Entrepreneurship World Cup
USD 1,000,000 of equity-free 2026 cash prizes across 12 winners: Idea USD 30,000/20,000; Early USD 200,000/150,000/90,000/50,000; Growth USD 160,000/100,000; and four USD 50,000 AI sub-track prizes. All 100 finalists receive a sponsored Riyadh trip, mentorship and investor/market support. · Global Entrepreneurship Network / Monsha'at
Entrepreneurship World Cup is a prize programme from Global Entrepreneurship Network / Monsha'at for Idea-stage, early-stage, and growth-stage startups from eligible countries worldwide, subject to sanctions and competition rules Current lifecycle: unknown. Real economics: USD 1,000,000 of equity-free 2026 cash prizes across 12 winners: Idea USD 30,000/20,000; Early USD 200,000/150,000/90,000/50,000; Growth USD 160,000/100,000; and four USD 50,000 AI sub-track prizes. All 100 finalists receive a sponsored Riyadh trip, mentorship and investor/market support..
Tier 3prizeglobalnon-dilutive
ApplyOfficial siteOpen in the live directory
Key facts
| Funder | Global Entrepreneurship Network / Monsha'at |
| Amount | USD 1,000,000 of equity-free 2026 cash prizes across 12 winners: Idea USD 30,000/20,000; Early USD 200,000/150,000/90,000/50,000; Growth USD 160,000/100,000; and four USD 50,000 AI sub-track prizes. All 100 finalists receive a sponsored Riyadh trip, mentorship and investor/market support. |
| Decision time | The 2026 calendar gives July EWC 250, September EWC 100 and November finals, but the FAQ only states a May application month, so no exact application-to-decision day interval can be calculated. |
| Eligibility | An innovative individual or good-standing entity from an unsanctioned jurisdiction, with one submission, correct stage evidence, founders/representatives at least 18 and a venture under ten years old; Global Finalists must present in English and a founder/co-founder must attend Riyadh. |
| Restrictions | There is no grant-style post-award reporting schedule. Finalists must complete bootcamp/due diligence, have a founder attend Riyadh, obtain their own visa, pitch in English and accept broad finalist publicity. Winners provide corporate banking within ten days and bear tax and bank fees; judges' decisions are final. The published rules do not earmark prize spending. No explicit matching-funds rule was verified, so match remains unknown. Prize remittance requires a registered-entity corporate account; winners bear taxes and transfer fees and can forfeit for missing banking details. |
| Status | open |
Always confirm on the official page before applying — dates and terms change.
Application process
- Use the official Apply Now route and confirm the portal accepts a complete submission
- Submit one startup to the global pool in the correct stage and headquarters country
- Pass stage, legal, sanctions and evidence screening
- Receive global expert scoring on innovation, scalability and impact
- Top 250 join virtual bootcamp and complete mentorship, pitch and investor preparation
- EWC selects 100 based on bootcamp performance, due diligence and judging criteria
- Founder/co-founder attends the Global Finals in Riyadh
- Pitch live to expert/investor judges
- Winners provide a corporate bank account within ten days and handle taxes/fees
Background
Global Entrepreneurship Network / Monsha'at operates Entrepreneurship World Cup. This pass separates direct cash, repayable finance, credits, incentives and umbrella programs so later ranking does not compare unlike instruments. The 2025 final brought 100 startups from 46 countries to Riyadh and awarded 13 companies from a USD 1.5 million pool Named 2025 winners included Swijin, MabLab, SARsatX, Aruna Revolution, Brelyon, DeafTawk and Tasmanion The 2026 programme publishes a USD 1 million equity-free cash pool across 12 winners and four stage/AI tracks
How the application really works
Use the official Apply Now route and confirm the portal accepts a complete submission → Submit one startup to the global pool in the correct stage and headquarters country → Pass stage, legal, sanctions and evidence screening → Receive global expert scoring on innovation, scalability and impact → Top 250 join virtual bootcamp and complete mentorship, pitch and investor preparation → EWC selects 100 based on bootcamp performance, due diligence and judging criteria → Founder/co-founder attends the Global Finals in Riyadh → Pitch live to expert/investor judges → Winners provide a corporate bank account within ten days and handle taxes/fees
Tips
- Show direct fit with cross-sector entrepreneurship.
- Show direct fit with social enterprise.
- Show direct fit with AI infrastructure and platforms.
- Show direct fit with smart manufacturing and mobility.
- Show direct fit with energy, water and sustainable systems.
- Show direct fit with gaming and immersive technology.
Watch out for
- Current lifecycle is unknown.
- There is no grant-style post-award reporting schedule. Finalists must complete bootcamp/due diligence, have a founder attend Riyadh, obtain their own visa, pitch in English and accept broad finalist publicity. Winners provide corporate banking within ten days and bear tax and bank fees; judges' decisions are final.
