Otsimo and Fazla Gida win the EBRD Innovation Challenge

education OTSIMO, A SPECIAL platform, and Fazla Gida, a platform that offers solutions for food waste, were among the five winners of the Startup Innovation Challenge, created by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to honor tech startups that fight against global setbacks caused by the pandemic.

The jury evaluated 226 participants from 30 countries in the contest, which targeted high-potential and scalable startups that renewed their business models and carried their operations on digital platforms in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The other winners were 1Trolley, an Egypt-based startup that delivers goods from nearby stores, Romanian Plant an App, a development platform that accelerates the delivery of software systems and Cyprus-based EMBI• Diagnostics, an all-purpose chemical hand analyzer that can detect harmful chemicals in food in a matter of minutes. Winners will share a prize of USD 500,000 of cash and coupons.

EBRD has been encouraging and supporting startups for over 25 years through consultancy and investment tools, including the Star Venture Program, Early-Stage Innovation Facility and Venture Capital Investment Program. The Startup Innovation Challenge was endorsed through funds donated by the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund in South Korea, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S.