patronage
Recruitment for the EEC Startup Challenge 2024 is underway. It will select finalists who will present their innovative projects during the 16th European Economic Congress in Katowice (May 7-9, 2024) and will have a chance to attract investors or partners. You can submit a business idea or a company that has been operating commercially for less than five years to the competition. Applications are accepted until February 28 this year.
The idea of the organizers is to connect creators of innovative ideas with those who are looking for new investment opportunities. The EEC Startup Challenge has been enjoying unflagging popularity for years. Since the first edition of the project in 2016, over a thousand projects have been submitted, and over 50 startups have received a chance for development and awards.
Prizes will be awarded in 5 categories. The competition consists of three stages. In the first stage, applications are accepted, from which, based on precisely outlined criteria, the competition jury will select the best ideas in the following industry categories: Modern Economy (industry, energy, telecommunications, transport, construction, robotics, automation); Environment (environmental protection, climate technologies, ecological crops, smart energy, use of raw materials, waste processing); Health & Biotechnology (medicine, health, medical technologies, pharmacy, biotechnology); Business Processes (management, analytics, ICT, cybersecurity, logistics, HR); Client & Lifestyle (trade, customer experience, e-commerce, fintech, edutech, gaming, sports, leisure industry).
The best 15 startups will qualify for the final, and on May 8, 2024, they will present their ideas to the participants of the European Economic Congress, the largest business event in Central Europe, which was visited by 11,000 people last year. people. This year, for the first time, the prize will be awarded by Internet users.
The previous winners include companies that have achieved success in many sectors of the economy. Last year, the startups awarded were Diagendo, which developed a breakthrough test for endometriosis, Biostra – offering an interesting concept of waste processing, Parkcash – proposing a solution for optimizing unused parking spaces, Zonifero, whose work is an innovative application for managing a hybrid workplace, and Magly, proposing a platform for creating modern hotel attractions in the form of interactive games.
Last year, 213 projects were submitted to the competition. Each of the five winners received the title of EEC Startup Challenge Winner and could benefit from a promotional campaign in the media of the PTWP Group, which is the organizer of the EEC. All winners also received an invitation to the OVHcloud Startup program, thanks to which they could gain up to PLN 100,000. euro of a non-repayable grant to be used for the development of your project.
