The LEAP Program

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Fundraising for UNDERREPRESENTED Founders

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How It Works

WHAT?

  • LEAP is a 3-month program designed to help underrepresented founders raise capital for their startups by equipping them with relevant expertise and knowledge.

  • The program is online, in English and happnes in in Q4 2025.

  • Many founders still face barriers when it comes to building and scaling their businesses.

  • Our purpose is to bridge the gap and showcase the true potential of founders whom are often overlooked and underappreciated. We want to help them scale and grow, and add values to the society and planet.

WHY?

WHo?

  • Startups that are registered in Norway.

  • You are looking to raise your first investment round.

  • The startup must have one member who is an underrepresented founder with one of the following criteria: 1) immigrant background, or 2) female.

    • A passion to creating an impactful and sustainable business

    • Have an open mind and willingness to learn

    • Have resilience and adaptability 

    • Your startup is registered in Norway

    • You should have ambitions to scale both in Norway and internationally.

    • You must be able to attend the Demo Day in person in Oslo in January 2026.

Is this ‘you’ with a ‘business looking for investors’?

Program booklet
Program Report
FAQs

  • Submit an online application form. The application form takes 20-30 minutes to complete.

  • Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an online interview to share more about themselves and their business ideas.

  • The LEAP program includes online workshops, pre-recorded videos, 1-on-1 mentoring and support.

  • The program concludes with a demo day in which the participants present their businesses to our partners, mentors and investors.

HOW IT WORKS

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Some of our speakers and mentors

  • Saurabh Kumar

    EIT Urban Mobility

  • Steven William Tilley

    ECIT Law

  • Patricia Raducan

    Speedinvest

  • Melinda Elmborg

    Mashup

  • Merve Hokamp

    Leadrise Coaching

OUR SPONSORS

See what earlier participants say about the program

  • “The program was well-structured and effectively delivered. This was achieved through a good balance of workshops and one-on-one sessions with mentors and the program leader. The speakers provided valuable insights—especially relevant given my background as an engineer, and I now feel more confident taking the next steps with my business.”

    — Angela De Lauretis, Regenarti

  • “We’re very pleased with LEAP! Tendro has been a part of the LEAP ecosystem over the past few months, and we’ve found this to be a very positive factor. It’s clear that the program is well thought through and that those behind it are genuinely committed to helping startups grow. We’ve received valuable sparring and felt a sincere interest from your team.”

    — Ida Sandtorp, Tendro

  • “We joined LEAP because we wanted to expand our network, which we did. Through the program we built new relationships and made connections we otherwise wouldn’t have had access to. What I appreciated most was the personal follow-up between the sessions.”

    Cecilie Aagotnes, CanEAT