Ponce grants $25K to 10 tech startups in P11 accelerator
The municipal program aims to make the city a hub for innovation.
Some $25,000 has been disbursed to 10 technology startups as part of the second generation of the tech accelerator Pelleven (P11) Ponce Mayor Marlese Sifre-Rodríguez announced.
The funding was awarded during the “Demo Day” event at the Rafael Hernández Colón Foundation, where entrepreneurs presented their services to a group of guests, businesspeople and experts in technological trends.
P11 is an initiative of Ponce’s Planning and Economic Development Department whose objective is to transform Ponce into a technological hub while encouraging economic growth. The $25,000 incentives, provided on an “equity-free” basis, can be used to purchase equipment, cover operational costs, access technical assistance or meet other business planning needs.
The 10 startups receiving funding include WAOK, BookSell, StayConnect, Popsikills, AnaYAna, Handle, Sublistuff, Med-Fly, Dema Lab Services, and Bukea.
Participants joined a pre-accelerator program before Demo Day, which provided mentoring, customer validation, marketing plan development, sales strategies and project management training. Sessions were held at Ciracet’s coworking space, with additional workshops at the Rafael Hernández Colón Foundation.
Following Demo Day, the startups transitioned to the “Co-Rise” program, which offers monthly workshops with mentors, sales meetings and workspace. Startups also receive six months of incubation, providing opportunities to refine their projects and present them to investors and other interested companies.
“Since we started in this administration, the plan to activate the economy and the business ecosystem in Ponce was vital,” said Jean Paul González, director of Ponce’s Planning and Economic Development Department. “The challenge for these companies to be able to establish themselves in Ponce and start in our city to launch their project is ideal for us because one of the main reasons for our plan is to reactivate our business ecosystem. This is the first municipal accelerator in Puerto Rico with two generations of 10 participants each, who receive an incentive, six months of training and six additional months of free space to work in, and today we see the results of all this effort.”
The startups participating in P11 are also eligible for Ponce OnBoarding incentives, including access to Banco Municipal, Ponce Invest, Fast Track Permit and the Ponce Jobs platform.
Ponce’s mayor said that programs like P11 are essential for fostering innovation and growth, placing the city “at the forefront of technological trends that are advancing by leaps and bounds.”
Sifre-Rodríguez added: “P11 has been able to bring together 20 finalists from technology companies that are offering innovative solutions using the latest advancements to implement in various industries. In both generations, it has been possible to take these entrepreneurs step by step so that they can enter the business world and can make an immediate impact.”
