USF Becomes a Partner of the IT Arena Startup Competition

September 3, 2021

The Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF) has become a partner of the Startup Competition as part of the country’s most anticipated technical conference IT Arena, which will take place on October 7-9, 2021. The event will take place in a mixed format, combining the benefits of offline and online and will bring together the most ambitious early-stage startups in Ukraine.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, USF increased the prize pool of the competition by $23,000 by providing financial support to the winners in the form of grants (innovation vouchers):

1st place – $10,000

2nd place – $8,000

3rd place – $5,000

As of September 2 the total amount of the prize fund of the IT Arena Startup Competition is $70,000. Other Startup Competition partners include CRDF Global, eō Business Incubators, Sector X, TA Ventures, Starta Ventures, Legal House, and Reactor.

Young startups that have not existed for more than 2 years and have a demo version of the product are invited to participate in the Startup Competition. Also, if the startup already has investments, they should not exceed $200,000.

This year’s jury will include experts from the Ukrainian Startup Fund, investors from the Lviv Tech Angels business angels’ club, as well as investors and experts from the United States and Europe.

As a result of preliminary evaluation and selection of semifinalists, 30 startups will appear on the main stage of IT Arena to pitch their ideas.

“We are pleased to join as partners in one of the largest events for innovative startups in Eastern Europe. The mission of our Fund is to develop the startup ecosystem of Ukraine and, accordingly, to support innovative projects and help Ukrainian entrepreneurs to create successful global companies. Ukraine has great potential in the field of innovative developments, so we expect that the Startup Competition will find out many new names,” said Pavlo Kartashov, Director of the Ukrainian Startup Fund.

“I am extremely pleased to have such a powerful partner as USF join the IT Arena Startup Competition. In synergy, we take the competition to a new level and give even more opportunities to startup teams from Ukraine to demonstrate themselves to the world and compete globally,” said Ivan Dmytrasevych, CEO of Lviv Tech Angels and organizer of IT Arena Startup Competition.

To participate in Startup Competition, apply by September 18.