If you’re building something real—an app, a product, a service, a platform—there’s one moment that can change your startup’s speed: the moment you step into a serious competition with serious visibility.

That’s what the entrepreneurship world cup is for.

It’s not only a pitch event. It’s a full “startup journey” that includes screening, a Top 250 bootcamp, selection into a Top 100 group, and Global Finals hosted during Biban in Riyadh.

And the most founder-friendly part? The prizes are described as cash awards without equity requirements, and Top 100 qualifiers can receive travel/visa/accommodation coverage (so it’s not only for people who can afford flights and hotels).

What makes entrepreneurship world cup different from typical pitch competitions?

Most pitch competitions feel like this:

you submit
you pitch once
winners get announced
everyone goes home

The entrepreneurship world cup is built more like a ladder:

open registration + screening
Top 250 bootcamp (training + mentoring focus)
Top 100 selection
Global Finals (pitches, judging, networking)
post-competition support options (for selected winners)

Biban’s official info also highlights the “full experience” angle: training, mentorship, investor access, and even a funded soft-landing path for selected winners to help expansion into the Saudi market.

Real-life tip (the one I’d tell a friend):
Even if you don’t win, going through this process can tighten your startup story so well that your next investor call (or partnership meeting) goes smoother. It forces you to stop explaining your startup like an idea and start explaining it like a business.

Who runs entrepreneurship world cup?

You’ll see it connected to:

Biban / Monsha’at (the Biban event host ecosystem)
The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), which publishes updates and milestones
Support from Misk is also mentioned in official Biban materials

Is entrepreneurship world cup worth it?

Here’s the honest answer: it’s worth it if you treat the application like a business asset, not a form.

Founders usually win in 3 practical ways:

1) You get clarity (and clarity sells)

When a judge asks “Why you?” or “Why now?”, your application forces you to answer cleanly.

2) You get credibility (even before the finals)

Top selections like Top 250 and Top 100 are meaningful signals because they come after screening and further evaluation stages.

3) You get exposure to partners and investors

A recent Biban/EWC press release described collaboration with 64+ global partners and investor/strategic partnership opportunities around the Finals experience.

Key numbers you should know (from a recent edition)

From official Biban information:

42,000+ registered entrepreneurs
10,300+ applicants
160+ participating countries
16 sectors represented
$1.5 million total prizes

From a Biban-related press release:

10,300+ startups applied from 169 countries (and the EWC described as the “world’s largest startup competition”)

What this means for you: it’s competitive. So you don’t want a “generic startup description.” You want a sharp story + proof.

Stages and categories inside entrepreneurship world cup

Official materials describe stages like:

Idea Stage — concept validation / pre-product
Early Stage — MVP with early traction indicators
Growth Stage — scalable company with recurring revenue

How to pick the right stage (easy rule)

Idea Stage: you don’t have stable product usage yet, but you have evidence (interviews, prototype tests, waitlist).
Early Stage: you have an MVP and traction (pilots, users, early revenue, retention).
Growth Stage: you have repeatable revenue and you’re scaling (team growth, stronger metrics, expansion).

Real-life tip:
Don’t pick a stage to “look impressive.” Pick the stage where your numbers look strongest.

Prizes in entrepreneurship world cup (and what “no equity” really means)

Biban’s official details highlight:

$1.5 million in cash prizes
prizes awarded without investment obligations or equity requirements

Prize breakdown listed on Biban includes:
Early Stage: 1st $250,000; 2nd $200,000; 3rd $150,000; 4th $100,000; 5th $50,000
Growth Stage: 1st $175,000; 2nd $100,000
Idea Stage: 1st $50,000; 2nd $25,000

Biban also mentions sector prizes (SpaceTech) with four $100,000 awards in that edition.

Travel + finalist support (a detail people miss)

If you reach Top 100, Biban states there is comprehensive coverage of travel, visa, and accommodation costs for Top 100 qualifiers.

That’s a big deal because it removes a common barrier: “I can’t attend even if I qualify.”

The typical journey and timeline (how the year usually flows)

GEN news and official updates show a consistent pattern:

Applications / registrations happen first
Top 250 is announced
Virtual Bootcamp follows (recently connected with Esade Ramon Llull University)
Top 100 is selected
Global Finals happen during Biban

A registration portal snapshot for the previous cycle also listed a flow like:
Top 250 announcement → Bootcamp → Top 100 reveal → Global Finals.

