The Biggest Startup Pitch Competition in the World

Fueling Dreams: 2023 brought a Whopping $200,000 Cash Prize Pool
- Unmatched Worldwide!

What is the Supernova Challenge?

The Supernova Challenge is the world’s largest startup pitch competition offering aspiring founders the opportunity to win cash prizes worth up to 100,000 USD.

In 2023, a total prize fund of 200,000 USD was distributed among the most innovative and ground-breaking business ideas and solutions across 14 categories spanning from sustainability, to healthtech, fintech, and specialist categories such as the Asia and Africa Fast Awards.

2023 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE OVERALL CHAMPION & WINNER OF 100,000 USD

Congratulations to our overall Supernova Challenge Champion and winner of a spectacular 100,000 USD cash prize. Accredify from Singapore, a SaaS IT solutions provider headquartered in Singapore enables organisations to create and issue verifiable documents, known as “accredified documents, that can be verified by third-parties”. We caught up with Simon Gordon, Chief Commercial Officer at Accredify, to talk about what winning the Supernova Challenge means for the business.

2023 WINNERS

TOP MENA AWARD (USD 8,000)

WINNER: Jalebi.IO | UAE
RUNNER UP: Terra Unity | OMAN

AI DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: KNORISH | INDIA
RUNNER UP: SMART PARKING | KAZAKHSTAN

BLOCKCHAIN AND WEB3 DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: VEROFAX | MALAYSIA
RUNNER UP: INTERACT | REPUBLIC OF KOREA

HEALTHTECH AND WELLNESS DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: SKIA | REPUBLIC OF KOREA
RUNNER UP: AVATAR Inc. | JAPAN

AFRICA FAST AWARD (USD 8,000)

WINNER: GIFTY | NIGERIA
RUNNER UP: Neural Labs | KENYA

INDIA FAST AWARD (USD 8,000)

WINNER: EyeRov Technologies | INDIA
RUNNER UP: UNIBOSE | INDIA

MOBILITY AND SMART CITIES DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: INOCEL | FRANCE
RUNNER UP: Medkan | BRAZIL

FEMALE FOUNDER AWARD (USD 10,000)

WINNER: MATIS | SWITZERLAND
RUNNER UP: WARRD | EGYPT

MARTECH DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: SMARTZER | UNITED KINGDOM
RUNNER UP: UNIPAL | BAHRAIN

SUSTAINABILITY AND ESG DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: ZENERATE | USA
RUNNER UP: NET ZERO TECHNOLOGIES | TAIWAN

FINTECH AND ECOMMERCE DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: Appro Technologies l UAE
RUNNER UP: MTHMR l KSA

ASIA FAST AWARD (USD 8,000)

WINNER: URTOPIA | CHINA
RUNNER UP: Accredify | SINGAPORE

INSURTECH DISRUPTOR (USD 8,000)

WINNER: INSURECOW | BANGLADESH

YOUTHX AWARD (USD 8,000/ USD 10,000)

WINNERS
Linza Metrics from ITMO University – USD 2000
Le Solarium From Amity University – USD 2000
Math.ai from Edventure Park Student Incubator – USD 2000
Metabliss, ASAT, Wasteless App -3 winners from Al Mawakeb School – USD 2000

Hear from the 2023 Semi – Finalists

MEET THE 2023 SUPERNOVA JUDGES

Thomas Debass

Acting Special Representative
Global Partnerships
US Department of State

Stephanie Nour

Partner
Nuwa Capital

Mike Butcher

Editor-at-Large
TechCrunch

Tej Lalvani

CEO
Vitabiotics

Sharif El-Badawi

CEO
Dubai Future District Fund

Mohammed Salim Al-Wahaibi

CEO
Al JABR MENA

David Munir Nabti

Co-Founder
Bloom.pm

Jana Elkova

Strategy & Partnerships Expert
Ministry of Economy

Andrea Azzolari

Associate Venture
Plug n Play
Saudi Arabia

Dina Khair

Investment Operations Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Mohamed Alghamdi

Program Manager
Plug n Play Tech Centre
Saudi Arabia

Tara Nehme

Innovation Expert
Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA)

