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Saturday, 20.04.2024, 11:20
Global incubator 1776 selects Vilnius Tech Park to host Challenge Cup 2017
The local event, organised in partnership with
the world’s leading independent IT services company DXC Technology, will highlight a vibrant startup community of
Lithuania and its neighbour countries as well as the contributions that
innovators are making in tackling some of the world’s most complex challenges.
“We’re
thrilled about partnering with Vilnius Tech Park in bringing the Challenge Cup
to Vilnius, home to an inspiring community of entrepreneurs who are focused on
solving global challenges,” said Antanas Uršulis, Managing Director of DXC Technology in Lithuania. “More than just a
competition, the Challenge Cup is our way of helping identify the most
promising startups in the region and give them an opportunity to present their
vision on a global stage. We are excited to collaborate with participants of
the Challenge Cup, to share our knowledge and we are eager to hear their
original ideas.”
Challenge
Cup Vilnius participants will pitch their startups to the jury and compete
for a free trip to the Global Finals in
November 13-17, 2017. There, the finalists will compete for the grand prizes
and have a chance to connect with the investors, customers, media and
other key relationships that can help them succeed on a global scale.
“Together
with global innovators, Lithuania’s entrepreneurs are driving transformative
change at home and beyond,” said Darius Žakaitis, Managing Director of Vilnius Tech Park. “We
are excited to partner with 1776 to give these leaders a chance to share their
ideas on the global stage and to access global resources that will help them
grow businesses. Also, recognising a huge startup potential in the region, we
encourage participation of startups from the Baltics, Belarus, Russia, Poland
and Ukraine.”
According to
D. Žakaitis, Vilnius is a perfect location to host a local round of Challenge
Cup due to its vibrant startup ecosystem and its convenient international
traveling links. Furthermore, Vilnius Tech Park can offer a unique event
location and the organisation’s experience in organising startup events.
Including Vilnius, Challenge Cup 2017 will take place in more than 70
cities around the world, ranging from leading startup hubs to emerging cities.
Each of these cities will select one winning startup per local to advance to
the Global Finals at Challenge Festival 2017 in New York City in November.
1776's Challenge Festival is a multi-day conference exploring innovation in
regulated markets.
This is the
fourth year of the Challenge Cup, following three enormously successful rounds
that resulted in 1776 investments in several startups from around the world. The
winners of the previous Challenge Cups— HandUp, Twiga Foods—prove that tomorrow’s highly scalable success
stories can and will come from all over the world.
Through
Challenge Cup, entrepreneurs are not only connected to the investors and
mentors they need to succeed, but corporations and policymakers in some of the
world’s most critical industries and government entities are introduced to
these innovators’ fresh ideas that have the potential to solve those complex
challenges.