An international education accelerator “Edu Challenger” has officially begun operations in Lithuania. Its goal is to support educational innovation startups by helping them find customers, enter foreign markets and attract investments. The first round of the program will start in November, and a total of 30 startups from Lithuania and all over the world are planned to be selected.

“The start of this accelerator in Lithuania is an important step in promoting educational innovations both locally and globally. This is a unique opportunity for startups to grow, establish themselves in international markets and attract investments. Startups selected to participate in this program will be able to take advantage of business development grants provided by the Innovation Agency, which will reach up to 59 000 Eur,” says the Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė.

According to Karolina Urbonaitė, head of Startup Lithuania: “The start of the EDU Challenger accelerator in Lithuania is a great opportunity for our startups. We are pleased that the program will not only provide financial support for growth and development, but will also open doors to international markets and attract the attention of investors. Part of the grant will be paid to the startups upon the start of participation in the program, and the other part – upon successful completion. Also, three program participants will have the opportunity to attract an additional 42 000 EUR worth of investments, and the best teams will win 24 000 Eur. It is important to mention that in order to receive this support, startups will have to be registered in Vilnius,” says the head of Startup Lithuania.

The acceleration program will consist of training, personal consultations with mentors from all over the world, meetings with successful startups, investors, and potential customers. The program is set to last 12 weeks, during which startups will have to be physically present in Vilnius. Free work spaces will be provided in the city center.

The “Edu Challenger” accelerator in Lithuania is being implemented by “Startup Lithuania”, a division of the Innovation Agency together with the Lithuanian branch of the international consulting agency “Civitta” and a Finnish education accelerator “xEdu”. The latter is one of the strongest European educational accelerators, whose founders have implemented programs in Singapore, Italy, and Finland.

“In implementing this program, we chose to cooperate with xEdu because of their impeccable reputation, knowledge of the education ecosystem, and a wide network of contacts, which will be especially useful for startups. We are also united by a common ambition – to make a high-level accelerator that would help startups secure a place in the market and attract investment”, says Jurga Mečinskienė, associate partner of Civitta responsible for the accelerator program.

The full accelerator program will consist of three cycles, with 10 to 15 startups participating in each cycle. The accelerator’s activities will end in March of 2026. The program is financed by the European Union Economic Recovery and Resilience Fund.