The Ukrainian Startup Fund held the 24th Pitch Day
On April 16, the Ukrainian Startup Fund held its 24th Pitch Day to select startups for state financing. The event took place online and due to quarantine was held remotely, using a service for video conferencing – Zoom. 13 startups made presentations (pitches). All of them are at the pre-seed stage (each of them applies for state grant funding in the amount of $ 25,000).
The event was opened by Anton Melnyk, an expert on innovation, investment and startups at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, who announced a new opportunity for teams participating in the Grant Program:
“Together with the Ukrainian Startup Fund, TECHIIA Holding and the Ministry of Finance, we are launching a new video project –Tech Pub, where we will invite startups that did not pass the pitch and analyze their applications and errors. In this way, the teams will receive recommendations on what exactly needs to be improved in order to move forward successfully. Such an initiative will increase the number of successful startups.”
Marianna Konina, Chief Public Engagement Officer of TECHIIA Holding, revealed more details of the initiative, including the history of its origin:
“This idea came up relatively recently when we met with Anton and discussed ways to help Ukrainian startups so that they could develop better. Anton recommended connecting the Ukrainian Fund of Startups, which has almost the largest base of startups in Ukraine. The idea was also supported by the managing partner of our holding Yuri Lazebnikov, who has extensive business experience. That’s how the Tech Pub appeared. We have already recommended five startups to participate in this project, so expect news from us soon.”
Who is the jury made up of?
- Kateryna Degtyar. Chapter director at Startup Grind Kyiv.
- Mykhailo Khaletskyi. Credit Analyst at SEB AB.
- Arkadiy Vershebenyuk. Partner at BeeVentures.
- Andrii Gulyi. Head of analytics at INDAX.
- Yurii Sereshchenko. Managing partner at Quarter Partners.
- Dmytro Chernukha. Industry Innovation manager at DTEK.
- Oleksii Orap. CEO and founder of Youscan.
The main criteria for evaluating projects at the pre-seed stage are team, market, idea, the feasibility of financing, strategy. In each category, a maximum is 5 points (in total maximum is 25). The passing score for a recommendation to the Supervisory Board for a grant is 12 points.
The results
This time the audience award according to a vote in the telegram channel was gained by the startup Erudito.
A special prize from the event partner LIFT99 Kyiv Hub in the form of two months of free access to the startup hub was received by the startups Geron Core and AGRO BI.
Startups Finanz AI, AutoBI and Ademrius received a special prize from the event partner iHUB powered by NUMA in the form of three months of free use of their workplaces.
The teams Geron Core, AGRO BI and Bank of Memories received a special prize from UNIT.City – 3 months of free access to the modern coworking – NEST, which is located on the territory of the innovation park + its infrastructure.
According to the results of the Competition Сommittee’s assessments, the following startups rating list was formed (from the highest score to the lowest):
- GeronCore — a living heart. A new generation of cardiac implants for kids with CHD (Kyiv).
- Supplio. An automated restocking platform for the cosmetics suppliers that integrates them with their clients (beauty salons, pharmacies, shops), providing automatic order management based on actual clients’ stocks and product usage (Kyiv).
- Harmix. An intelligent service that automatically selects the right music for your video just in seconds (Kyiv).
- AGRO BI. A business intelligence platform for risk management and the yield increasing for agribusiness with machine learning. The platform provides strict information on plant population and the presence of the weeds based on high-precision drone imaging using its own neural networks and data collection optimization algorithm (Kyiv).
- Erudito. A mobile application, that allows children to learn school subjects in the game format and gain knowledge for modern professions (Kharkiv).
- Ademrius. A web platform that allows the automation of the work of medical institutions through the implementation of online medical appointments and electronic patient history (Lviv).
- Librarius. A mobile app that allows for purchase, rental, and free reading in electronic and audio formats (Kyiv).
- Artera. A gadget that can draw in any color (Kyiv).
- AutoBI. An innovative system designed for Automotive and related areas that will help to configure the processes for optimal fleet managing (Kyiv, Lviv).
- Finanz AI. SaaS that automates startup finance, replaces the financial officers, and SAVE 5-10X time and money (Kyiv).
- Bank of Memories. A service for storing and transmitting digital data, family archives, and memories to future generations using blockchain (Kyiv).
- Drivers Help – Roadside Assist. A service platform for support and assistance on the road 24/7 with one button. At the touch of a button, the driver will be able to get support and assistance from drivers and partner services (Odessa).
- ENERGY COMPLEX: DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLOITATION. An enterprise that aims to comprehensively address the issue of waste management from sorting to complete disposal of all residues of household waste, the basis of which is energy gasification of waste (Kalush).
At the USF Supervisory Board meeting, which will take place in the near future, it will be decided which startups will receive grant funding.
We remind that according to the results of the 21st and 22nd Pitch Day eight startups at the pre-seed stage were funded (VR Inn, V-Art, HoldYou, Symptomatical, Checki, Biobetter, My1stJob, Mobiform) and three – at the seed stage (Tradomatic, GIOS Mobile, Dots Platform).
