The WMF is a certified International Trade Fair that has been a landmark for entrepreneurial culture, creating opportunities and connections within the international innovation ecosystem, for over 10 years.

Each year takes place in Italy the annual appointment with the World Startup Fest - a major event for global startups, scaleups, and investors, which in the past edition registered more than 60.000 attendees from 89 countries and more than 3.000 startups and investors. Among the many events, the largest International Startup Competition in Southern Europe, now in its 12th edition, witnesses every year the engagement of leading international players from the entrepreneurship and innovation fields.

Every year, more than 3.000 startups apply to pitch and compete in Italy. Some of the pitching startups are chosen, in fact, from the WMF call for startups, while some others are selected from the competitions of the local events organized in the framework of the WMF International Roadshow.

In its international show in Bulgaria, the WMF is holding a Startup Competition that will allow the best Bulgarian project to compete in Bologna, 13 - 15th June 2024.

Fill out the form below and submit your startup to the competition! The call closes on April 7th, 2024.

The selected startups of the call will pitch on the stage during the event in Sofia and will be judged by a jury composed of local investors and WMF members, who may decide to support the growth of a great business idea.

During the event, Selected Startup will also have the opportunity to access to:

• B2B meetings with local investors;

• Local expo area dedicated to startups;

• WMF's global network, with the possibility of being involved in related initiatives all year round.

• In addition to that, all the selected Bulgarian startups will attend the WMF 2024 in Bologna, Italy, and will be present in the Startup District. They will also have B2B meetings scheduled with VCs and investors attending WMF, an exclusive opportunity to present their innovative project to open innovation players from around the world, and access to the WMF Innovation Night.

  
  The top three startups of the Competition will be awarded with the following prizes:

• 1° | FIRST PRIZE: Access to the Startup District of WMF 2024, with participation in B2B scheduled meetings, pitch on the Startup Stage, and exclusive access to side open innovation events like Innovation Night during WMF 2024 in Bologna, Italy.
  
  Moreover, the first classified could be selected to compete in the WMF Startup Competition Finals (the biggest in southern Europe) and pitch in front of 60.000 attendees on the WMF Mainstage. In the past editions, the prize's value reached more than 3.3 million euros.

• 2° | SECOND PRIZE: Access to the Startup District of WMF 2024, with participation in B2B scheduled meetings and exclusive access to side open innovation events like Innovation Night during WMF 2024 in Bologna, Italy.

• 3° | THIRD PRIZE: Access to the Startup District of WMF 2024, with participation in B2B scheduled meetings and exclusive access to side open innovation events like Innovation Night during WMF 2024 in Bologna, Italy.

Once the call is closed, and the candidates evaluated, the WMF's Innovation Team will announce the selected startups that will have the opportunity to pitch and present their projects to the jury and the attendees at the local event in Sofia. Each team will have 3 minutes to present the key elements of their business idea. The jury of investors will then have another 2 minutes to ask further questions. A round of votes at the end will then announce the winners.

The call is dedicated to startups and businesses - made up of individuals or teams - with innovative projects or ideas regarding the digital/technological sector. Innovative projects aimed at generating a positive impact on territories and society will be considered with particular interest. Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Skills of the team, knowledge of the sector, the feasibility of the project;

• The development stage of the product/service;

• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;

• Positioning in relation to competitors;

• Consistency with market and customers’ needs and potential outreach;

• The business potential of the idea;

• Completeness of the documentation presented.

The elevator pitch is a brief presentation where you describe your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea in a concise manner, so as to attract the audience's attention quickly.

> Download the support material

> Watch the winning pitches from past editions of WMF

Apply now to present your startup at the Bulgarian event, with the opportunity also to pitch at WMF24!