Two Armenian Startups Advance to EWC Global Finals

The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) at the American University of  Armenia (AUA) together with the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) National Leadership Committee congratulates the startups that won the top prizes at the EWC Armenia 2022 National Finals.

Based on the decision of an independent jury of the EWC Armenia 2022 National Finals, two Armenian startups, Text’nPayMe and Hopshop, took first place and will represent Armenia in the EWC Global Finals. They will compete for a chance to win $1 million in prizes. 

According to National Organizer of EWC Armenia Nejdeh Hovanessian, “In comparison to last year, the startups participating in the competition were better developed and their pitches more refined. Competition for the top prizes was intense, and the National Finals jury had to make tough decisions. I am glad that as a result of the National Finals, we have two teams that will be competitive with startup teams from the rest of the world.”

The National Finals took place at AUA on August 13. The event opened with an inspirational keynote address by Hayk Chabanyan, CEO of the Union of Advanced Technology Entreprises. The opening ceremony featured speeches by President of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Jonathan Ortmans, AUA Provost Dr. Brian A. Ellison, and AUA Professor and Director of EPIC Dr. Michael Kouchakdjian. A panel consisting of representatives from the local startup ecosystem then debated how to accelerate the maturity of Armenia’s startup ecosystem. 

The esteemed National Finals jury consisted of Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia Dr. Davit Sahakyan, Founding Partner at Strategic Value Ventures Karen Gyulbudaghyan, Managing Director at ServiceTitan Armenia Ashot Tonoyan, International Expert at the European Union Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia (ITTD) Project Christian Schellenberger, and CEO of the National Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Dr. Hayk Margarian.

In addition to the EWC trophy, each winning team received a prize of $10,000 from the sponsors of the event.

Text'nPayMe is a banking keyboard that enables bank clients to send money in any messaging application and in any other application where they can find an input field. 

Hopshop is Shazam for fashion. It helps customers find and purchase any clothes or accessories which are available on the Internet, social media, and even in real life.

Another team, Biocentric, received a special prize from Team Telecom Armenia: a one-year subscription to an internet connection with speed up to 1,000 Mbps.

“Organizations with scientific orientation are always at the center of our company’s attention,” said General Director’s Advisor on Data Analytics at Team Telecom Armenia Zaven Navoyan. “I am glad that there were such startups in the National Finals of the competition, one of which received a prize from Team Telecom Armenia. I hope that we will have a small investment in helping this startup advance from Idea stage to growth stage.”

From over 110 submitted applications, 99 startup teams passed the initial screening stage, and 34 were later selected as semifinalists. Based on the evaluation of the jury, 12 startups advanced to the National Finals. Over 60 judges from Armenia and abroad played a central role in the evaluation stages of the competition.

EWC is being organized in Armenia for the second time. Thanks to the active ecosystem and high-level organization of the competition in Armenia, the country will have 2 startups representing Armenia in the Global Stage of the competition. EWC Global 2022 will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in November 2022.