Shanghai, 2010: Maria Pennanen, a Finnish Vice President of Sales, and Ram Shoham, an Israeli Managing Director and CFO, meet while living and working in China. They join forces to set up a consulting firm in Hong Kong. After moving to Frankfurt, their passion for investing in startups takes a new form: Accelerator Frankfurt is born in 2016.
What we did: over ten years, with an extended team of experienced operators and investors, we built Frankfurt's first independent accelerator and helped over 70 startups through our programs reach the next level.
What we do now: we work as an advisory, connecting serious capital with the founders worth backing, and helping established startups in fintech, cybersecurity and defence tech enter the German market.
What we did: over ten years, with an extended team of experienced operators and investors, we built Frankfurt's first independent accelerator and helped over 70 startups through our programs reach the next level.
What we do now: we work as an advisory, connecting serious capital with the founders worth backing, and helping established startups in fintech, cybersecurity and defence tech enter the German market.
Team:
Ram is to fintech founders what George Martin was to the Beatles: the producer behind the scenes who makes it work. He co-founded Accelerator Frankfurt in 2016 and, since 2022, has been Director of the Frankfurt School Entrepreneurship Centre at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. He connects growing companies with strategic partners and has strong network contacts in Tel Aviv, one of Israel's leading tech communities. From his professional surfing career he learned the value of surrounding himself with passionate people and being in the right place at the right time.
Ram Shoham
Co-Founder
Maria runs Accelerator Frankfurt. She has invested in more than twelve startups and learned the importance of governance and LP protection the hard way. From 2018 to 2019 she was CEO of a Swiss-based blockchain data company with a team of more than twenty-five, and before becoming an entrepreneur she spent seventeen years in operational industry roles across Europe and Asia. She is CEO of Mindclip Behaviour Oy, a SaaS team-development tool, a business angel, and an INSEAD-qualified executive coach. She lectures on entrepreneurship at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and was named one of Europe's top 50 women in startups and venture three years running, 2019 to 2022. She is active across German, Finnish and Israeli startups.
Maria Pennanen
Co-Founder and CEO
Frankfurt is one of Europe's strongest economies and a major financial center, only more important in the post-Brexit era. It is a hub for banks, investors and international corporations, with a thriving startup scene and a deep pool of talent. Opportunities sit on both the customer and investor side, and B2B clients, banks and financial institutions are ready to run proofs of concept. This is where we work: helping established startups in Fintech, cybersecurity and defence enter the German market and connect with the right people, and helping family offices and investors find the teams worth backing. We've come a long way since that first meeting in Shanghai. Whether you are a startup, an investor or a company, our team would love to hear from you. You never know what a first meeting will lead to. We’ve come a long way since that first meeting in Shanghai. Whether you are a startup, an investor or a company: our team would love to hear from you. You never know what a first meeting will lead to.