2023 Nominations Open: Central European Startup Awards

Deadline: 20-Jul-23

Applications are now open for the Central European Startup Awards, a part of the Global Startup Awards, providing an annual spotlight to those who dare to dream big and shape the way the future will look.

Categories

• Startup of the Year
  • Description
    • A startup that inspires the next generation of founders while positively impacting the economy and the world in general. It is a product and/or service which is already a success on the market, disrupting its industry with an innovative approach.
  • Criteria
    • The startup must be maximum 5 years of age (calculated from establishment date until public nominations open).
• Best Newcomer
  • Description
    • A startup with up to 2 years of age with the potential to become Startup of the Year in the future. Its product and/or service is already on the market on a path to disrupt its industry and positively impact the economy and the world.
    • Criteria The startup must be maximum 2 years of age (calculated from establishment date until public nominations open).
• Founder of the Year
  • Description
    • A startup founder or co-founder who has shown strong leadership skills and achieved exceptional business results while being an inspiration to their team and a role model for the next generation of founders.
  • Criteria
    • The individual must be a founder or co-founder of a startup that is a maximum of 5 years of age (calculated from establishment date until public nominations open).
• VC of the Year
  • Description
    • A VC who has created impressive financial results while investing bravely in innovative companies which can positively impact the economy as well as the world, supporting them also with resources other than just financial.
  • Criteria
    • The VC must be established in the country it is participating in.
• Best Co-working Space
  • Description
    • A co-working space that deserves the recognition for its services, support, and resources to fast-growth startups, and for creating a culture and environment that fosters innovation and focuses on positively impacting the world.
  • Criteria
    • The co-working space must be established in the country it is participating in.
• Best Accelerator/Incubator Program
  • Description
    • A fixed-term, cohort-based, mentorship-driven program that helps and empowers entrepreneurs to foster the growth of their innovative companies by providing tools, resources, connections, knowledge and expertise.
  • Criteria
    • The Accelerator/Incubator Program must be established in the country it is participating in.
• Ecosystem Hero of the Year
  • Description
    • An individual known by its passion for entrepreneurship and ability as well as willingness to help startups and entrepreneurship grow.
  • Criteria
    • The individual must perform their activity in the country that they are participating in.
• Best WEB 3.0 and AI Startup
  • Description
    • A startup with an innovative addition to the global Web 3.0 or AI Scene that incorporates decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics at the core of its added value, in addition to a commitment to increased data security, scalability, and enhanced privacy.
• Diversity Role Model of the Year
  • Description
    • An individual who is known for their outstanding achievements and contribution to the mission of empowering more women and/or members of underrepresented groups to become founders, investors and leaders in their local and/or international startup and innovation ecosystem.
  • Criteria
    • The individual must perform his/her activity in the country that they are participating in. Furthermore, the individual must be a professional in the startup ecosystem as a founder, investor or leader in the startup ecosystem, and lead a specific organization and/or an activity to promote and enable more women and/or members of underrepresented groups to become professionals in the startup- and innovation ecosystem.
• Best HealthTech Startup
  • Description
    • A startup that is on the path to disrupt the healthcare industry through the use of technology and by developing new business models improving the lives of patients. The startup’s product and/or service is already showing early traction on the market.
  • Criteria
    • The product and or service has to fall under one or more of these areas: Clinical efficiency, Patient engagement, Medical devices, Digital health, Predictive analytics, New technology solution, Fitness and wellness.
• Best Green Tech Startup
  • Description
    • A startup with a good business model that has a green impact on the world with its product and/or service that reduces energy consumption, creates renewable energy and/or makes process optimization.
  • Criteria
    • The startup must be maximum 5 years of age (calcuated from establisment date until public nominations open). The product and/or service needs to fall into one of the following areas; energy saving, renewable energy or resource optimization.
• People’s Choice
  • Description
    • A company that got the most accumulated votes throughout the regional round.

