iSpace Foundation, 1776 and Revolution Announce Challenge Cup 2017 Global Startup Competition powered by the UNION network.
75 global cities will come together to find the world’s most promising startups tackling complex, regulated challenges
Washington, D.C. and Accra — Today, iSpace Foundation and 1776 announced the kickoff of its fourth annual global Challenge Cup competition that seeks to find innovative startups solving the world’s most complex challenges.
The Challenge Cup is also presented in partnership with investment firm Revolution, an active champion for the emergence of entrepreneurial communities and startups outside of Silicon Valley.
Over the next four months, the Challenge Cup will take place in 75 global cities, including cities drawn from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest program as well as over 20 US state capitals. In each of these cities, 1776 will partner with a leading local startup program to host a Challenge Cup experience on 1776’s UNION Network, which is a digital platform that connects startup ecosystems around the world.
“The Challenge Cup is more than a pitch competition. We are forging partnerships between government officials, institutions, and entrepreneurs tackling complex challenges,” said Evan Burfield, Cofounder and CEO of 1776. “By partnering with Revolution we are reinforcing the networks necessary for startups to solve meaningful problems on a global stage. By hosting the competition on 1776’s UNION network, we are uniting the fragmented global startup ecosystem in this mission.”
The program culminates in the 2017 Challenge Festival, a multi-day event in November taking place at 1776’s newest campus located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
iSpace Foundation will join the initial thirty-one startup communities hosting a Challenge Cup, including:
- American Underground — Durham, NC, USA (Rise of the Rest City)
- Benjamin’s Desk — Philadelphia, PA, USA (Rise of the Rest City)
- BIAT — Tunis, Tunisia (Capital City)
- D.CAMP — Seoul, South Korea (Capital City)
- ECOEM — Caracas, Venezuela (Capital City)
- Found.Ation — Athens, Greece (Capital City)
- Grupo Rede Mais — Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
- Grupo Rede Mais — Quito, Ecuador (Capital City)
- Hive Colab — Kampala, Uganda (Capital City)
- Iceaddis — Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Capital City)
- iHub — Nairobi, Kenya (Capital City)
- Invest2Innovate — Islamabad, Pakistan (Capital City)
- Japan Innovation Network — Osaka, Japan
- Japan Innovation Network — Tokyo, Japan (Capital City)
- National Digital Research Centre — Dublin, Ireland (Capital City)
- Novus — Cochabamba, Bolivia
- PIE — Portland, OR, USA
- StartupAZ — Phoenix, AZ, USA (Capital, Rise of the Rest City)
- Startup Mexico — Merida, Mexico
- Startup Mexico — Mexico City, Mexico (Capital City)
- Station Houston — Houston, TX, USA
- Talent Garden — Milan, Italy
- Tampa Bay WaVE — Tampa, FL, USA
- tekMountain — Wilmington, NC, USA
- The Commons — Denver, CO (Capital, Rise of the Rest City)
- Urban Redevelopment Authority — Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Rise of the Rest City)
- 1776 — Dubai, UAE
- 1776 — New York, NY, USA
- 1776 — Washington, DC, USA (Capital City)
- 43North — Buffalo, NY, USA (Rise of the Rest City)
Whether it be Twiga Foods in Kenya, Prima-Temp in Boulder or MyPeegu in Bangalore, startups are solving some of our most complex and challenging problems but are often overlooked with respect to venture funding and access to entrepreneurial resources.
iSpace is looking forward to hosting Challenge Cup Accra, on May 27th, 2017.
About iSpace Foundation
Founded in 2013, we believe our role in the startup ecosystem is to provide a conducive environment for growth, we achieve this by providing
(i) Office Space
(ii) Funding
(iii) Training And Mentoring .
We are a space created for and by the local tech community. We welcome talent, ideas and also champion the use of mobile and web technology for Social Impact.
About 1776
1776 is a public benefit corporation that empowers startup ecosystems around the world to solve complex challenges. To accomplish this, we leverage our digital startup network, UNION; physical campuses in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco and Dubai; a global startup pitch competition, Challenge Cup; and deep staff expertise in regulatory issues. We accelerate connections and outcomes among startups, corporations, and public institutions. For more information, please visit www.1776.vc and follow @1776 on Twitter and @1776vc on Instagram.
Apply Here: https://union.vc/2017-challenge-cup-accra
