Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – After four days of fierce competition, with 100 up-and-coming startups representing 53 countries, one has emerged the victor of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC). White Helmet, a company that provides a platform to manage and monitor construction operations remotely, from anywhere and at any time, returns home with a US$300,000 share of the $1 million prize pot.

Co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Monsha’at – the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in Saudi Arabia – EWC is one of the world’s largest pitch competitions and startup support programs. 

Since launching in 2019, EWC has engaged more than 400,000 entrepreneurs from 200 countries and connected founders with over US$4 million in cash prizes and another US$266 million worth of perks and free support and services.

The latest edition of the competition has attracted more than 30,000 founders, with 100 of the top-performing countries invited to pitch to a panel of international judges at the Global Finals after several qualifying rounds. The final pitches were held as part of Biban 2023, the largest forum for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.

Providing over 105,000 participants a platform to network, advance entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and pioneer solutions to global business challenges, the theme of this year’s Biban forum is “Attract-Connect-Achieve”.

In addition to the grand $300,000 prize, 10 startups from diverse countries received cash prizes of $25,000-$200,000 to take their innovative solutions to the next level.

Sami Ibrahim Alhussaini, Governor of Monsha’at, said: “Saudi innovation and ingenuity has driven the advancement of the Kingdom’s startup and SME ecosystem forward over the past years. We are proud to have a Saudi company named the champion of the latest edition of the EWC. We hope that this win will inspire more of our people to take that step forward and realize their entrepreneurial ambitions.”

“These founders and their companies are disrupting their industries and testing big ideas with potential to transform our world,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of GEN. “GEN is proud to co-host the Entrepreneurship World Cup for the fourth year, giving promising companies the opportunity to connect to global markets and investment.”

The Entrepreneurship World Cup is made possible with support from a collection of national and global partners including One Valley, The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (tGELF), Entrepreneurs’ Organization, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and Startup Genome. The Misk Foundation is a founding partner.

https://bibanglobal.sa/  

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About Monsha’at: 
 
The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at) was established in 2016 with the aim of regulating, supporting, developing, and sponsoring the SME sector in the Kingdom in accordance with global best practices, in order to increase the productivity of SMEs and their contribution to GDP from 20% to 35% by 2030. 

Monsha'at is mandated with developing, implementing, and supporting programs and projects that foster a culture of self-employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation. It strives to diversify the funding sources provided to enterprises, support initiatives within the venture capital sector, and develop policies and standards for the funding of small and medium projects. 

For more information about how Monsha’at supports Saudi Arabia’s SME ecosystem visit www.monshaat.gov.sa 

About the Entrepreneurship World Cup

The Entrepreneurship World Cup is one of the largest and most diverse pitch competitions and support programs of its kind. Every year, tens of thousands of entrepreneurs from 200 countries compete for US$1 million dollars in cash prizes and millions more worth of investment, support and publicity through national pitch competitions, bootcamps and a global finals event attended by leading investors. However, the Entrepreneurship World Cup is more than just a pitch competition. Co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Monsha’at with support from more than 100 partners world-wide, the competition connects applicants at all levels – from idea stage to scale-up – with world-class training, resources and mentorship to enhance their skills and take their ventures to the next level, regardless of whether or not they top the podium. To learn more, visit www.entrepreneurshipworldcup.com.