By engaging in the SDG Impact and Entrepreneurship Poster Competition, participants not only advance their projects but also gain invaluable skills, connections, and recognition, positioning themselves for greater impact and success in addressing global challenges

SDG Impact and Entrepreneurship Poster Competition

Researchers at universities and research organizations worldwide are developing innovative solutions to local and global challenges. However, these solutions only impact the SDGs if they successfully connect to the market. Bringing technologies to market, and thereby solving real problems, is a challenging endeavor for researchers. They may lack the necessary expertise or support to develop a business case and connections to downstream customers with the types of offtake agreements that are often a prerequisite for project funding. Meanwhile, impact investors toil to find suitable projects that contribute to the SDGs. The SDG Impact and Entrepreneurship Poster Competition aims to bridge these gaps. By engaging in this competition, participants not only advance their projects but also gain invaluable skills, connections, and recognition, positioning themselves for greater impact and success in addressing global challenges.

The competition will start with a webinar that aims to answer the question “why isn’t my project attracting investors?” The goal is to equip participants to create “roadmaps to investor readiness” and they will then be challenged to tell their project story in a poster presentation. At the WAITRO Summit 2024, the best posters will be invited to participate in a rapid pitch session watched by the entire audience. The winners will receive a prize but, more importantly, will be partnered with a WAITRO-affiliated incubator and coached to execute their roadmap.

Poster Submission Opening: August 1 – September 30, 2024

Poster Submission Closing: September 30, 2024 via Email to info@waitro.org, with the title as “WAITRO SDG Impact Competition_Institution Name” )

Pitch Event & Awarding: November 14, 2024

(*above mentioned time are Beijing time, UTC+2)

Value & Benefits

Before Competition

  • Webinars:

    • Researchers receive essential advice on how to make their projects attractive to investors, with a focus on SDG impact and commercialization potential.
    • Managers receive insight into what they need to provide in order to enable their staff to be more entrepreneurial.
    • Investors get a platform to directly communicate their interests to WAITRO’s membership of 170 research organizations.

  • Pitch Preparation:

    • Researchers receive critique of online pitch submitted to WAITRO.
    • Investors get a chance to coach participants to be more responsive to their needs.

During Competition

  • Researchers have the opportunity to present their projects to a worldwide audience, significantly increasing visibility.

  • Researchers selected as finalists get to pitch their projects in a high-pressure, high-stakes environment, gaining experience and feedback.

  • Managers get to learn from their partners and competitors

  • Investors get a privileged, ground-level look at early-stage projects with potential impact on global sustainability. Even posters that do not win may result in new ideas for future investments in new areas.

  • All get valuable networking opportunities, with researchers, investors, and industry experts making valuable connections and potential partnerships.

Post Competition

  • Access to Support: Winners gain long-term support from incubators and accelerators to implement their roadmap, aiding the transition from research to practical implementation.

  • Professional Insights: All participants benefit from the expertise of seasoned professionals, and insights into the thought processes of necessary partners in the project development and commercialization process.

  • Recognition and Credibility: Participation and success in the competition not only offer material rewards but also enhance the credibility and recognition of the researchers and their institutions. Investors and sponsors gather recognition for their commitment to advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).

  • Legitimacy and Attractiveness: Being part of a competition endorsed by WAITRO adds legitimacy to the projects, making them more attractive to potential investors.

How It Works

STEP 1: Join the Briefing Webinars

Get introduced to the competition and its objectives by WAITRO. Learn about how to develop investor-ready projects and what matters from webinars. A summary of the speaker’s insights and suggestions from the kickoff webinar can be found HERE. In case you missed it, no problem! Video recording is available HERE

STEP 3: Submit your Poster

Submit your posters to the WAITRO Secretariat and complete the online application form by September 30, 2024. The Secretariat will conduct an initial screening to confirm your acceptability to exhibit at the WAITRO Summit 2024. We will print the poster selected for final round competition and pitch event in Nanjing.

For the Judging Criteria and Guidelines, please refer to This Document.

Please do not include any national flag in your poster.

STEP 5: Pitch at WAITRO Summit 2024

A plenary pitch session will be critiqued by an expert panel and watched by the entire Summit.

STEP 2: Prepare your Poster

Develop your poster following the technical details provided. Partnerships with international, academic-community, academic-commercial, and private-government are encouraged.

STEP 4: Evaluation and Shortlisting

In October the WAITRO Secretariat will pre-screen submitted posters and print those that meet the criteria. Then, at the WAITRO Summit 2024 in November, registered participants will visit the poster session and vote for finalists to present at the pitch event. The overall winner will then be selected by the pitch panel.

STEP 6: Incubation service as award

Winners will partner with WAITRO-affiliated incubators to execute their roadmaps and turn their innovation into impact.


