RIYADH: a total of 250 entrepreneurial projects representing 81 countries have advanced to the virtual training camp of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC), organised in cooperation with Esade Ramon Llull University .
The qualified cohort spans the venture pipeline: 9% at the ideation stage, 51% in the early stage, and 40% in the growth stage. Notably, 12% of projects specialise in space technologies, signalling widening frontiers of innovation across promising sectors worldwide .
Riyadh will host the finals, organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at”, in partnership with the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation “Misk” and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship .
The training programme runs for three days with five hours of sessions daily, alongside 20 specialised workshops. Participants will meet more than five local and international investors and connect with nine ecosystem partners in the Kingdom. From this stage, 100 projects will qualify for the finals, to be held within the “Bibaan” Forum in Riyadh .
This year’s preliminary rounds drew more than 10,000 applications from 169 countries—double last year’s entries. The EWC, the largest competition of its kind, will bring the top 100 startups to Riyadh to compete for cash prizes exceeding $1.5 million, in addition to investment opportunities and strategic partnerships with more than 64 partners. Hosting the championship underscores Riyadh’s status as an innovation centre and its commitment to empowering entrepreneurs, accelerating startup growth, and expanding their international reach across sectors and global markets .
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