ThoughtBox to support start-ups in €4.5m European programme

Educational software group ThoughtBox is part of a consortium that will support 25 start-ups over the next two years in a €4.5 million European Union programme.

The EuropeanPioneers scheme targets targets small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups in the fields of elearning, smart city services, social connected TV and pervasive gaming.

It is one of 16 accelerators looking to distribute €80 million to innovative businesses across Europe.

Businesses selected to participate in the programme enter an eight-month programme with equity-free funding of between €50,000 and €250,000, access to specialised platforms and support from business coaches in areas such as concept and business model development, user-testing, finance and marketing. Five applicants will be accepted this year with 10 more in each of two rounds next year.

ThoughtBox, based in Dublin, is one of five groups in the consortium led by German start-up builder Etventure. It specialises in elearning through games and targets free education products for children worldwide.