New details about Armenian HOPSHOP’s participation in the EWC Global Finals

Armenian HOPSHOP will compete alongside startups from 53 countries for a share of $1 million.
 
One of EWC Armenia 2022’s two National Winners is among 100 impressive startups selected to compete for a share of S$1 million at the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) Global Finals. The finals are set to take place March 9-12 at Biban 2023, the largest event for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.  
 
The startup which will represent Armenia is HOPSHOP. It was one of the two National Winners of the EWC Armenia 2022 competition in Yerevan on August 13, 2022.
 
The Entrepreneurship World Cup, co-hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in Saudi Arabia, Monsha’at, is one of the largest and most diverse pitch competitions and support programs for up-and-coming founders.

Every year, entrepreneurs compete for a share of $1 million in cash prizes and millions more worth of investment, support, and publicity.  
 
Since 2021, the national competition of EWC in Armenia has been organized by the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) at the American University of Armenia (AUA) in collaboration with a few public and private organizations of the national ecosystem.
 
“We are overjoyed that for the second consecutive year, Armenia has its representative startup in EWC Global Finals.  Now we eagerly look forward to hearing about HOPSHOP’s achievements in the final stage of the competition in Riyadh,” said Nejdeh Hovanessian, the Assistant Director of EPIC and the National Coordinator of EWC in Armenia.
 
Since launching in 2019, EWC has attracted over 400,000 registrations from 200 countries and connected founders with over $3 million in cash prizes and another $256 million worth of perks and free support and services.
 
The 100 finalists, known collectively as the EWC 100, were selected after succeeding in qualifier competitions and activities worldwide. The top performing 250 companies were invited to participate in a three-day bootcamp, with 100 selected to pitch at the Global Finals.

“These companies and their founders have wowed us at every stage of the competition. They are on course to change lives with innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Jonathan Ortmans, the Global Entrepreneurship Network President.
 
The EWC 100 are based in Africa (6), Asia (17), Europe (28), the Middle East (12), North America (14), Oceania (2), South America (20), and the Caribbean (1).
 
While in Riyadh, the EWC 100 will experience Saudi Arabia’s emerging startup scene. In recent years, the ecosystem has seen transformational growth, reporting record highs in venture capital investments in 2020, 2021, and 2022.  
 
In addition to competing for the grand $300,000 prize, startups will also vie in specialized categories based on sector (including tech and space and sustainability and environment) and impact (including social impact, sustainable development goals, and women-led companies).
 
All 100 global finalists will receive $100,000 in in-kind services from partners such as AWS, Freshworks, Google Cloud, Hubspot, Stripe, Zoom, and more.
 
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), the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, and Startup Genome. The Misk Foundation is a founding partner. The EWC Armenia 2022 competition was sponsored by Service Titan, GIZ Armenia/EU4Business, Team Telecom Armenia and Center for the Promotion of Economic Education and Research (CPEER).