35,000 euros for innovation development and internships at Glovo office in Barcelona: the results of the PowerUp Ukraine and Glovo Startup Lab 2.0 conference
Kyiv, June 19, 2024 – PowerUp Ukraine, a tech conference organized by Glovo and the Ukrainian Startup Fund, took place in Kyiv, which is intended to become an annual platform for attracting international private investment in Ukrainian tech companies and startups and developing the ecosystem.
“In 9 years, Glovo has grown from a startup to an international company covering 25 countries. In addition to a powerful idea, this became possible because we also received investments for development at the beginning. That is why, having become a large and influential business, we realize our responsibility for the development of local tech ecosystems and have the resources and expertise to help. Ukraine has a unique combination of talent and startup culture, and local entrepreneurs demonstrate amazing resilience and strength. Therefore, through the PowerUp Ukraine conference, we aim to convince foreign investors and companies to help local startups scale and attract the necessary investments,” said Sacha Michaud, co-founder of Glovo.
During the event, leaders of leading Ukrainian tech companies, venture capital fund managers, and industry experts actively discussed challenges and shared their vision of prospects and strategies for developing and supporting tech businesses in Ukraine. Particular attention was paid to the issues of scaling Ukrainian companies outside the country and the importance and profitability of investing in Ukrainian innovation projects right now. Top managers of MacPaw, Horizon Capital, Jooble, Mate Academy, SMOK Ventures, Glovo, Diia.City United, and representatives of government agencies and NGOs shared their experience.
“In the context of a full-scale war in Ukraine, it is crucial to develop the startup ecosystem and create conditions for the development of technology companies. To do this, we are systematically improving the work of the Diia.City space, which has already been joined by more than 1,000 companies. A separate area is the work of the Ukrainian Startup Fund, which has already financed more than 750 startups for more than $16 million. “This gives an impetus to the launch and development of startups and shows the world a technological and innovative Ukraine,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation, “It is important that investors continue to believe in us and invest in Ukrainian companies. So I am grateful to Glovo for supporting our startups and investing in the development of technology business.”
One of the key moments of the event was the Glovo Startup Lab competition, which Glovo has been holding for the second year in a row in cooperation with the Ukrainian Startup Fund. Nine Ukrainian startups: 3D UTU, Banani AI, Birb AI, GetOrder, Getpin, Howcow, Releaf Paper, ToGether, Uspacy presented their innovative projects to the conference guests and the jury. The winners of the competition are:
- 1st place: Getpin, a SaaS tool for online marketing, received €20,000 and an internship from the Glovo team in Barcelona.
- 2nd place went to Uspacy, which received €10,000 and an internship in Barcelona. The startup offers a CRM system for small and medium-sized businesses.
- 3rd place and €5,000 and online mentoring from Glovo team experts went to Howcow, which develops artificial intelligence agri-technologies for farmers.
The PowerUp Ukraine conference will become an annual event, as Glovo intends to actively raise awareness of Ukrainian talent among European companies and investors, attracting new partners to support the Ukrainian startup ecosystem.
