Entrepreneurship constitutes a key factor in the economic and social development of a country. This is the reason why, every year, WMF organises the Startup Competition Young, an initiative that promotes entrepreneurial culture among young people and encourages the creation of innovative business ideas to solve global social and economical issues.

This challenge has been designed for students under the age of 22 years old. Over the past editions, more than 260 students and over 100 applications were involved in the competition.

Past editions finalists had the unique opportunity to present their projects in front of major players of the field (incubators, accelerators, Corporate Ventures etc.) and the chance to win prizes offered by some of our partners, including IBAN, Amazon Web Services and The Hive.

The structure of the Call follows the WMF Startup Competition structure. When the call is open, candidates can apply through the apposite for on the Startup Competition Young page. 

The Call in for the WMF2021 Startup Competition Young  is officially closed. Finalists will be announced on may 20 and will present their projects during the WMF2021 onsite and online event.

Each team will have 3 minutes to present the key elements of their project. The jury will have another 3 minutes to ask questions and details about the projects. At the end of the finalists' presentation, the jury and the public will place their vote and announce the winner. 

To participate in the Startup Competition Young 2022 apply here!

Read the instructions

Participants will be competing each other presenting their idea through an elevator-pitch in front of a broad audience and a professional jury of experts. The presentation must cover all key elements of the entrepreneurial project.

Please find below the guideline to correctly structure your pitch.

> Download support material

Participants must put forward an innovative business idea that tackles a critical social issue. Each team can choose from one of the following topics:

• Sport and wellness
• Education
• Tourism
• Services for disabled people
• Legality
• Employability
• Services for the elderly
• Green and sustainability

The finalists projects will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Originality of the idea; 
• Feasibility of the business idea; 
• Socio-economic impact and sustainability of the project; 
• Stage of product development; 
• Degree of innovation and defensibility of the same; 
• Social relevance of the project.