The regional final for Azerbaijan of the Startup World Cup international startup competition, organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures and uniting more than 200 regional competitions on six continents, will be held in Baku on September 17. Organized for the third time by SABAH.angels (SABAH Angel Investors Club), the regional final will bring together startups from the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Turkey.
The regional final will take place on September 17-18 as part of the Baku ID innovation festival, organized by the SABAH.HUB Innovation Center and supported by government agencies and private sector partners. This year, the festival will be held for the first time in the SABAH.city innovation campus, the epicenter of innovation.
Over 100 startups from more than 10 countries have already registered for the application phase. 10 startups, which will be selected based on the evaluation results, will present their business models, technological solutions and growth potential in front of a jury of local and international experts at the regional final.
The key criteria for the evaluation will be the relevance of the solution to a real market problem, the sustainability of the business model and the potential for global growth of the project. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to establish direct contacts with investors, entrepreneurs and representatives of the innovation ecosystem.
Alya Abbaszadeh, Director of SABAH Angel Investors Club, said:
“Our goal is not just to select one startup and send it to the global final in San Francisco. Through the Startup World Cup, we want to directly connect promising startup founders of the region with international investors and create new bridges from Baku to global markets.”
The winner of the regional final will be entitled to participate in the Startup World Cup Grand Finale to be held in San Francisco on November 6 and compete for an investment prize of 1 million USD.
Holding the Startup World Cup regional final within the framework of Baku ID will combine the opportunities created by the international competition with the investor and innovation network of the festival. Thus, regional startups will gain new opportunities to access global markets, establish relationships with potential investors, and present their projects internationally.
Application deadline: September 10, 2026
Application form: startupworldcup.io/azerbaijan-regional-2026
Registration for the “Baku ID” innovation festival: bakuid.com/tickets
