The startup ecosystem is growing more competitive with the increasing number of entrepreneurs stepping into the game in the hope to stand out from the crowd.
Having said that, it would be great and wise to fortify their fundamentals before launching themselves into the market. In such cases, there are lots of organisations that can provide the support that would help the startup emerge reliable and robust in an ever-expanding market.
EIT Digital Challenge 2019!
In this regard, EIT Digital, the leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation invites fast-growing European startups in digital technologies to apply for the sixth edition of its scaleup competition ‘The EIT Digital Challenge’ to win international growth support
Five categories in deep tech!
Moreover, the fast-growing startups are invited to apply in one of the following five categories: Digital Tech, Digital Cities, Digital Industry, Digital Wellbeing and Digital Finance.
“Among all applicants to the competition, we will select 25 companies, that is five per category, and invite them to an exclusive event in Brussels where they will pitch to a jury of high-profile corporates and investors,” says Dolf Wittkamper, Head of the EIT Digital Accelerator.
He also added, “A total of 10 winners will be announced during this event: in each category, the jury will pick the best two companies; both will receive a full year of tailored support from the EIT Digital Accelerator, valued at €50,000. In addition, the top winner in each category will receive a cash prize of €50,000.”
Focused on visionary scaleups!
The challenge is focused on ‘deep tech’ scaleups, with a differentiating product offering that leverages sophisticated, hard-to-reproduce digital technologies.
“Europe has a strong opportunity to play a central role in digital by focusing on deep tech, which will impact all industry sectors. With the EIT Digital Challenge, we are determined to identify the best ambitious European entrepreneurs and support them in building the future dominant companies in digital technologies”, says Chahab Nastar, Chief Innovation Officer of EIT Digital.
“The EIT Digital Challenge is ideal for companies that already have significant traction in their home market and are ready to expand internationally,” says Giuseppe
Giordano, CEO of Enerbrain, awarded in the EIT Digital Challenge 2018 and joined the Accelerator shortly after said, “The price brought us a lot of visibility and increased our reputation. Now the EIT Digital Accelerator team is breaking the barriers of the fragmented European market by helping us concretely to acquire customers and to raise funds in other European countries.”
For the uninitiated, the EIT Digital Accelerator consists of a team of around 40 experienced business developers and fundraising experts operating from 13 cities across Europe, along with a hub in Silicon Valley. Since 2012, the EIT Digital Accelerator has supported over 300 fast-growing startups to sign up customers and raise capital.
Application criteria
To successfully apply for the EIT Digital Challenge 2019, companies must fulfill the following criteria:
- They must be based in one of the member states of the European Union.
- They have to be in the growth stage (to be proven by showing an annual revenue of over €300,000 or at least €2m in total funding).
- They should be in their first ten years of existence.
The deadline for applications is 14 June 2019. For further information and an application form, please visit here now. You should definitely not miss this kinda lifetime opportunity.
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