The first startup school will open in Vitebsk

Three schools will open in Minsk, and three more in Brest, Grodno, and Vitebsk. Regional schools will focus on launching various types of businesses, while the capital's schools will focus on implementing production and scientific projects, as well as BSTU student projects. This was reported to us by the public association "Society for the Promotion of Innovative Business".

Startup School (start.by) is a new non-profit project that helps launch and develop businesses. Its basic principle is that only an entrepreneur can teach business. Therefore, the experts are people who have learned to launch and manage a business through their own successes and failures.

At the same time, Startup School contributes to the implementation of the Program for Socio-Economic Development of Belarus for 2016-2020, which pays special attention to measures to popularize scientific and technical creativity, invention, and innovative entrepreneurship. Startup School promotes increased business activity of the population, development of small and medium-sized businesses, and job creation.

Startup School will begin with an intensive course, where participants will go from idea to startup in just 9.5 weeks. Ten teams will be formed at the first intensive session. They will compete for prizes, funding, media attention, and a spot in the "Investor Day" competition. As a result, by the end of this year, 60 ideas will be tested in the startup schools, each of which has the potential to become a successful business.

This project became possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development and the initiative of organizations such as the "Society for the Promotion of Innovative Business", "Minsk City Technopark", "Vitebsk Business Center", Grodno Regional Financial Support Institution for Entrepreneurship, Brest Local Fund for Regional Development, Belarusian State Technological University, and "Intelligence Laboratory".

Startup School classes in Vitebsk will start on September 2.

Prepared by Vitaly SHIENOK, "Vitbichi".