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EIT Community RIS Hub Ukraine and Sigma Software Labs with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine are conducting the Ukrainian regional startup competition of Startup World Cup. The local round is backed by UNICORN program and provides a platform for Ukrainian startups to prepare for the global stage of Startup World Cup, the world’s largest global pitch competition with a $1M prize in investment held on October 2 and 4 in San Francisco, California.
STARTUP WORLD CUP 2024: UKRAINE invites Ukrainian startups to declare out loud about their project and race for prizes. Moreover, the participants will be able to join mentorship sessions on the acceleration program UNICORN – held for 8 years uniting 980 projects and 2,200 startupers – and “crush test” their idea to the tech and startup experts getting a chance to win monetary prizes.
Leaders of the Ukrainian tech ecosystem, VC firms, successful startups will take part in pitch sessions and will judge the regional final.
The Ukrainian final will be held in Kyiv and Warsaw on September 04, 2024, as one event to determine the winner of the regional round. The best team will pitch on behalf of Ukraine at Startup World Cup stage on October 2 and 4 in San Francisco, California, and compete for a $1M prize in investment. SID Venture Partners, ecosystem partner of the competition, will cover the winner’s ticket and accommodation expenses to travel to Startup World Cup. The members of UNICORN program will also compete at UNICORN Demo Day on August 28 for the right to take part in the Ukrainian final as well as no equity monetary prizes.
Please apply if your startup meets the following criteria:
Application open: for UNICORN Program till August 11, 2024; for Fast Track till August 15, 2024
Ukrainian Final: September 4, 2024, offline Kyiv/Warsaw
Find out more about STARTUP WORLD CUP 2024: UKRAINE competition or apply immediately
This year, the UNICORN program is conducted by the EIT Community RIS Hub Ukraine and Sigma Software Labs with support of ecosystem partners – SID Venture Partners and Sigma Software University.
About EIT Community RIS Hub Ukraine
The EIT Community RIS Hub in Ukraine was established in December 2023 in Kyiv as a one-stop shop for Ukrainian entrepreneurs, academics, and innovators to get closer to EIT opportunities.
EIT Community RIS Hub is part of the EU program, which aims to connect Ukrainian entrepreneurs and partners with Europe’s largest innovative ecosystem for business development. In 2023, EIT launched more than 50 educational, entrepreneurial and business programs for Ukraine. EIT directed more than 4 million euros to strengthen the Ukrainian economy. EIT provides various financial instruments — grants from 10 to 250 thousand euros and venture financing for entrepreneurs.
About Sigma Software Labs
Sigma Software Labs is a separate investment wing of Sigma Software Group – TOP 100 Global IT Outsourcing by IAOP. Labs is using the synergy of Customers and Partners network to scale portfolio startups, also helping clients to solve their business needs more efficiently. Investment strategy is focused on becoming an active partner rather than just an investor for startups, facilitating their growth in terms of not just B2B contacts, fundraising opportunities, but also access to infrastructure and resources of Sigma Software Group. Managing a portfolio of $2.3 million invested in 20 companies, and recognized as one of the most active investors in Ukraine during the full-scale war.
About Startup World Cup
Startup World Cup is a series of global startup conferences and competitions, powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures. It consists of 75+ regional startup competitions in more than 20 different countries around the world, leading up to the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley. The top startups from each regional event will fly out to the USA to compete for a $1,000,000 prize in investment. It will either be in exchange for a portion of equity related to the most recent round of funding or a convertible note, depending on the size of the company and how much funding they have raised.
The Grand Finale for Startup World Cup 2024 will be held on October 4 in San Francisco, California at the Hilton Union Square.
