EWC Armenia 2022’s National Winner HopShop Advances to EWC Global Finals
3 min readYerevan, Armenia — One of the two national winners of EWC Armenia 2022 is among 100 impressive startups selected to compete for a share of the $1 million prize of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) Global Finals, organizers announced on February 17. The finals are set to take place in Riyadh on March 9-12 at Biban 2023, the largest event for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia.
The startup to represent Armenia is HopShop, one of the two National Winners of the EWC Armenia 2022 competition held 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) of the American University of Armenia (AUA), in collaboration with a few public and private organizations active in the national ecosystem.
“We are overjoyed that, for the second consecutive year, Armenia will have its representative startup in the EWC Global Finals,” said Nejdeh Hovanessian, EPIC assistant director and the national coordinator of EWC in Armenia. “We are eagerly looking forward to hearing about HopShop’s achievements in the final stage of the competition in Riyadh,” he added.
Since its launch in 2019, EWC has attracted over 400,000 registrations from 200 countries, connecting its founders with over $3 million in cash prizes and an additional $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 amazed us at every stage of the competition,” remarked Jonathan Ortmans, the Global Entrepreneurship Network president. “They are on course to change lives with innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.”
The EWC 100 finalists are from 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 observe 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 prize of $300,000, startups will also be vying for sector special categories (including tech, space, sustainability, and environment) and impact (including social impact, sustainable development goals, and women-led companies).
All 100 global finalists will receive $100,000 worth in-kind services from partners such as AWS, Freshworks, Google Cloud, Hubspot, Stripe, Zoom, and more.
EWC is made possible with support from a host 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. EWC Armenia 2022 was sponsored by Service Titan, GIZ Armenia/EU4Business and Center for the Promotion of Economic Education and Research (CPEER).
Further information may be obtained by contacting EWC Armenia National Coordinator Nejdeh Hovanessian at [email protected]
About HopShop
HopShop is Shazam for fashion. It’s an AI-based visual search application that simplifies the process of finding and buying clothing items, shoes, and accessories. With its innovative technology, users can take a photo of an item or upload an existing photo, and the app will identify similar items and provide purchasing options. The startup’s goal is to provide a convenient and efficient shopping experience for customers. To learn more, visit www.hopshop.ai.
About the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC)
The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) is a platform of the American University of Armenia (AUA) for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and startup venture incubation. EPIC provides an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspace, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors, and investors. EPIC fosters the understanding and application of entrepreneurship in students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures. To learn more, visit www.epic.aua.am.
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.
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