The local Slush competition, held annually since 2015, offers Serbia’s startups the opportunity to present their ideas in the field of sustainable innovation and to qualify for participation in the ten-day Slush Global Impact Accelerator (GIA) program and the two-day Slush Conference held in November and December in Helsinki (Finland). Slush Conference, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, provides the opportunity for startups to pitch to investors and companies, while the Accelerator program gives them the opportunity to improve their skills and business ideas.
Local Slush competition will be held in Belgrade on September 6, at the Science Technology Park Belgrade. Embassy of Finland in the Republic of Serbia and Innovation Fund invite startups to apply for the local competition by September 1st here: http://www.innovationfund.rs/slush/.
The theme of this year’s competition is sustainable innovation. Ideal candidates will have the vision for solving pressing challenges globally (there are no limitations in terms of sector or geographical focus ); have potential for growth; skills and drive to succeed; a business idea that has gained some traction, but can still is in an early phase, as well as a working prototype. The working language of the competition is English.
At the local competition, the jury will select three teams, and Finnish experts will choose the winner among them. Serbia is one of 20 countries worldwide organizing local Slush competitions during the summer. The winners of the previous two competitions were Neopix with the game for mobile platforms They Mean Well and OrganicNet with an online platform that connects organic food producers and those who want to live and feed healthy. Both companies participated in the Slush Conference in Helsinki and the Slush Global Impact Accelerator.
What is Slush?
Slush is Europe’s leading startup and technology event, which gives startups opportunities to present their ideas to international investors and professional public. In 2016, this two-day conference brought together 17,500 attendees from 130 countries, among more than 2,300 startups and 1,100 investors. This year Slush will be held on November 30th and December 1st. Read more at www.slush.org.
What is Slush Global Impact Accelerator?
In collaboration with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and multiple partners globally, including the Innovation Fund, Slush Global Impact Accelerator organises a program of support for startups to develop business ideas, establish a network of contacts, connect with investors and potential partners, as well as presenting their products at the Slush Conference. The program includes work with mentors before the Conference and a local camp (boot camp) from November 22 to December 2. Last year, 40 startups from 21 countries participated in the program. Transportation, accommodation and other program related costs will be covered by the Finnish organiser.