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THE GAP IN BETWEEN STARTUP CHALLENGE

Ready to step up and join the ultimate impact startup challenge?

The Gap in Between Startup Challenge aims to promote entrepreneurship with a social and environmental impact. The competition seeks to become a leading platform for the most innovative startups to present solutions that address the main challenges of our society.

20 best startups from all around the world will be carefully selected to pitch at one of the stages of The Gap in Between (Valencia-Spain, October 8th, 2024). There will be one global winner, who will be awarded with 10,000€, and five finalists acknowledged for presenting the best project within each event’s Themes: Safe, accessible and nutritious food systems; Social inclusion and equity beyond business, Smart cities and Energy Transition; From a linear to a circular business strategy; and Shifting the financial system for the common good.

What type of startups is the challenge targeted at?

The Challenge is aimed at impact startups, which are defined as those whose main purpose is to solve a social or environmental problem or situation, also generating a business with sustainability and potential economic and financial growth. Additionally, to be eligible, the startups’ projects must fit within one of the event's themes and the startups must operate and provide a market solution in any of the following impact areas:

→ Biodiversity conservation
→ Circular economy
→ Climate change
→ Education and training for work
→ Forest repopulation
→ Green buildings
→ Green mobility
→ Inclusive and sustainable tourism
→ Nutrition & Food Tech
→ Protect land and water
→ Renewable energy
→ SaaS for impact
→ Silver Economy
→ Social inclusion
→ Sustainable agriculture
→ Sustainable construction
→ Sustainable fashion
→ Sustainable fishing
→ Sustainable infrastructure
→ Universal access to health and well-being
→ Water
→ Other

Please refer to the Challenge's legal terms and conditions for more detailed information.

Apply by July 28th, 2024, using this link.


About The Gap in Between

The Gap in Between (Valencia-Spain, October 8th, 2024) is an international event hosted by Social Nest Foundation that aims to connect innovation, business and impact, as a means of contributing to solve the most pressing social and environmental challenges. The Summit is an annual meeting connecting key global stakeholders to share their initiatives, fostering connections and catalyzing collaboration for common social and environmental challenges.

Key dates

May 27th, 2024
Opening of the application period for the challenge
July 28th, 2024
Applications close
September 11th, 2024
Publication of the selected startups
September 12th, 2024
Pitch and deck masterclass
September 20th, 2024
Submission of the final deck
October 8th, 2024
Pitch competition and winners reveal

Startups

20 finalist startups of the 2023 challenge

Sara Bañón
Ibions
"The Challenge has given us visibility and its host, Social Nest Foundation, has been of vital importance in the process of defining and communicating the social impact of our activity. In addition, it has brought us into contact with other projects whose DNA is to improve the world".
Irina Mani Salinas
Kämpe
"The Challenge gave us visibility within the ecosystem, allowing us to share what we were doing and helping us to identify trends and needs"
Pablo Pérez
Foloou.me
"Thanks to the Challenge, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with leading impact funds, with whom we still maintain contact today. We were able to connect with some very interesting startups from abroad that we hadn't been aware of, and we gained considerable visibility thanks to our stand and the pitch we did on stage during the final"
Costanza Pinto
Orygen
The Startup Challenge provided us with access to an incredible network of contacts, connecting us with inspiring companies like Moss.earth and investors such as Sunil Varghese. Additionally, we discovered a huge number of interesting projects in a truly inspiring environment”
Joaquin Fisch
Nat4bio
"Participating in the Challenge has allowed us to focus on the impact ecosystem and connect with an audience and other startups that we don't usually encounter in other spaces, providing a boost to our growth"
Paula Sánchez
CoCircular
"Participating in the Startup Challenge has been a very enriching experience, giving us a lot of visibility in the ecosystem and connecting us with several investors and corporates interested in our services"

Partners

The Challenge is receiving support from these Ecosystem Partners