The Challenge

Techstars Startup Weekend is a globally recognized program designed to support early-stage startup creation through immersive, community-driven events. It’s a 54-hour sprint where developers, designers, marketers, and startup enthusiasts come together to pitch ideas, form teams, and build real prototypes. Solveo has proudly served as the community leader and organizer of Startup Weekend in Macedonia since 2018.

Our Approach

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After last year’s successful collaboration, Solveo and ProCredit Bank partnered once again — this time, to take on social innovation.

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The goal was to organize a Startup Weekend that empowered young innovators to build ventures addressing real societal problems. From healthcare and agriculture to local tourism and accessibility, the event had one core mission: support bold ideas that make life better for people and communities.

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With that in mind, this edition of Startup Weekend needed to be more than just a startup sprint. It had to be a platform for purpose-driven innovation, built around real challenges, guided by experienced mentors, and driven by the community. 

From November 1st to 3rd, 2024, Startup Weekend Skopje brought together over 50 young innovators at the central branch of ProCredit Bank. The three-day sprint followed the classic Startup Weekend format: pitch on Friday, build on Saturday, and present on Sunday. But this edition came with a twist — every idea needed to have social impact at its core.

After the initial idea pitches on Friday, 10 teams were formed around the most promising concepts. Throughout the weekend, they were guided by more than 20 mentors from different industries — from fintech and agriculture to education and health. Each team worked on refining their problem statement, validating their assumptions, prototyping solutions, and building a business model.

Saturday afternoon featured a powerful panel: “Learning from Our Biggest Mistakes: Turning Failure into Opportunity.” Panelists Gogo Rafajlovski (Networker), Natali Ristovska (Yova), and Sanja Lazarevska (APRIL22) shared personal stories about building ventures, navigating uncertainty, and learning from failure — a timely reminder for participants navigating their own startup rollercoaster in real time.

The event closed on Sunday with 10 live pitches in front of a jury of experts. Solveo handled the full organization and facilitation of the event — from team formation, mentoring coordination, and panel curation to pitch day logistics and judge selection

Outcomes

Three winning ideas:

🥇 1st Place – CareConnect
A platform that connects families with caregivers for elderly individuals, offering personalized services and higher quality of life.

🥈 2nd Place – Agro AI
An AI-powered solution that helps small farmers adopt smart technologies like drone spraying, soil testing, and planting via regional cooperatives.

🥉 3rd Place – Lokal Insight
A mobile app for tourists providing real-time, location-based updates on weather, events, traffic, and safety in unfamiliar areas.