My practical advice:
Don’t write your application the week it’s due. Create a mini schedule:

Week 1: story + proof
Week 2: deck + demo
Week 3: edits + feedback + final submit

How entrepreneurship world cup judging really works (plain language)

Official sources don’t always show a public “rubric chart” on every page, but Biban clearly describes the competition as an integrated evaluation path: screening → bootcamp → final judging → Top 100 → finals pitches.

Here’s how judges usually think (and how you should write), based on how serious competitions evaluate startups:

1) Problem clarity (make it real)

If the problem is vague, your solution feels optional.

Write like this:

“The customer loses ___ (time/money) because ___.”
“Today they solve it by ___, which fails because ___.”

Example:
Instead of: “We help small businesses manage finance.”
Say: “Shop owners waste 6–10 hours per week tracking credit sales in WhatsApp and notebooks, and they lose money when customers delay payments.”

2) Solution proof (show, don’t describe)

Even idea-stage founders can show proof:

prototype screenshots
waitlist count
short demo video
pilot letter
interview quotes (2–3 lines only)

3) Market logic (keep it simple)

You don’t need fancy graphs. You need believable math.

Simple market sizing formula:

number of customers × average yearly payment = your reachable market

4) Traction (or traction substitutes)

If you have traction: show trend (month-by-month).
If you don’t: show substitutes (waitlist, pilots, LOIs, retention tests).

5) Team fit (why you?)

Not a resume dump. A match.

Write it like:
“I’ve worked in ___ for ___ years, so I’ve seen this problem daily. My cofounder handles ___.”

What to include in your entrepreneurship world cup application (my “no-fluff” structure)

When you apply to entrepreneurship world cup, your answers should build one story:

Step 1: Your one-line startup description

Format: We help [customer] do [job] by [how], so they get [result].

Example:
“We help clinics cut patient no-shows by sending smart reminders and easy rescheduling links, so revenue stops leaking.”

Step 2: The problem (add one painful detail)

Who feels the pain?
When does it happen?
What does it cost?

Step 3: The solution (make it visual)

Describe it in “screen language”:

“User signs up → does X → gets Y result in Z minutes.”

Step 4: Your traction (show numbers, even small ones)

Users, orders, pilots, revenue, retention, partnerships
Use a tiny timeline: “Month 1 ___ → Month 2 ___ → Month 3 ___”

Step 5: Business model (keep it clean)

Pricing
Who pays
Why they’ll keep paying

Step 6: Go-to-market (pick one primary channel)

Don’t list 10 channels. Pick one:

outbound sales
partnerships
app store / SEO
community
resellers

Step 7: The ask (be specific)

If you reach finals, you’ll be asked questions like:

“What will you do with the prize money?”
Have a clean answer:
Hiring, product, expansion, compliance, marketing tests—choose 2–3.

Stage-by-stage examples (so you can model your answers)

Idea Stage example (proof without revenue)

Let’s say you want to build a learning app.

Bad proof: “People love it.”
Good proof:

40 interviews completed
1 clickable prototype
700-person waitlist
12 beta testers using it weekly

What to write:
“I tested this with 40 target users. 28 said they’d pay. We built a prototype and got 700 waitlist signups in 3 weeks.”

Early Stage example (small traction, big clarity)

Imagine you built a B2B tool.

Proof could be:

12 paying customers
churn under control
usage: “teams log in 3x/week”

What to write:
“We sell to teams at $X/month. We have 12 paying customers and our users log in multiple times a week. Our best channel is outbound LinkedIn + warm intros.”

Growth Stage example (show predictability)

Proof could be:

recurring revenue
repeatable acquisition channel
retention
unit economics

What to write:
“We grow by X channel with Y cost per customer. Our payback period is Z months.”

Pitch deck that works for entrepreneurship world cup (simple 10-slide outline)

If you want your pitch to sound human and sharp, keep it like this:

Title (what you do)
Problem (one punchy story)
Current solutions (why they fail)
Your solution (demo screenshot)
Why now (trend / timing)
Market (simple math)
Business model (pricing + who pays)
Traction (proof + graph)
Team (why you can win)
Ask (what you need + what you’ll do next)

Real-life tip:
Use fewer words per slide. When founders lose a room, it’s usually because the slide looks like an essay.

