Kotplanet.be, startup alumni of the MoveUp program, joins the Rossel group

September 21st, Charleroi - The startup Kotplanet, a 100% digital media dedicated to student life in Belgium for 17-24-year-olds, joins the Rossel group to increase its audience and develop its market on a national level.

One year ago, the startup Kotplanet was selected among 115 startups to participate in the 4th edition of the MoveUp acceleration program organized by Digital Attraxion. This edition was dedicated to the digital transformation of the media. Beyond the Rossel group, the program welcomed other names from the Belgian media landscape: RTBF, RTL Belgium, IPM, la Presse.be, Belga News Agency, the Dupuis group as well as the company Taktik.

This acceleration program brings together companies and digital start-ups. From an Open Innovation perspective, it offers digital start-ups the opportunity to meet market players and experts in order to accelerate their development. As Marina Evaristo, founder, and CEO of Kotplanet, explains: "Discovering the Belgian media world from the inside and being accompanied for acceleration by one of these players was a unique opportunity for us. Especially when you don't come from the media world, nor from communication, nor from journalism... In a few weeks, thanks to the meetings with experts and our coach/mentor we were able to receive feedback and concrete avenues of reflection regarding our strategy and our future.”

In addition to a training, coaching, and mentoring program, selected startups receive funding in the form of a convertible loan of up to €100,000.

"Access to this covid crisis convertible loan came at just the right time for us. I wanted to hire our first employee, but the market had been turned upside down as well as student life as a whole. Thanks to this loan, we were able to get through the covid period more serenely. By hiring that first key resource, I was able to prepare our growth strategies, conduct tons of meetings, and begin negotiations. Without this loan, we may not have followed the same path."

This acceleration program also allows companies that wish to innovate to respond to some of the challenges they face by quickly testing innovative solutions provided by the start-ups participating in the program. "This is what we want to facilitate through MoveUp: a win-win approach to accelerate the development and competitiveness of startups and companies," adds Emilie Fockedey, program director.

But beyond financing and collaboration between corporations and startups, the MoveUp program is also: "meetings between entrepreneurs, sharing of experiences, links, and mutual support between all participants because in the end we are all in the same boat during these few months and we are all trying to find the right path for our project", says Marina Evaristo. The 5th edition of the program will start on November 8 and will focus on a theme that is more relevant than ever: e-health! The call for startups was launched on September 1 and is open until October 3. At the end of the selection process carried out by a team of investors, entrepreneurs and experts in the field of e-health, a dozen startups will join the program.

The program will run for 5 months, from November 2021 to March 2022.

The following partner hospitals have already confirmed their participation in the program to collaborate with startups: the Jolimont Group, the Charleroi University Hospital, and the Ambroise Paré University Hospital. OncoDNA, a company specializing in precision medicine to treat patients with cancer or genetic diseases, has also confirmed its presence.

The biotech Univercells is joining the program as the sponsor of this 5th edition.

This program is carried out in partnership with the MecaTech cluster and the BioWin cluster.

Full description of the program and registration on digital-attraxion.com/moveup.