Entrepreneurship World Cup

About The Entrepreneurship World Cup

The Entrepreneurship World Cup is 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 offering winners life-changing prizes. Since launching in 2019, the EWC has awarded $3 million in cash prizes, $150 million in in-kind prizes and provided opportunities for entrepreneurs at all levels – from idea stage to scale-up – to reach the next stage in their journey by providing them with free access to world class training and resources, enhancing their visibility, and working to connect them to mentors and investors.

Competition prizes

EWC is all about the entire experience – training, resources, connections, mentorship and more. But on top of that, we’ve got a great number of impactful prizes – USD $1 million in cash and/or investment total for the global winners plus a combined USD $100 million worth of in-kind support for the top 100 global finalists, not to mention investment opportunities and awesome resources and perks from our leading partners.

In addition to these global prizes, many national competitions in the EWC Qualifier stage offer their own prizes.

Competition rules

Please find the eligibility criteria and participation rules below.

Eligibility

• There is no entry fee
• Any startup from around the world is welcome to apply and become an Applicant.
• Applicant(s) must be legally registered or planning to register in their country of residence.
• Applicant(s) must be less than seven (7) years old at the date of the Global Finals.
• EWC Global Winners from previous editions are not eligible to participate again in EWC 2022.
• Employees of the organizers, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotional agencies, suppliers and immediate family members are not eligible to participate in the Competition.

Participation rules

• Applications must be entered on the official EWC platform to be considered.
• Applications must be entered as a Team, according to the categories of the competition (see ‘Categories’ section below).
• Applications must have a minimum of one (1) representative.
• Team members must be 18 years old, except if applying to the idea stage category.
• Submissions must be the original work solely of the Participating Team.
• Only completed applications will be considered.
• English is the official language of the EWC at the global level.
  • Registrations can be completed in any language.
  • Applications must be completed in English whenever possible.
  • National Organizers reserve the right to accept applications in their country’s official language and even conduct their National Finals in that same language. However, all Global Finalists will be competing in English.
  • The EWC Global Finals will be conducted exclusively in English.
• Applicants must take all necessary steps to ensure adequate protection of any intellectual property described in their submissions (i.e. appropriate intellectual property filings, patent and copyright notices, etc.).
• The Global Organizers and National Organizers reserve the right to disqualify at any time any submission that, in its judgement, violates the spirit of the competition, its guidelines, processes, Rules or Terms and Conditions.
• Any Participating Team engaging in unethical activities, including lying, misrepresentation, non-disclosure of material information, or any activity that may adversely affect the image of EWC or Organizers, will be disqualified and barred from participation in all EWC related activities.
• Applicants agree to participate in media and press opportunities related to the Competition.

Section 1: Categories

Idea Stage: Building a team and initial product/prototype
Does not have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and
Does not have any revenue, and
Raising funds to develop an idea, product or concept

Early Stage: Building a product, establishing product-market fit and early revenue
Has a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and
Has not raised Post Series A, or
Initially commercializing their product/service in one or more target markets, and
Successfully incorporated/registered their venture

Growth Stage: Scaling customer acquisition and revenue
Has raised Post Series A, or
Generating recurring revenues (for the past 3 years) and experiencing solid growth, and
Showing clear, growing and measurable user / market traction in a large or rapidly expanding market

Section 2: Phases of Participation

Phase 1: Registration
Applicants are on-boarded automatically by the competition website and segmented into appropriate categories based on their stage: Idea, Early, Growth.

Phase 2: EWC Accelerates
Applicants are invited to participate in EWC Accelerates and learn from a series of virtual training opportunities to sharpen their skills regardless of their stage (e.g. pitch training).

Phase 3: EWC Qualifiers
Applicants compete against others from their country in EWC Qualifiers (competitions) around the world. For countries without a national organizer, applicants will compete in a Global Pool. Up to 250-300 contestants advance past the EWC Qualifiers to the EWC Group Stage in Phase 4.

Phase 4: Bootcamp + EWC Group Stage
All EWC Group Stage contestants are invited to participate in a structured virtual bootcamp comprising two or three cohorts organized by Idea Stage, Early Stage and Growth Stage. Teams participate in a cohort-level workshop and direct one-to-one mentorship sessions designed to explore unique challenges, uncover applicable solutions and refine their pitch and presentation.

Phase 5: Assessment + Global Finalist Selection
EWC Group Stage contestants are evaluated based on the results of due diligence and other factors tied to the Bootcamp. The top 100 are selected as the “EWC 100” Global Finalists.

Phase 6: Global Finals
The EWC 100 are invited to participate in an intensive preparation bootcamp before competing for prizes including a share of USD $1 million and millions of dollars-worth of in-kind services and support.

Phase 7: Post-EWC Support
EWC 100 are enrolled in the GEN Starters Club, providing a global peer network, mentorship and other support services to help members, especially after the EWC, reach their full potential. Other partners may be engaged to provide post-EWC support.

Application deadlines

Please refer to this page to see the deadline of the Entrepreneurship World Cup Competition in your country.