EIT Digital Challenge 2016: Are You A European Startup Ready To Scale Up?

EIT Digital announces the third edition of its pan-European contest for digital startups. Do you have an innovative product or service? Do you already have customers and market traction? Do you want to expand your business to Europe and beyond? Then you should take part in the EIT Digital Challenge. Applications can be submitted until July 31st, 2016.

Startups can apply in one of the following five categories:

• Digital Industry
• Digital Cities
• Digital Wellbeing
• Digital Infrastructure
• Digital Finance

Supporting European Startups To Internationalize And Scale Up

“Eighty per cent of European startups plan to internationalize their business, but only about half of them actually take this step”, says Dominik Krabbe, EIT Digital Challenge Lead.

While being successful in their respective home country, startups face many barriers when expanding to another country. This includes the fact that Europe’s market and investor landscape is highly fragmented and complex. EIT Digital seeks to close this gap and facilitate access to new markets and customers as well as funding through its pan-European innovation network.

EIT Digital is the leading European organization for innovation and entrepreneurial education and its partner network consists of more than 130 well-established corporates, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes. The contest can be your pass to enter this valuable ecosystem.

Five Final Pitch Events & A Unique Prize Package

An expert jury will select the best 10 teams per category and the finalists will pitch at one of five final events in London, Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki or Eindhoven.

They are competing for an exclusive prize package:

• The best three teams in each category will gain access to EIT Digital’s innovation network and gain great visibility and publicity.
• They will also have the chance to join the EIT Digital Accelerator for a full year and work with a team of dedicated business developers and finance experts in order to build and develop their market strategy and get support in terms of customer acquisition and funding.
• On top, the best team per category wins a €50,000 cash prize.

Operating In 13 Cities Across Europe As Well As From A Hub In Silicon Valley

Established in 2014, the EIT Digital Challenge has already received more than 1,200 submissions from 27 European countries. Joerg Land, CEO of Sonormed, was a 2014 Challenge winner with the innovative Tinnitracks solution, a digital therapy for tinnitus sufferers.

“There are an estimated 70 million tinnitus sufferers in Europe alone. We were honoured to get a chance both to work with a partner like EIT Digital who supported us with market insights and contacts, and to join the amazing EIT Digital network. The EIT Digital Accelerator has helped us to refine our strategy for the market entry in the Netherlands and to launch there,” he says.

The EIT Digital Accelerator operates in 13 cities across Europe as well as from a hub in Silicon Valley and has already supported 233 startups with raising a total of more than €67 million in investments.

What You Need To Apply

In order to apply, startups must be incorporated in one of the member countries of the EU and should have traction, customers and revenue. They should be in the growth stage and ready to scale up internationally.

So are you ready to scale up your business in Europe? Apply Now!

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