Demo video: the easiest way to stand out (even if it’s basic)

A clean 60–90 second demo can carry you.

My simple structure:

“This is who it’s for.” (5 seconds)
“This is the problem.” (10 seconds)
Screen-share: show the workflow (45–60 seconds)
“This is the result.” (10 seconds)
“This is where we’re headed next.” (10 seconds)

Keep it real: phone mic is fine. Clear audio is more important than cinematic effects.

Bootcamp + Top 250: how to get value (not just attend sessions)

GEN updates show Top 250 teams go through a virtual bootcamp, and in a recent cycle it was held with Esade Ramon Llull University.

If you reach this stage, do these 5 things:

Rewrite your pitch weekly (your first version is never the best version)
Track questions judges/mentors keep asking—those are your weak spots
Create a 1-page “data room lite” (traction, cap table summary, key docs list)
Practice 2-minute + 30-second versions of your pitch
Make a target list (investors/partners you want to meet at finals)

Due diligence: what to prepare before you’re asked

Some listings around the competition process mention due diligence connected with later selections (Top 250 onward).

So I always recommend keeping these ready (even as drafts):

registration documents (if you have them)
simple cap table (who owns what)
basic financials (even if early)
customer contracts / LOIs / invoices
IP proof (who built the product, any assignments)
traction screenshots (analytics, revenue dashboard, retention)

Real-life tip:
Put these in one folder now. If you scramble later, you’ll lose momentum exactly when you should be moving fast.

Global Finals prep (how to network like a normal human)

Biban describes direct access to investors and “enablement entities,” plus pitch opportunities during the forum.

If you reach finals, don’t just “attend.” Work it like this:

Your 3-level networking plan

Level 1: people you must meet (10 names)
Level 2: people you should meet (20 names)
Level 3: random conversations (as many as possible)

The best opener line

Instead of: “Can I pitch you?”
Say: “I’m building ___ for ___ and we’re already seeing ___ traction. I’m looking for feedback on ___.”

It feels natural, and people are more willing to engage.

After every good conversation, do this

Take 30 seconds and write:

what they care about
what you promised
what you’ll send them

That one habit makes follow-ups easy.

How to use entrepreneurship world cup for growth (even if you don’t win)

Here’s what smart founders do with it:

Turn it into a sales asset
Add “Top ___ selection” (if you get it) in your email signature and pitch deck.
Turn it into content
Write a blog post: “What I learned preparing for entrepreneurship world cup.”
People love behind-the-scenes lessons.
Turn it into investor updates
Even one line helps: “Selected for ___ stage; presenting at ___.”
It creates momentum.

Helpful external links (official + high-signal)

Biban’s official entrepreneurship world cup page (prizes, travel support, stages, soft-landing) (Biban Global)
GEN / entrepreneurship world cup News & Updates (Top 250, finals updates, milestones) (GENglobal)
Overview page that summarizes stages and perks (useful for a quick snapshot) (GBSN)
Press release with key scale numbers (applicants, countries, partners) (PR Newswire)

FAQ: entrepreneurship world cup

1) Is entrepreneurship world cup only for tech startups?

No. The competition spans many sectors (a recent edition listed 16 sectors represented).

2) Do I have to give equity if I win?

Official Biban details describe cash prizes awarded without equity requirements.

3) What if I’m early and I don’t have revenue yet?

That’s normal for Idea Stage. Your job is to show proof in other ways (interviews, prototype tests, waitlist, pilots).

4) What happens after Top 250?

GEN updates show Top 250 teams go through a virtual bootcamp (recently in collaboration with Esade), then selections continue toward Top 100 and finals.

5) If I reach Top 100, do I cover travel costs myself?

Biban states travel, visa, and accommodation costs are covered for Top 100 qualifiers.

6) How big is the competition?

It attracts thousands of applications and large participation across many countries; official and press sources cite 10,300+ applicants in a recent cycle.

7) What’s the fastest way to improve my chances?

Make your application specific:

one clear customer
one clear pain
one clear solution flow
proof (numbers/screenshots)
simple business model

8) What should I prepare before applying?

Have:

a one-liner
traction proof
a simple deck
a short demo video
a “data room lite” folder (basic docs)

Final note (straight from one founder to another)

If you want to apply to entrepreneurship world cup, don’t aim to “sound impressive.” Aim to be clear, specific, and believable.