- The published rules do not earmark prize spending. No explicit matching-funds rule was verified, so match remains unknown. Prize remittance requires a registered-entity corporate account; winners bear taxes and transfer fees and can forfeit for missing banking details.
Track record
- The 2025 final brought 100 startups from 46 countries to Riyadh and awarded 13 companies from a USD 1.5 million pool
- Named 2025 winners included Swijin, MabLab, SARsatX, Aruna Revolution, Brelyon, DeafTawk and Tasmanion
- The 2026 programme publishes a USD 1 million equity-free cash pool across 12 winners and four stage/AI tracks
EWC's official 2025 material says 100 finalists competed and a published finalist testimonial identifies a Top 100 from more than 11,000 startups, implying a prior-cycle finalist incidence below 0.91%. The denominator is testimonial evidence and the value is an upper bound, so no exact comparable rate is stored and it is not represented as a 2026 acceptance rate.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this actionable now?
- unknown. The current homepage says Applications Open and offers an Apply Now route, while the FAQ says the final 2026 deadline will be announced soon but also lists a provisional May 2026 deadline and July selection milestone. The reviewed official pages conflict, and the application portal was not independently verified as accepting a submission on 10 August 2026, so lifecycle is unknown.
- What is the real economic value?
- USD 1,000,000 of equity-free 2026 cash prizes across 12 winners: Idea USD 30,000/20,000; Early USD 200,000/150,000/90,000/50,000; Growth USD 160,000/100,000; and four USD 50,000 AI sub-track prizes. All 100 finalists receive a sponsored Riyadh trip, mentorship and investor/market support.
- Who is eligible?
- An innovative individual or good-standing entity from an unsanctioned jurisdiction, with one submission, correct stage evidence, founders/representatives at least 18 and a venture under ten years old; Global Finalists must present in English and a founder/co-founder must attend Riyadh.
- How does selection work?
- Use the official Apply Now route and confirm the portal accepts a complete submission; Submit one startup to the global pool in the correct stage and headquarters country; Pass stage, legal, sanctions and evidence screening; Receive global expert scoring on innovation, scalability and impact; Top 250 join virtual bootcamp and complete mentorship, pitch and investor preparation; EWC selects 100 based on bootcamp performance, due diligence and judging criteria; Founder/co-founder attends the Global Finals in Riyadh; Pitch live to expert/investor judges; Winners provide a corporate bank account within ten days and handle taxes/fees. The 2026 calendar gives July EWC 250, September EWC 100 and November finals, but the FAQ only states a May application month, so no exact application-to-decision day interval can be calculated.
- What burden and restrictions apply?
- There is no grant-style post-award reporting schedule. Finalists must complete bootcamp/due diligence, have a founder attend Riyadh, obtain their own visa, pitch in English and accept broad finalist publicity. Winners provide corporate banking within ten days and bear tax and bank fees; judges' decisions are final. The published rules do not earmark prize spending. No explicit matching-funds rule was verified, so match remains unknown. Prize remittance requires a registered-entity corporate account; winners bear taxes and transfer fees and can forfeit for missing banking details.
- What evidence exists?
- The 2025 final brought 100 startups from 46 countries to Riyadh and awarded 13 companies from a USD 1.5 million pool Named 2025 winners included Swijin, MabLab, SARsatX, Aruna Revolution, Brelyon, DeafTawk and Tasmanion The 2026 programme publishes a USD 1 million equity-free cash pool across 12 winners and four stage/AI tracks EWC's official 2025 material says 100 finalists competed and a published finalist testimonial identifies a Top 100 from more than 11,000 startups, implying a prior-cycle finalist incidence below 0.91%. The denominator is testimonial evidence and the value is an upper bound, so no exact comparable rate is stored and it is not represented as a 2026 acceptance rate.
Related grants
Sources
- entrepreneurshipworldcup.com/faq — Official current eligibility, lifecycle, milestones, global-pool/250/100 process and finalist requirements (checked 2026-08-10)
- entrepreneurshipworldcup.com/rules-and-terms — Official current legal, stage, banking, attendance, due-diligence, IP and publicity rules (checked 2026-08-10)
- entrepreneurshipworldcup.com/prizes — Official 2026 prize-by-track economics and non-cash finalist package (checked 2026-08-10)
- entrepreneurshipworldcup.com — Official 2026 journey, reach, finalist outcomes and prior-recipient testimony (checked 2026-08-10)
- entrepreneurshipworldcup.com/entrepreneurship-world-cup-2025-winners-crowned-at-global-finals-in-saudi-arabia — Official 2025 finalist, winner and prize outcome evidence (checked 2026-08-10)