Evaluation Criteria


The WAITRO Secretariat and Summit participants will inspect the posters and select the winners during the event based on the following criteria:

• Impact (10 points): short-and long-term economic, environmental, and social impacts

• Feasibility (10 points): technical, economic, operational scheduling and legal feasibility

• Innovation and technical quality (10 points): innovative solution, creativity of project idea, (unique) value proposition

• Team Strength (10 points): experience, commitment, leadership vision, and the ability to invest the time required to achieve success.

• Commercial viability potential (10 points)

• Roadmap to investor-readiness (50 points): showing that the team knows how to take it to the next level, connect to the market and work with key stakeholders.

Technical Details


The posters must be in English, A0 size (841×1189 mm / 33.1×46.8 inches), include high resolution images (300dpi), PDF file and size not exceeding 20MB.

For preparing for the demonstrating commercial perspectives, please refer to this Judging Criteria and Guidelines, and watching the briefing webinar for inspiration.

Travel Subsidy to Selected Project Presenters NEW!


We are pleased to announce a travel subsidy for up-to 25 selected project presenters attending the upcoming WAITRO Summit 2024. The subsidy covers essential expenses, including:

• A waiver of the summit registration fee

• Return airfare

• Ground Transportation

• Housing throughout the summit.

The following note needs to be taken:

1. Travel is return economy fare for the presenter only to a maximum of US $2000 for Latin America & the Caribbeans /North America, US $1500 for Europe/MENA/Africa, and US $1000 for Asia-Pacific. Hotel on site for Nov 12/13/14 (i.e., three nights) and the most cost-efficient ground transportation from airports in Nanjing or Shanghai to the designated conference hotel.

2. Each project can only nominate one presenter to enjoy this travel support.

3. Selection results will be announced by October 7, 2024, following a thorough review process by a panel of subject matter experts.

4. Please note that this is not on a first-come, first-served basis; all applications will be evaluated equally before the deadline to ensure a fair and comprehensive selection.

FAQ

Applicants send the poster to info@waitro.org latest by September 30, 2024.

The posters must be in English, A0 size (841×1189 mm / 33.1×46.8 inches), include high resolution images (300dpi), PDF file and size not exceeding 20MB. Please remove national flags and symbols from the poster.

For preparing for the demonstrating commercial perspectives, please refer to this Judging Criteria and Guidelines, and watching the briefing webinar for inspiration.

Applications will be screened by the WAITRO Secretariat and, if accepted, displayed in the WAITRO Summit SDG-Impact Poster Area. Registered attendees will vote for the best posters to select finalists. Finalists will make a 3 minute pitch to a panel of international experts selected by the WAITRO Secretariat, who will select overall winners.

  • Impact 10 points : short-and long-term economic, environmental, and social impacts
  • Feasibility 10 points: technical, economic, operational scheduling and legal feasibility
  • Innovation and technical quality 10 points: innovative solution, creativity of project idea, (unique) value proposition
  • Team Strength 10 points: experience, commitment, leadership vision, and the ability to invest the time required to achieve success.
  • Commercial viability potential 10 points
  • Roadmap to investor-readiness 10 points: showing that the team knows how to take it to the next level, connect to the market and work with key stakeholders.

If you want to understand what we mean by investor readiness, you are strongly advised to invest a couple of hours watching the kickoff webinar. Ultimately, investor readiness is more of a quality than a quantity.

Our goal is to help WAITRO Members access private and/or blended finance to take their projects from innovation to impact.

One member of each finalist team will pitch the project live to an audience of investors, business advisors, venture capitalists, media, peers, and others. Presentations will be in English.

The audience of the WAITRO Summit 2024 and an evaluation committee will determine the winners. WAITRO will assist selected project teams in finding financial support or additional guidance if needed. Winners will also be invited to present their progress at the WAITRO Summit scheduled for 2024.

Applicants declare that their ideas are original and do not infringe on third-party intellectual property rights. The SDG Impact and Entrepreneurship Poster Competition does not imply any transfer of intellectual property. Teams are responsible for agreeing on terms for sharing any intellectual property arising from subsequent work. Applicants agree to indemnify WAITRO and JITRI from claims of intellectual property infringement.

WAITRO will collect data to contact and notify participants, and for promotional activities related to the SDG Impact and Entrepreneurship Poster Competition. Applicants authorize WAITRO to use their names, voices, photographs, brands, and recorded interviews for promotional purposes, while respecting the confidentiality of project details.

Screenshot 2024 08 06 at 18.33.13
Screenshot 2024 08 06 at 18.33.52

Contact

Dr Paul Burrows 
Dr Paul Burrows  Secretary General
WAITRO Secretariat
Ran Duan
Ran DuanDirector
WAITRO Secretariat

Related Links