Seedstars Summit

Date: 03.03.2016  | 08:00
Location: Ecublens, 1024, SwissTech Convention Center Route Louis-Favre 2
Link to register: http://www.seedstarsworld.com/summit

DO YOU KNOW THAT OVER 4 BILLION HUMAN BEINGS STILL DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET TODAY?

Seedstars announces its annual Summit under the theme Billions. The agenda includes conferences, talks and workshops about how to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through entrepreneurship and technology. The highlight will be the final ceremony of the third edition of the Seedstars World competition, where up to USD 1 million of equity investment will be awarded to one of the 55 regional finalists.

Seedstars Summit - March 3rd, 2016, Swiss Tech Convention Center at EPFL, Lausanne

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, January 21th, 2016 - Seedstars, the global organization with the mission of impacting people’s lives in emerging market through entrepreneurship and technology, launched its third edition of the Seedstars World competition in 2015, backed by an international team of 12. They have covered 55 cities, scouting for the best startups around the world and all 55 finalists have been selected to participate in a three days bootcamp followed by the famous Semi-Finals & Finals. The Seedstars Summit and final ceremony, which is open to public, will take place on March 3rd whereby the "Seedstars World Global Winner" will be named and receive up to USD 500'000 in equity investment. Other sectors such as travel and space will also be rewarded with equity investments and grants. The event is expecting around 1000 entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporate executives, business angels, government officials, journalists and startup enthusiasts to join for an amazing experience in Switzerland.

THE COMPETITION - More than 3’000 startups from Eastern and Central Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America applied to participate in Seedstars World. Since April 2015, four regional teams and expert local juries have selected the most promising startups in 55 cities from Jakarta to Santiago passing by Ramallah and Lebanon. Here below the full list of cities visited in 2015:

LATAM
11 regional events
Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Montevideo, Panama, Quito, Santiago, Sao Paulo, San Jose, Santa Cruz

CEE & MENA
15 regional events
Alger, Amman, Baku, Beirut, Belgrade, Cairo, Casablanca, Dubai, Istanbul, Kiev, Moscow, Ramallah, Sofia, Tehran, Yerevan

AFRICA
14 regional events
Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar Es Salaam, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Lagos, Luanda, Maputo, Nairobi

ASIA & OCEANIA
15 regional events
Bangalore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Hanoi, HK/ Shenzhen, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo

SEEDSTARS BOOTCAMP - Altogether the 55 finalists will come to Switzerland to take part in a three-day bootcamp where international investors & mentors from top accelerators like Level Up!, The Founder’s Institute, 500 startups, from business strategy consultants, such as Wardour & Oxford or eDevice, as well as from top managers, such as Filippo Bonsanti, Director of Marketing Strategy at Ebay or Jose Achache, Managing Director at AP-Swiss, will coach them on their business model, pitching skills and growth strategy. On the last day of the bootcamp, the startups will pitch in front of investors from all regions and have a privileged time to speak with them. 12 of them will then win their ticket to take part in the final round, the day after, on the main stage at the Summit.

THE SUMMIT & FINAL CEREMONY - In addition to the final ceremony, where the Seedstars World global winner will be announced and receive up to USD 500k in equity investment, the aim of the Summit is to discuss how technology and entrepreneurship can impact billions of people’s lives. “When thinking of emerging markets, most people still imagine hubs of low cost manufacturing and unskilled labor force. This perception is about to change. Emerging markets are already transforming into centre of innovation where talented people and changemaker grow” argues Alisée de Tonnac, CEO at Seedstars World. “BILLION” is the red line of the Seedstars Summit this year. “Today, there are over 4 billion people without access to the Internet, which in my language means 4 billion potential consumers, opportunities and connected citizens. In the next 4 years alone, nearly half a billion people will come online for the first time. Venturing a bit further into the future, by 2020, 8 out of 10 smartphones will be located in emerging markets. Emerging Markets are at the center of the map!”, explains Alisée de Tonnac. The day will start with several workshops covering a wide range of challenging and innovative topics, such as “Women entrepreneurs rising”, “How can governments kickstart an ecosystem?” or “Takeoff: Exploring the next generation of the travel industry”. In the afternoon, the final ceremony of Seedstars Summit will take place. Apart from the final pitches, top speakers like Frederico Lara, CTO at Bongo International, or Fabio Cannavale, CEO of lastminute.com group will share their ideas and insights about the latest trends in their respective fields and regions. Finally, Seedstars Summit is an opportunity to meet a community of changemakers and inspiring people from Colombia to Indonesia.

NEW TRACK & PRIZES - In addition to the Seedstars World global winner award a new Travel track has been added this year. This Travel investment track is powered by lastminute.com group, and they will invest up to USD 500'000 in the best travel startup, accelerating the startup’s growth with their industry know-how and long standing expertise in the industry. Inmarsat and AP-Swiss will also award a USD 50'000 grant to the best startup developing an application or services leveraging satellite technology. HUBLOT, the official Timekeeper, will reward the most innovative startup with a watch of considerable value of USD 20'000.

Tickets on sale now!
The Summit is open to public. Final pass & Executive pass are available @ www.seedstarsworld.com/summit/passes

About Seedstars

"They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds." - Mexican proverb

Seedstars (seedstars.com) is a global organisation based in Switzerland with activities in more than 55 countries around the world. Its mission is to impact people's lives in emerging markets through entrepreneurship and technology. The company's goal is to develop and/or foster startup ecosystems by connecting, building and investing into driven entrepreneurs. Seedstars connects the best entrepreneurs with investors, corporates and media, and provide them with support in scaling to new market. They build ideas and companies by bringing together resources, talents and growth techniques, and eventually, invest in the most promising entrepreneurs. Sharing the values of trust, efficiency and diversity, Seedstars aims to support the whole entrepreneurial ecosystem from entrepreneurs to investors passing through governments and corporates with the aim to bring positive impact.

Press Contact:
Sandra Febvre
Event & Press Manager
sandra@seedstarsworld.com
+41 76 420 75 54

Date of publication: 09.02.2016