Deadline:
July 31, 2024
Location(s)
Online Saudi Arabia
EWC Global Finals: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Overview
Is your company solving some of the world's biggest challenges? EWC wants to hear from you. Applications are now open.
Since 2019, The Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) has become one of the biggest and most diverse startup pitch competitions and support programs of its kind, featuring more than 370,000 entrepreneurs from over 200 countries and territories while offering winners life-changing prizes.
EWC has awarded $4 million in cash prizes and $150 million in in-kind prizes and provided opportunities for entrepreneurs to reach the next stage in their company's journey.
EWC is more than just a competition, though. Hundreds of coaching and training hours have been delivered, along with high-value entrepreneurship programs tailored to all three participating stages in the World Cup. The network you build throughout this journey offer invaluable guidance and support to catapult your company toward its growth objectives. Our alumni, whether they are cash-prize winners or members of our select cohorts, have gone on to continue doing amazing things to make the world a better place with innovative solutions to their community's most pressing needs.
All entrepreneurs are welcome. Wherever you are in the world, no matter your industry, and whatever your company stage. We welcome you to EWC 2024 and look forward to another great year of competition and global connectivity.
Details
ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORLD CUP
The Entrepreneurship World Cup is one of the largest and most diverse pitch competitions and support programs of its kind. Every year, tens of thousands of entrepreneurs from 200 countries compete for US$1 million dollars in cash prizes and millions more worth of investment, support and publicity through national pitch competitions, bootcamps and a global finals event attended by leading investors.
However, the Entrepreneurship World Cup is more than just a pitch competition. Co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Monsha’at with support from more than 100 partners world-wide, the competition connects applicants at all levels – from idea stage to scale-up – with world-class connections, resources and mentorship opportunities to enhance their skills and take their ventures to the next level, regardless of whether or not they top the podium.
Since launching in 2019, the competition has attracted 400,000 registrations from 200 countries and connected founders with over US$3M in cash prizes and another US$256M worth of perks and free support and services.
Previous winners include:
- FluidAI (formally NERv Technology Inc.), a smart medical device manufacturing startup based in Canada;
- TurtleTree, a biotech company from Singapore producing a new generation of nutrition through cell-based technology;
- TODOC, an electroceutical startup from South Korea making cochlear implants more accessible to individuals with hearing loss; and
- White Helmet, a company from Saudi Arabia that provides a platform to manage and monitor construction operations remotely.
The Entrepreneurship World Cup is co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Monsha'at, the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in Saudi Arabia, with support from more than 50 strategic partners around the world.
The competition was conceived by the Misk Global Forum in 2019 and developed in conjunction with GEN. The EWC brand is used with permission from the Misk Foundation.
The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates programs, like the Entrepreneurship World Cup, that make it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a company. GEN divides its programs into four distinct categories: those that celebrate entrepreneurs and inspire others to follow in their footsteps; those intended to better understand the underlying conditions that best enable entrepreneurs to thrive; those that support entrepreneurs through proven policy and programmatic interventions; and those that connect entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders and community leaders to strengthen local ecosystems around the world.
HISTORY OF THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORLD CUP
The Entrepreneurship World Cup started out as an idea – and was developed and launched in 2019 by the Misk Global Forum and Global Entrepreneurship Network with additional support from the Global Education & Leadership Foundation. Following an incredibly successful first year that saw more than 100,000 contestants enter the competition, EWC 2020 nearly doubled in size despite occurring in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. While the EWC 2020 Global Finals were held virtually due to the pandemic, live, in-person pitching on the global stage returned in November 2021.
But EWC is more than just a global pitch competition with a shot at life-changing prizes. It elevates entrepreneurs from all stages—idea-stage, early-stage, growth-stage or beyond— by providing them with tools and resources to grow their venture.
- IDEA STAGE: Do you have an idea for a new company, but aren’t sure how to start or find the resources you need to take the next step? EWC helps you unleash your idea with free on-demand training and $10,000 in perks – just for signing up. Plus, you have a chance to win $50,000 in cash prizes and to meet and network with and top investors locally and internationally. Being an EWC alumni will give you access to an international community.
- EARLY STAGE: Do you have an emerging startup and want to accelerate its trajectory? EWC empowers early-stage founders with access to world-class educational resources, training and up to $100,000 in perks — as well as a chance to sharpen your skills through a global pitch competition and win up to $300,000 in cash prizes. You will also have a chance to meet and network with peers and top investors locally and internationally. Being an EWC alumni will give you access to an international community.
- GROWTH STAGE: Have you already found your market fit, started gaining serious traction and have an initial round of funding secured? EWC provides you with a global network of potential collaborators and expert mentors to help you achieve exponential growth – and a chance to win a no-strings attached check for $300,000. Plus, a chance to meet and network with peers and top investors locally and internationally. Being an EWC alumni will give you access to an international community.
All applicants will receive access to EWC Accelerates, a virtual training program that helps entrepreneurs hone their skills and increase their chances of winning their national competitions and advancing to the Global Finals.
The EWC online platform also offers all contestants that start an application access to $1,000 worth of perks. All founders that complete an application will receive access to more than $25,000 in perks. The top EWC100 will receive $100,000 in in-kind services from partners such as AWS, Freshworks, Google Cloud, Hubspot, Stripe, Zoom and more.
All global finalists will receive an additional package of perks and in-kind support services and gain automatic entry into the GEN Starters Club, an invitation-only community of talented founders. Since launching in 2019, the Entrepreneurship World Cup has attracted 400,000 registrations from 200 countries and connected founders with over US$3M in cash prizes and another US$256M worth of perks and free support and services.
