Take Off Baku International Startup Summit finished its work as part of the TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan Aerospace and Technology Festival which was held for the first time in Baku on 26 – 29 May this year, jointly organized by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Rəqəmsal İnkişaf və Nəqliyyat Nazirliyi) and Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey.
It should be noted that prior to the official opening of the event, 11 master classes have been organized for 50 participating startups by international mentors on the following topics: Choosing the Right Market Segment, Customer-Centric Solutions, Pitching, Innovation and Efficiency, and Functional Competence of the Startup Team.
The Take Off Baku startup summit was moderated by Tal Catran, an international expert on startups and accelerators. The event provided opportunities for startups to make pitching presentations, holding B2B meetings, meeting with investors, participating in exhibitions and panel discussions.
According to the jury, 25 startups out of 50 participants advanced to the final round. Startups were judged on pitching, innovation, customer orientation, competitiveness, product offering, commercialization potential, and team competence.
Of the 25 startups that qualified for the final, 14 were from Azerbaijan, 4 from Turkey, 3 from USA, 1 from Egypt, 1 from Pakistan, 1 from Argentina and 1 from Estonia.
US startup “Recepta” (project name: electronic cheque system) became winner of the 1st place in the Take Off Baku Startup Summit, and Azerbaijani startup “E-Point” (project name: Fintech, integration technology of payment system) became the winner of the 2nd place, the 3rd place winner became the Turkish startup “Co-Print” (project name: 3D technology).
As one of the partners of the Summit, ICYF-ERC Acting Director General Mr. Vusal Gurbanov presented prizes to “Wingz” (electric scooters) and “Enthouse” (smart greenhouse system) startups.