With support from USAID, CEED Macedonia continues to support startups and growth of the startup ecosystem

At the beginning of November, Macedonia 2025 held its annual summit in Skopje. The summit included a “Get in the Ring” business idea pitching contest for startups. Eight startup companies competed in four rounds. 

CEED Macedonia was a big winner. Two startups that went through CEED’s Acceleration Program made it to the final round—Sole Communication Network and Mama Organa.

Sole Communication Network pitched its unique software tools, customized applications intended to evolve into a new business network named Solenet.

Mama Organa, a producer of organic fertilizers, pitched its approach to plant production using organic fertilizer and substrates. Substrates reduce soil pollution and are ideal for organic production, potentially reducing the time to clean up soil pollution from seven years to just one.  

The competitors, Sole Communication Network and Mama Organa delivered excellent pitches, and by winning in different categories were able to complete in the Startups Europe Awards 2017 in Brussels. Mama Organa won in the AgriTech category and Sole Communication Network the internet of Things (IoT) category.  

Mama Organa was the final winner of the “Get in the Ring Pitch” and will represent Macedonia in the International Get in the Ring pitching contest to be held next year from May 30 - June 2, 2018.

Mama Organa also won the national competition for “Philantropy for Green Ideas” held in Skopje, and consequently will participate in the international competition to be held in Montenegro.

With support from USAID, CEED Macedonia continues to support startups and growth of the startup ecosystem generally in Macedonia.

USAID helped establish CEED Macedonia in 2007. Current projects are based on approaches already implemented successfully with small and medium enterprises over the past ten years. Since the beginning of the project, close to 434 entrepreneurs have participated in the learning program and over 354 new jobs have been created in the microenterprises they run, of which 140 have introduced new practices. As result of the various networking opportunities, participants have established over 170 new business deals.