The event kicked off together with our partners Advestra, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, IRF Reputation, UBS, Walder Wyss Rechtsanwälte and Zürcher Kantonalbank on 8 November 2022 at the SIX Convention Point.
Who is taking part?
This year's class is once again packed with high-potential scale-ups and SMEs from sectors such as biotech, consumer goods, ICT, industrial, fintech, cleantech, pharmaceutical and software-as-a-service. Some of the participants can be found on the Sparks IPO Academy website.
Participants go through the Sparks IPO Academy with the aim of obtaining certainty whether an IPO on the Sparks segment could be a possible next step for them and to gain the necessary tools to launch such a project in the future.
In order to maintain the exclusivity of the 6-month IPO training program, the number of participants for this year's cohort was limited to 14.
What makes the Sparks IPO Academy different?
The exclusive training program gives participating companies the unique opportunity to connect with Switzerland's leading capital market experts and acquire state-of-the-art public capital market knowledge. The academy consists of both in-person events and various online sessions. This hybrid format allows company owners to participate in the Sparks IPO Academy alongside their busy schedules. The individual in-person events (such as the kick-off event) provide companies with important networking opportunities.
What’s new this year?
Based on the feedbacks from last edition’s participants, we newly introduced elements such as an Investors Roundtable event which will give participants the opportunity to exchange ideas directly with Swiss small-cap investors. Additionally, this year’s participants will have access to one-on-one mentoring from experienced experts and advisors, including former CFOs who took their companies public on SIX Swiss Exchange.
What happens next?
Companies will now be invited to the first online session focusing on "Buy Side Investors" by Schroders on 23 November, where they will learn about the perspective of these investors and their role in an IPO.
Although the second Sparks IPO Academy has only just begun, companies can already start applying here for the 2023/24 program.