Ajujaht.ee started as a driver to promote entrepreneurship in Estonia in 2007. It required a methodology and approach to build an entrepreneurship culture and ensure a new generation of early-stage start-ups.
CIVITTA started to deliver Ajujaht with the innovative pre-accelerator model with TV episodes in 2012, and, since then, over the years, it has evolved from early-stage pre-accelerator to a renowned startup accelerator in Estonia and beyond.
Ajujaht started in 2007 as business idea competition, pivoted to pre-accelerator in 2012 when CIVITA started to run it, matured over the years and in 2022 made another major pivot, when it was turning into a full-time accelerator program.
The program runs throughout the year in three stages: general community events and pipeline building, a 3-to-4-month accelerator program, and the competition for main prizes and investments in national TV with 8 episodes, including a Live Finale.
Startups entering the program need to have an MVP and first traction, aim of the program is to help startups move from the early-stage to investment/market readiness level (depending on their needs). A heavy founder-to-founder mentorship was introduced through key mentors, and ad hoc mentors complemented with some advice given to new founders. The most advanced teams are taken to market discovery tours or major tech conferences (depending on the year). CIVITTA delivered full content for the program: program design and methodology development, pipeline building, startup evaluations and selection, trainers, mentors, fundraising, study tour, networking events, etc.
5 642 Business ideas applied
435 Teams through accelerator
1 285 Founders through program
2B EUR Investments raised
1 unicorn Bolt.eu
