We at Search On Media Group - designers of WMF, the biggest Festival in Europe about Digital & Social Innovation - have always been committed to fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and startups growth. To pursue this goal the company plans, sponsors and networks many events and initiatives to promote and support the creation of an innovative ecosystem.

During the past years we have hosted more than 3,300 Startups at WMF, while organising Startups Competitions, Startup Districts and other types of activities to work towards the creation of a vast startup network. 

Impressively, during WMF's editions more than 200 between partners and investors have delivered and received awards with a total value of over 2 million Euros.

Today we want to take our innovative ecosystem - made up by startups, digital professionals, institutions and partners - abroad, to involve every country and create an international network. From this idea came the plan to set up an International Roadshow called The Worldwide Events.

The WMF International Roadshow Event in Serbia is part of a long series of international events dedicated to innovation. The realisation of each international event is due to a strong collaboration with foreign partners.

The WMF International Roadshow Event in Serbia hosts a Startup Competition, where innovative startups will have the opportunity to pitch in front of many investors and several leading players of the innovative sector.

The Startup Competition Serbia is organised in collaboration with the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (CCIS).

With almost 20 years of presence in the Serbian market, CCIS is a private-law organisation whose aim is to promote and encourage traditional economic cooperation between Italy and Serbia.

The CCIS has a central role in developing business between Italy and Serbia, offering different types of services for both Italian and Serbian entrepreneurs.

The Startup Competition is open to any type of startup or business, both for individuals or teams, who wants to share their innovative projects or ideas. The application is open to any kind of startups, with no specific requirement for development stage or type of industry.

Participants can attend the event as part of the public, as investors or as candidates for the competition.

All startups applying as candidates in the WMF International Roadshow Event in Serbia are evaluated by a dedicated jury. During the event Fifteen startups will be selected to pitch in front of major investors - they will have few minutes to present their project through an elevator pitch in front of the jury, composed by investors and professionals. At the end of the event the jury will select three winners.

Read the instructions

The "elevator pitch" is a brief presentation that describes your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea in a concise manner, so as to quickly attract the audience's attention.

Download support material

Every startup attending the event is guaranteed 1 free ticket - valid for only one member of the team - for the following WMF in Italy, both online and onsite in Rimini.

Winners of the WMF International Roadshow Serbia Startup Competition:

• 3rd and 2nd classified:
  - Free access for the whole team to the following WMF (both online and onsite in Rimini, Italy).
  - Direct access to the "Startup Stage" - a conference room entirely dedicated to startups within the WMF - where Startups will have the opportunity to give an elevator pitch to illustrate their projects in front of several National and International Investors and Startup Incubators, and the opportunity to access to several prizes offered by WMF partners and investors that populate the Room.
  - Chance to compete against startups from all over the world in order to be selected among the 6 finalists of the Final Startup Competition, within the WMF in Rimini, Italy.

• 1st classified:
  - Free access for the whole team to the following WMF (both online and onsite in Rimini, Italy).
  - A Booth in the "Startup District" of the following WMF, both onsite in Rimini and online. The "Startup District" is the innovation expo area of WMF where startups can show their expertise, interact with investors and with the audience and also collect profiled leads.
  - Direct access to the "Startup Stage", a conference room entirely dedicated to startups within the WMF where Startups will have the opportunity to give an elevator pitch to illustrate their projects in front of National and International Investors and Startup Incubators, and the opportunity to access to several prizes offered by WMF partners and investors that populate the Room.
  - Chance to compete against startups from all over the world in order to be selected among the 6 finalists of the Final Startup Competition, within WMF, in Rimini, Italy.

Final Startup Competition within WMF, in Italy:

In the Final Startup Competition National and International Startups compete to win the final prize. Only 6 startups will be selected as finalists in Italy. The final 6 will have the possibility to pitch on the WMF Mainstage (with 7 thousand attendees based on 2019 data). The winner of the Final Startup Competition will have access to the prize of around 1 million euros (based on 2019 data).

Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Skills of the team, knowledge of the sector, feasibility of the project;
• Development stage of the product/service;
• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;
• Positioning in relation to competitors;
• Consistency with market and customers’ needs and potential outreach;
• Business potential of the idea.

The Call for Startup Competition in now open. First deadline is set to be on March 17th. Second deadline will be on March 31st. Finalists announcement will be on April 5th. Apply now to participate!