EIT Community RIS Hub in Ukraine and Sigma Software Labs, with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, have announced the start of the Ukrainian stage of the Startup World Cup competition. The winner of the regional stage will compete in the global Grand Finale in San Francisco in October 2024 for $1,000,000 in investments.
STARTUP WORLD CUP 2024: UKRAINE is divided into two tracks. The Fast Track for Established Startups allows direct applications to the final of the Ukrainian stage. The Rising Stars track is based on the UNICORN acceleration program. Participants can participate in mentorship sessions from UNICORN and conduct a crash test of their ideas with technical specialists and startup development experts.
The UNICORN acceleration program has been running for 8 years, with almost 1000 projects and 2,200 startup founders having gone through it. This year, the UNICORN program is being conducted by EIT Community RIS Hub in Ukraine and Sigma Software Labs, with the support of ecosystem partners SID Venture Partners and Sigma Software University.
Participating in STARTUP WORLD CUP 2024
The Ukrainian stage of the competition is open to startups with more than 50% of their shares owned by Ukrainians and having a representative office in Ukraine (office, development center or distributed team).
Established Startups that have already made a name for themselves can use the fast track. They must meet at least two of these criteria:
- at least 15 full-time employees
- $5+ million raised in equity investments
- $1+ million ARR
Established startups can apply directly to the Ukrainian competition’s final, which will take place on September 4, 2024. Applications for the fast track are accepted until August 15.
The second track is for Rising Stars startups, which will benefit from working with mentors and trial pitches at crash tests under the UNICORN program. The mentors and crash test jury will include leaders of the Ukrainian tech ecosystem, venture capital companies, and successful startups. Applications from Rising Stars are accepted until July 28.
The jury will review all applications and determine 10 teams that can participate in the fast-track finals and 10 teams admitted to the UNICORN program.
On August 28, the UNICORN program participants will compete at the UNICORN Demo Day for the right to participate in the Ukrainian final and for cash prizes. The finalists from both tracks will meet on September 4, 2024, at the Ukrainian final, which will be held offline in two cities simultaneously – Kyiv and Warsaw.
The winner of the regional stage will represent Ukraine on the stage of the Startup World Cup on October 2 and 4 in San Francisco, where they will compete for $1 million in investments. SID Venture Partners will cover the winners’ ticket expenses and accommodation for the trip to the Startup World Cup. In addition to the grand prize, participants in the grand final will have the opportunity to win other valuable prizes from the event’s partners.
How to apply
The organizers of the Startup World Cup invite Ukrainian startups to submit their projects and compete for prizes:
