Ongoing Competitions and Programs for Startups and Small Businesses

Updated: November 16th, 2023

Are you a startup or a small business seeking ways to expand and thrive? We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of competitions and programs designed to help your business succeed. These projects provide crucial assistance, mentoring, and funding opportunities to assist you in taking your entrepreneurial journey to the next level.

Venture Z Startup Competition for Entrepreneurs

Focus Areas:

Track 1 | Engineering Innovations:

Track 2 | Sustainable Business Ventures:

Track 3 | Environmental Solutions:

Track 4 | Social Entrepreneurship:

Track 5 | Future Cities:

The Gener8tor Luxembourg Accelerator 2024

The gener8tor Luxembourg accelerator is a 12-week program that will provide support, coaching, capital, and connections to Luxembourg and European startups.

Program Country:

• Luxembourg

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Limited to Luxembourg and European Startups

Support Type:

• Non-financial: Mentorship and monitoring
• Financial: Selected teams will receive a €100,000 investment in return for 7.5% equity in their company via a right to purchase future equity (i.e. SAFE note or equivalent) or through issued equity.

Application deadline:

• January 19th, 2024

The Respond Accelerator Program

Applications for the RESPOND 2024 cohort open close on December 17, 2023. finalists will be announced in March 2024. RESPOND is a six-month accelerator program focused on responsible leadership and the regenerative economy. The program is online first,  allowing entrepreneurs from across the globe to participate. In addition to the online sessions, founders participating in RESPOND are invited to three exciting in-person events across Europe. Three strategic areas:

• Protect and restore nature: Looking for creative, tech-based innovations that support a move to a more regenerative (eco)systems approach.
• Transform industries: Looking for solutions that encourage fair and sustainable production and consumption patterns—whether by introducing sustainable energy solutions, extending the lifecycle of products, reconfiguring supply chains, or through other innovative approaches.
• Reboot the system: Redesign processes and governance models, and fundamentally align economic activity with planetary and social wellbeing

Program Country:

• Multi-country

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes

Support Type:

• Non-financial: Mentorship and monitoring, access to private funding network

Application deadline:

• December 17th, 2023

Apply here: The Respond Accelerator Program

2024 HealthTech Challenge

HealthTech Hub Africa (HTHA) is a hybrid pan-African health tech accelerator with a physical co-working space in Kigali, Rwanda. Founded by the Novartis Foundation and supported by the Global Fund and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, HTHA aims to address these challenges by actively integrating innovations into public health systems through collaboration with key government stakeholders.

Program Country:

• Kenya

Worldwide Eligibility:

Africa only.

Support Type:

• Non-financial: Mentorship and monitoring, access to private funding network

Application deadline:

• December 11th, 2023

Apply here: 2024 HealthTech Challenge

Eureka GlobalStars Japan Round 2

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million to develop innovative proposals in partnership with Japan and other participating Eureka members. The aim of this competition is to fund business-led, collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. This competition will be for innovative proposals developed between the UK, Japan and the other participating Eureka members. UK applicants can apply for a maximum grant request of up to £600,000 for each project. The project must have high market potential and develop at least one of the following: innovative products, technology-based applications or technology-based services

Program Country:

• UK

Worldwide Eligibility:

Limited to:

• Canada
• Czech Republic
• France
• Netherlands
• Singapore
• Spain

Support Type:

• Financial grant: Up to £600,000 for each project.

Application deadline:

January 31, 2024

Apply here: Eureka GlobalStars Japan Round 2

Google’s Startups for Sustainable Development program

Google’s Startups for Sustainable Development program fosters a global ecosystem of impact-focused start-ups. The program builds community and provides companies with mentors, funding and platform technology. The UN’s 17 SDGs provide the basis for monitoring impact. The program is not time-limited in order to assist businesses in their aim to achieve long-term impact at scale.

Program Country:

• Global

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. Start-ups with an Impact focus

Support Type:

• Financial:  unspecified
• Non-financial: Technical advice, platform technology

Application deadline:

• Ongoing until otherwise specified

Apply here: Google’s Startups for Sustainable Development program

Opportunities to Advance Women’s Health Innovation

The Women’s Health Innovation team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is looking for innovations and ideas that address the following topic areas:

Data and modelling, research design and methodologies, regulatory and science policy, innovation Introduction, social and structural determinants, training and careers, communicable diseases and female-specific conditions.

Program Country:

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. Open to non-profit and for-profit organizations
• The project must be women-led

Support Type:

• Financial:  up to USD $150,000 per project.
• Up to 3 proposals for each of the 8 in-scope areas will be funded

Application deadline:

• December 6, 2023

Apply here: Opportunities to Advance Women’s Health Innovation

The Rice Business Plan Competition

The Rice Business Plan Competition, hosted and organized by Rice University’s internationally recognized Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and Rice Business, provides an educational program mirroring real-world experience through this multi-day event for student startups from around the world.

2024 focus areas:

Energy, Cleantech and Sustainability, Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions,  Hard tech, Digital Enterprise, Consumer Products and Services

The competition opens on December 1, 2023

Program Country:

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. Student founders

Support Type:

• Financial:  Various Prizes and investments:  $1.7 Million in total. 2024 Prizes are yet to be announced
• Non-financial: brand visibility with PR support for finalists, attracting new audiences, partners, and investors

Application deadline:

• January 31, 2024

Apply here: The Rice Business Plan Competition 

Aurora Tech Award

The Aurora Tech Award is an annual global prize for women founders of tech startups.

Program Country:

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. Women Founders

Support Type:

• Financial:  Prizes
  • First prize: $30,000
  • Second prize; $20,000
  • Third prize: $10,000
• Non-financial: brand visibility with PR support for finalists, attracting new audiences, partners, and investors

Application deadline:

• December 1, 2023

Apply here: Aurora Tech Award

The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition

The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition includes three separate contests (called Pitch, Accelerate and Launch)  held yearly from October to May.

Program Country

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• At least one member of the team must be a registered MIT student.

Support Type:

• Financial. varies from $2K to $100K prize

Application Deadline:

• Variable. Opening mid-October

Apply here: The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition

The Y Combinator Program

Y Combinator is now accepting startup applications for the Winter 2024 investment cycle which will take place between January and March of 2024.

Program Country

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes

Support Type:

• Financial. $500,000 (equity investment)
• Visa assistance

Application Deadline:

• October 13, 2023. Applications are welcome after this deadline.

Apply for the Winter 2024 batch here

The Hult Prize

The Hult Prize encourages young people to use social entrepreneurship to address the world’s most critical concerns.

Program Country

• Multi-country: USA, Kenya, India, Tunisia

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes

Support Type:

• Financial award. $1M

Application Deadline:

• Qualifiers will be held between November 2023 and February 2024

Apply for the Hult Prize here 

Collision Start-up Program PITCH

PITCH is Collision’s startup competition that brings together the world’s leading early-stage startups to battle it out onstage

Program Country

• HQ in Ireland; multi-country conferences

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. Membership in their start-up program is required

Support Type:

• Funding (type: unspecified)
• Non-financial: exposure to funders

Application Deadline:

• unspecified.

Join the Collision Start-up program 

Plug and Play Program

Start-up ecosystem linking start-ups to potential funders and helping them land large clients.

Program Country

• USA

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes.

Support Type:

• Non-financial: exposure to funders

Application Deadline:

• Open year-round

Join the Plug and Play Center 

WORTH Partnership Project

The WORTH Partnership Project is sponsored by the European Commission through COSME, the EU Program for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. The project focuses on lifestyle industries such as fashion and textile, footwear, leather and fur, furniture/home decoration/architecture/interior design, jewellery and accessories.

Program Country

• United Kingdom

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden),
• COSME-associated countries (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine) or the United Kingdom.

Support Type:

• Financial 10, 000 to 20, 000 €
• Non-financial: coaching on business strategy and technology development;

Application Deadline:

• November 27, 2023

Apply here: WORTH Partnership Project

Spark Fellowship Program

The Spark Fellowship is a four-month program with a USD $100,000 equity-free award. It is open to all female founders in the early phases of their business. Founders will gain domain expertise, mentorship, and access to unique events.

Program Country

• India

Worldwide Eligibility:

•  India, Southeast Asia, & Australia

Support Type:

• Financial $100,000 grant for 15 startups each year
• Non-financial: Fellowship program

Application Deadline:

• November 25, 2023

Apply here: Spark Fellowship Program 

Empowering SMEs willing to Innovate Existing Solutions

Applications are now open for the Empowering SMEs call, which seeks to recruit, select, and support SMEs ready to further innovate their existing solutions (TRL 8/9) in order to adapt and extend the market beyond their current applications.

This program will give financial assistance to the selected SME (in the event of a single applicant) or to the SME and the end-user (in the case of small consortia). Furthermore, the selected applicants will receive support services from EIT Manufacturing both during and after the completion of their project, with the goal of effective commercialization of the results.

Focus Areas

Flexible Production Systems for Competitive Manufacturing, Low Environmental Footprint Systems and Circular Economy for Green Manufacturing, Digital and Collaborative Solutions for Innovative Manufacturing Ecosystems, and Human-machine Co-working for Socially Sustainable Manufacturing.

Program Country

• France

Worldwide Eligibility:

• the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia,
  Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
• the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States.

Support Type:

• Financial The maximum EIT funding per proposal is:
  • Single applicant (SME): 60, 000 EUR
  • Small consortium:
    • SME: 60.000 EUR
    • End-user: 40.000 EUR

Applications submitted to this call are expected to have a minimum of 30% co-funding rate

Application Deadline:

• December 11, 2023

Apply here: Empowering SMEs

Creative Catalyst: AI in the Music Industry

UK-based companies can apply for a share of up to £1 million in funding for projects that produce new innovative goods and services for the UK music industry. This money comes from Innovate UK’s Creative Catalyst program.

Program Country

• UK

Worldwide Eligibility:

• UK-based only

Support Type:

• Financial : Variable between £100,000 and £250,000

Application Deadline:

• November 22, 2023

Apply here: Creative Catalyst: AI in the Music Industry

Fairness Innovation Challenge

UK-registered organizations can apply for up to £400,000 in funding for initiatives that result in new solutions to address bias and discrimination in AI systems. Funding is provided by The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI)

Program Country

• UK

Worldwide Eligibility:

• UK-based only

Support Type:

• Financial: up to £400,000

Application Deadline:

• December 13, 2023

Apply here: Fairness Innovation Challenge

UK-US Offshore Wind Collaborative R&D

UK-registered organizations can apply for up to £2 million in funding for offshore wind R&D projects. UK projects must collaborate with independently financed US projects. This grant is provided by Innovate UK and is exclusively available for projects in the United Kingdom.

Program Country

• UK

Worldwide Eligibility:

• UK-based only

Support Type:

• Financial: up to £2 Million

Application Deadline:

•  January 10, 2024

Apply here: UK-US Offshore Wind Collaborative R&D

African Innovation Collaborations for Net Zero Places

UK-registered enterprises working with African partners can apply for up to £2 million in funding for collaborative urban innovation initiatives. This will help the UK and Africa shift to net zero energy.

Program Country

• UK

Worldwide Eligibility:

• UK-based only

Support Type:

• Financial: up to £2 Million

Application Deadline:

• 22 November 2023

Apply here: African Innovation Collaboration for Net Zero Spaces 

Rising UP in Spain Program

Rising UP in Spain is an ICEX-Invest in Spain technology and business talent attraction initiative designed for foreign entrepreneurs looking to establish a presence in Spain in conjunction with a local partner.

Program Country

• Spain

Worldwide Eligibility:

• Yes. But Local partners required

Support Type:

• Non-Financial: Access to funders, mentorship, Visa support

Application Deadline:

• Ongoing

Apply here: Rising Up in Spain