Applications for the Mercedes-Benz StartUP competition, where Mercedes-Benz will reward startups that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, have been completed. 43 startups from 633 provinces of Turkey applied for the competition.
The Mercedes-Benz StartUP Program, which has supported more than 150 startups in different ways such as business development trainings, workshops, monetary awards, national and international network development; This year, it is held in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz and Impact Hub Istanbul. The application process of the Mercedes-Benz StartUP competition, held within the scope of the program, has been completed. 43 startups from 633 provinces of Turkey applied for the competition.
Making life easier; The selection phase of the Mercedes-Benz StartUP contest, which accepts the applications of business plans and prototype ready startups that contribute to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals, benefit the society and the environment, and are connected to technology, begins.
Startups supporting sustainable development are in this competition
A total of 16 applications from 7 provinces were submitted to the "Mercedes-Benz StartUP" competition, where applications were accepted between March 2021 and May 43, 633. 48 percent of the applications came from Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Other than Istanbul, the cities with the highest number of applications were Ankara and Izmir with 17 percent. Applications are mainly from Sustainable Development Goals; While it consists of startups contributing to the fields of "Responsible Production and Consumption", "Sustainable City and Living Spaces" and "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure", the diversity of applications also drew attention.
Among the applicant startups, projects aiming to provide solutions in the fields of information and communication technologies, education, environment and agriculture were the majority, while 62 percent had a prototype or prototype plan ready, and 25 percent had their products or services opened to customers. It also targets "Individuals" and "Businesses" as the primary customers of startups' products or services, and secondarily at "State Institutions", "Households" and "Enterprises".
Creative energy from seven to seventy
Entrepreneurs from a wide age range from 15 to 64 years old applied to the project. While 11 of the applicant entrepreneurs were under the age of 18, 47 percent of the applications came from entrepreneurs under the age of 25. While 15 percent of those who applied to the project and stated their educational status were high school graduates, 42 percent were university graduates, 21 percent of them completed their postgraduate and doctorate degrees.
50.000 TL award for each of the first three Startups
The startups that passed the idea stage, the business plan was clarified, the prototype was produced or the prototype plan was ready were evaluated by the competition jury. This year, each of the winners of the "Transportation Solutions", "Social Benefit" and "Jury Special Award" categories will receive a grand prize of 50.000 TL. All projects in the top 10 will be eligible to participate in a special development program called "StartUP Boost" and the German Enterprise Ecosystem module where they will find opportunities to get to know the European startup ecosystem closely and develop potential collaborations. In addition, for the first time this year, the top 10 startups will receive one-to-one mentorship support from Mercedes-Benz executives tailored to their needs.
The jury of Mercedes-Benz StartUP consists of valuable names in their fields.
The jury of the competition includes experts from non-governmental organizations, startup ecosystem and media, as well as executives of Mercedes-Benz.
- Ahmet Can - “Technology is Everywhere” Program Presenter
- Ayşe Sabuncu - Impact Hub Istanbul Founding Partner
- Ceylan Özünel - Board Member of the Foundation on Life
- Çiğdem Toraman - StartersHub General Manager
- Didem Daphne Özensel - Mercedes-Benz Türk Second Hand Truck and Bus Sales Director
- Emre Kuzucu - Mercedes-Benz Turkish Bus R&D Director
- Özlem Vidin Engindeniz - Mercedes-Benz Automotive Executive Board Member and Director of Global IT Solutions Center
- Süer Sülün - Mercedes-Benz Türk Chief Executive Officer
- Şükrü Bekdikhan - President of Mercedes-Benz Automobile Group
- Talat Yeşiloğlu - Fast Company Turkey Editor
- Oben Akyol - Founder of Circular Mind
- Tolga İmamoğlu - WRI Senior Manager, Transportation & Road Safety
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