Benefits

• What can you gain as a winner in the competition?
  • Better recognition nationally, regionally, and globally to attract business opportunities even from other countries, regions, and continents.
  • Access to GSA Alumni Network which is an invite-only VIP club that not only serves a greater movement that fosters the development of startup ecosystems globally but also gives You access to a well-selected global network to support your international business endeavors.
  • Connection to other regional and global stakeholders – finalists, winners, juries, partners, and ambassadors.
  • Matchmaking with active investors, successful startups, accelerator and incubator programs, as well as government initiatives.
  • Promotion through Global Startup Awards’ regional and global social media channels and newsletters.
  • Opportunity to contribute with your expertise and knowledge to a greater good: to shape the global startup ecosystem with other selected future shapers.
  • Enjoy the benefits of valuable services and products offered by the Prize Sponsors, as well as the opportunity to have a one-hour online conversation with some of the globally recognized investors and industry experts from all around the world.
  • Join the largest independent startup ecosystem competition not only to be recognized globally, but also to get access to an invite-only, curated global network and to be matched with active investors, startups, incubation/acceleration programs and government initiatives from all around the world and to enjoy unique offers from the Prize Sponsors. Your data is never sold and your participation will never be monetized.

How it Works?

• National level
  • Phase 1: Public Nominations
    • They start by opening up public nominations on the national level. Anyone can nominate an individual, startup, company, or organization in any relevant category per country through the GSAwards proprietary competition system.
    • Categories can belong to either the baseline categories or the vertical categories and can be divided further into startups, individuals or ecosystem supporters.
    • Nominees have to accept the invitation to the competition and provide the required data to be properly assessed in the selected category and, consequently, become approved applicants.
    • To become an approved applicant, the finalist needs to fit the criteria for the specific category.
    • Parallel with the public nominations, Ambassadors and Ecosystem Partners are also invited to recommend the best candidates to participate in the competition by nominating them. These sourced nominations are to ensure quality and not solo rely on organic nominations.
    • An Ambassador and an Ecosystem Partner cannot nominate themselves in any category but can be nominated by third-parties
  • Phase 2: Selection of Regional Finalists
    • The finalized applications are collected through the GSAwards proprietary competition system.
    • A shortlist of up to 3 finalists (per country, per category) is selected and will compete at the regional level as finalists.
    • The shortlist will be quality assured by a pool of Global Startup Awards stakeholders (pre-jury). These can be a mix of experts in a given vertical category, Ecosystem Partners, Country Partners (if the specific country is represented by any), the Regional Partner, and the Global team.
• Regional level
  • Phase 3: Regional Jury & Public Voting – Selection of Regional Winners
    • The regional winners are selected through a combination of the rating given by all regional juries and the total amount of collected public votes.
    • The overall rating of each finalist is based on the average of the summed points from each jury member and the amount of collected public votes.
    • A jury consists of a minimum of 4 jury members. The public voting will always have the same weight as one jury member.
    • Unlike all baseline and vertical categories, the People’s Choice category winners are entirely selected by the amount of collected public votes. This category is applied to startup based categories only.
    • The regional winners are announced at the regional Grand Finale Day and published online afterwards.
    • Exceptionally for the African Startup Awards, phase 3 is replicated one extra time. Firstly, winners among the 5 regions of Africa are selected based on the regional jury and public voting. Then, phase 3 is repeated to find the regional winners of Africa (as a whole region) who will compete at the global level.
• Global level
  • Phase 4: Selection of Global Winners
    • At the global level, global finalists are asked to engage in the public voting phase and to register for the Global Grand Finale Days.
    • All regional winners which were part of a vertical category (now considered global finalists) will be placed in a new category called Best Vertical Startup category.
    • Moreover, due to the green focus of the Global Grand Finale 2021, GSA has officially announced the creation of a new category at the global level called Best Green Tech Startup. This category is for all regional finalists and global finalists that fall under the green theme. The winner of this category will be decided as in any other category at the global level – through a global jury and public voting.
    • On the other hand, all global finalists which are part of the baseline categories will automatically be registered in their same categories.
    • Phase 3 is repeated to find the global winners, however, this time by a global jury.
    • The global winners are announced at the Global Grand Finale Day and also published online afterwards. phase 4: Selection of Global Winners

Eligible Countries

• Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro

For more information, visit Central European Startup Awards.