular basis, the Agency wants to create a value-creating fashion and design ecosystem in Hungary, which would greatly contribute to the recovery of the sector.