Past winners include NERv, a Canadian healthtech startup with a sensory platform designed to detect complications following abdominal surgeries, TurtleTree Labs, a biotech startup from Singapore that produces milk using cell-based technology, and TODOC, an electroceutical solution company from South Korea that has developed a low-cost cochlear implant.
Testimonials about the EWC Experience
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Kyousik Min, CEO and founder of TODOC (2021 Entrepreneurship World Cup champion): “The prize money will be invaluable to take TODOC to its next phase, which is clinical trials for technology that will allow deaf people to hear for the first time.”
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Fengru Lin, CEO and co-founder of Turtle Tree Labs (2020 Entrepreneurship World Cup champion): “Even just a few days after the competition, we’ve had many investors, industry partners and media partners reach out to us. The global recognition has allowed us to shine the light on the importance of food security and the importance of thinking about different ways to tackle food security challenges.”
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Bethelhem Dejene, CEO and Founder, Zafree Papers (2020 Top 10 Global Finalist): “[EWC] taught us the ins and outs and nuances of raising investment. It accelerated our understanding of how to go about it in a very short time, massively prepared us for the process, and put us in a much stronger position than we were in before. We were able to hustle and successfully fundraise from foreign investors to get our company off the ground.”
What are important milestones and dates for EWC 2024?
- Application Portal Opens: September 1, 2023
- Application Deadline: July 31, 2024
- EWC Qualifiers / National Finals: January 1, 2024 - August 15, 2024
- EWC 250 Selections: September 1, 2024
- EWC Virtual Bootcamp: Late September / Early October 2024 (exact dates to be confirmed)
- EWC 100 Selections: October 15, 2024
- EWC Global Finals: Early December 2024 (exact date to be confirmed)
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
What types of startups/companies are able to enter the EWC?
The Entrepreneurship World Cup is open to creative and innovative individuals anywhere on the entrepreneurship spectrum. With categories and prizes for idea-stage, early-stage, and growth-stage ventures, the EWC customizes the accelerator resources available and ensures that competitions are conducted on equal footing and for all industries. Startups must be less than 10 years old at the date of the Global Finals.
Can social entrepreneurs participate?
The EWC is open to all entrepreneurs – including those focused on starting and scaling social ventures.
Is there a minimum age to participate?
Team members must be at least 18 years old except if applying to the Idea Stage category. There is no age restriction for the Idea Stage category.
Eligibility
- There is no entry fee.
- Any startup from around the world is welcome to apply and become an Applicant.
- Applicant startups must be legally registered or planning to register in their country of residence.
- Applicant startups must be ten years or less old by the date of the Global Finals. Entity age is set by the date of company registration and not idea conception.
- EWC Global Winners who won cash prizes during previous editions of the EWC Global Finals (2019-2023) are eligible to participate again in 2024 with certain candidacy considerations for future would-be prizes:
- EWC Applicants can only be eligible for different prize categories than the prize they earned during previous participation in the competition.
- Only EWC Grand Prize winners (first place overall) are ineligible to participate as applicant candidates for EWC 2024.
- Any past second through fifth place winners and/or category winners are eligible and encouraged to apply, but cannot compete for the same placement.
- To encourage fairness in competition, there is no fast-track for past winners to compete in the Global Finals, and all applicants will pass through the same judging process.
- For example: Entrant A wins Idea Stage prize in 2021. If Applicant A reapplies, they will only be considered for EWC category prizes and/or non-Idea Stage “ranked prizes
- For example: Entrant B wins a specific category prize in 2023. If Applicant B reapplies, they will only be considered for any category prize except the prize they previously win and/or all ranked prizes.
- For example: Entrant C won second place in 2020. If Applicant B reapplies, they will only be considered for EWC category prizes and/or any ranked prize except second place.
- To encourage fairness in competition, there is no fast-track for past winners to compete in the Global Finals, and all applicants will pass through the same judging process.
- EWC Applicants can only be eligible for different prize categories than the prize they earned during previous participation in the competition.
- Employees of the organizers, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotional agencies, suppliers and immediate family members are not eligible to participate in the competition.
- By submitting an application to participate in the Entrepreneurship World Cup, you are agreeing to and accepting the Terms of Use set out below under Terms and Conditions.
Dates
Deadline: July 31, 2024
Cost/funding for participants
Prizes and Awards for EWC 2024
- Travel to the EWC Global Finals: EWC 100 finalists will receive a full travel scholarship for one (1) designated traveler to participate in the EWC Global Finals.
- The designated traveler must be the Founder, Co-Founder or CEO. In special cases, with the approval of the Organizer, the CFO, COO, CTO would be eligible to participate at the Global Finals in their place contingent on criteria including but not limited to: health, English language proficiency, or travel documents.
- Once a designated traveler has completed the travel document issuance process, no changes can be made. EWC Global cannot make adjustments to its final roster of travelers within a three-week period prior to the Global Finals.
- If a designated traveler cannot travel, the company will forfeit its spot in the Global finals.
- The scholarship includes: a round-trip flight ticket, visa, hotel accommodation, and local transportation.
- Additional co-Founders and/or any other Team Members are welcome to join the EWC Global Finals
- Any other team members wishing to accompany a designated traveler will assume responsibility for travel, lodging, and venue access expenses as well as any expense for relevant travel documents (including but not limited to- visas, etc.).
- The designated traveler must be the Founder, Co-Founder or CEO. In special cases, with the approval of the Organizer, the CFO, COO, CTO would be eligible to participate at the Global Finals in their place contingent on criteria including but not limited to: health, English language proficiency, or travel documents.
- EWC Awards and Cash Prizes: The EWC 100 will be eligible to receive their share of US $1 million in non-dilutive cash prizes.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