Mal Filipowska

Portfolio & Platform Manager
SEEDSTARS

Audra Elena Shallal

Member of the Supervisory Board
MicroBrain Biotech

Joy Jack

Partner
Nexterra Capital

Sion Hau

Venture Associate
Plug n Play Tech Centre

Zeina Raphael

Senior Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

James Mconny

Financial Analyst
Labeight

Justin Joseph

Senior Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Manoj Kumar Agarwal

Managing Partner
SEAFUND 

Divyat Rungta

Senior Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Amit Zutshi

Founder and Managing Partner
Morphosis Venture Capital

Karim Konsowa

Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Nadia Boumeziout

Head of Sustainability & Information Governance
Zurich Insurance, Middle East

Hisham Akhtar

Program Manager
Plug n Play

Marcel Dridje

President Emeritus
Sophia Business Angels

Michael Maylahn

Founder,CEO and Board Member
Stasis Lab

David Awad

Venture Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Phil Noriss

Scaleup Enablement
Digital Switzerland

Amer Fatayer

Managing Director
Dubai Future District Fund

Lars Gehrmann

Group Chief Digital Officer
QIC Group

Shwetank Verma

Co-Founder
Leo Capital and The India Insurtech Association

Ilya Gusakov

Director of EMEA
INDRIVE

Malak Elshawarby

Strategy Lead
Dubai Future District Fund

Frederico Fernandes

Associate Partner and General Manager
WIZE and Vports

Brenton Naicker

Principal and Head of Growth
CVVC

Noha El Sharif

Analyst
Dubai Future District Fund

Sameer Sortur

Founder and Managing Partner
SquareCircle Ventures

Muna Al Nahdi

Head of Sustainability & Consultancy
Farnek

Nader Albastaki

Managing Director
Dubai Future District Fund

Malur Narayan

Vice-President, Sustainability and Emerging Tech GTM, Major Markets
Tata Consultancy Services

Fredrick D. Scott, FMVA

Founder and CEO
Venture Backed and PMI Systems

Rajeev Chalisgaonkar

Head of Business Banking and NEOBIZ
Mashreq

Jean-Louis BRELET

CEO
Entrepreneur Avenue

Philipp Caspers Pabst

Senior Associate
Dubai Future District Fund

Ghazi Saddem

Chapter Director
Startup Grind Tunisia

Karim Abdel Majeed

Business Development Associate
Rainmaking

Yaseen Al Lawati

Chief Executive Officer
Oman Qatar Insurance Company

How can I apply?

To participate in the Supernova Challenge pitch competition you must be an exhibiting startup at Expand North Star. We will notify you once the Supernova Challenge is open for applications for our 2024 edition via email and will also announce the categories. You can then apply for the most suitable category via our exhibitor portal by pitching your idea to our jurors and panelists. Successful semi-finalists will be announced closer to the event.

To apply, please complete the exhibitor booking form by following the button below. One of our team will be in touch directly to secure your spot for Expand North Star in 2024.

FAQs

To enter the Supernova Pitch competition, you will need to be one of the exhibiting startups attending Expand North Star. The startups that apply for the competition will then be required to pitch their ideas, with the semi-finalists being announced closer to the time of the event.

Overall Supernova Champion: $100,000 cash prize to selected overall winner.

Winner per Category: $8,000 cash prize to selected winner per category.

The team will be in touch regarding your cash prize and next steps 1 week after Expand North Star.

If you are not shortlisted, there are many opportunities to engage with investors and the wider North Star audience. We will be keeping a waitlist in case of any last-minute changes. Please note that we receive hundreds of applications per category and the shortlisting goes through multiple rounds of review to reach only a final 10 for the semi-finals and 2 for the finals.

Up to 20 startups will participate in each category of Supernova Semi-Finals. Then, 2 startups from each category will move on to the Supernova Finals which will take place on the last day of the event.

The deadline to submit on the Exhibitor for Expand North Star 2024 will be announced soon.

Your Pitch Video must be ONLY 60 Seconds or it will not be considered. Your Pitch Video must be in English and have a clear shot of your upper body (sitting or standing). Please submit your video by either a YouTube or a Vimeo URL.

Check out Paul Graham’s advice on story telling when pitching:

"Your goal, and your only goal, is to make investors feel it's not safe to cross you off. And there is a verb for convincing someone that something is not safe. It sounds dramatic, but your goal is to frighten them. But what frightens them? The possibility that you might become really big. They know there are maybe a few companies that will become really big….Before you start meeting investors, put together a rough draft of your fundraising vertebrae. These are the 3-4 points that compromise the narrative of why your company will be really big. Together, if investors believed in any of these points, they’d be afraid not to bet on you. As you do, keep in mind that there is an important distinction between what the business is and how you tell the story of what your business is. Your conversations with investors should influence the latter, not the former. No investor knows your business as well as you do.”

The announcements of the shortlisted startups for the semi-finals will be announced as we come closer to the next edition.

The general judging criteria is broken down to main areas. Please keep these in mind as you design your pitch deck, pitch video, and semi-finals, finals pitches!

  • Idea: How innovative is this idea?
  • Market Opportunity: Market Size, Competition, Scalability
  • Business Model: Revenue Model, Pricing, Target Customers
  • Traction: Any revenue, customers, investors?
  • Team: Is a skilled team in place for the startup’s success?

No, there will be a new selection process each year. You will have to apply to be considered again. Similarly, if you are shortlisted for the finals after pitching in the semi-finals but you miss the pitch, you will be replaced with the next runner-up.

What winning the $100,000 award meant for 2022 winners, Desolenator.

Alexei Levene, co-founder of Desolenator, accepted the grand prize money of $100,000:

“Winning this incredible prize really demonstrates how sustainability – and the world’s water crisis in particular – is now front and center of global and regional agendas.

This award also highlights how Dubai, and the UAE are taking a leadership position on the most intractable sustainability issues facing the world. We are delighted to win the North Star Supernova challenge and this prize money will contribute towards our work to tackle the global water crisis around the world.”