The WITSA National Competition in Armenia took place, where 2 out of the 9 startups were granted a unique opportunity to showcase their solutions and compete on the international stage among 16 countries this fall. Text'nPayMe and AllClean startups will represent Armenia at the WITSA World Cup 2024 in October.
The WITSA World Cup (WWC) will take place in frames of the WCIT2024/DigiTec in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 4-7, 2024, at the Karen Demirtchian Complex.
"I am delighted to welcome you all on this significant day. Today, we stand at the forefront of innovation and technology development, and I am especially pleased that The World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT2024/DigiTec) will create an environment also for Armenian startups to present their ideas and solutions on an international platform using this unique opportunity. I am confident that the selected innovative solutions will represent Armenia with great pride and capture the attention of the global tech community," - mentioned Hayk Karapetyan, Executive Director of the Organizing Committee of WCIT2024//DigiTec during his welcome speech.
The jury for the Armenian pre-selection stage of the WITSA World Cup National Competition was presented by:
- Ruben Simonyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia;
- Dmitri Stepanov, Director of New Products at Yandex;
- Sona Mamyan, Director of Growth 10web․io;
- Hayk Hayrapetyan, Founder at IMAST and Co-founder at AI9.
Armenian early-stage/pre-series A startups competed in the national finals for the opportunity to represent Armenia on the global platform. These startups showcase solutions in diverse fields such as medicine, healthcare, banking, commerce, digital Ads optimization, and bionic hand technology.
The selection process for the national competition was focused on five key evaluation criteria: innovation, customer traction, scalability, tech for good, and potential.
The two winning startups are:
- Text'nPayMe is a fintech and deep tech company, specialising in innovative payment solutions for banks, fintechs, telecoms, and online shops. The payment keyboard seamlessly integrates into any app, enabling users to transact securely and conveniently within their favorite social networks, messaging apps, and beyond.
- Allclean connects residential cleaning companies with property managers and streamlines all operations.
This year the WITSA World Cup (WWC) international competition will feature 32 startups from 16 countries across 6 continents, providing a global platform for Armenian startups to compete and gain exposure. This event highlights the opportunity for Armenian startups to compete on a global stage, with a focus on innovation and the potential to create impactful tech solutions.
The WITSA World Cup in Armenia is organized by the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE), SmartGateVC, and Yandex, as a host for the national Armenian selection stage.
In May 2024, the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises of Armenia (UATE) announced the hosting of the World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT) 2024 in Armenia in close cooperation with DigiTec. Under the headline “THE POWER OF MIND: AI Beyond Limits, Within Ethics,” WCIT 2024/DigiTec will feature a high-level Congress program, B2B meetings, the WITSA World Cup (WWC) for scaleups, innovation showcases, business presentations, workshops, and more.
The WCIT 2024/DigiTec Congress will provide a global stage to showcase the transformative power of information technologies, emphasizing the critical role of applied sciences, investments, and their reach across diverse regions and economies. Recently, Armenia has become a key technological hub, attracting a wave of global technology companies that have established their research and development (R&D) offices and branches in the country.