17 Feb GSIC and Actua announce the winners of Andorra Sports Startup Challenge

• More than 60 startups from 18 countries have applied to participate in Andorra Sports Startup Challenge

• 1 winner and 2 special mentions have been selected out of the 10 finalists, who had the opportunity to pitch their solutions in front of a jury composed by sports industry experts on January 27

• The winner of the competition will benefit on a free membership at Andorra Sports Cluster, as well as a touristic pack to experience and enjoy Andorra. Additionally, the 3 selected startups will participate in a 3-months mentoring program, as well as in Investors sessions and business meetings with Andorra stakeholders, where they will have the possibility to run a pilot project.

Madrid, February 16, 2021 – The Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) and Actua, with the support of SPSG Consulting, have joined forces to identify the most disruptive solutions and the latest technologies across the world that can position Andorra as a leading country in technological innovation in winter & mountain sports and cycling.

As a result, 64 startups from 18 different countries submitted their candidacy for this competition aimed for entrepreneurs who can contribute with their technological innovation improve the user’s experience and loyalty to de-seasonalize the sports and tourist offer in Andorra.

After a thorough screening process, GSIC and Actua experts made a selection of top-10 startups that come from 8 different countries (Switzerland, Argentina, Spain, USA, United Kingdom, France, Denmark and China) and offer a wide range of solutions in different fields, with a strong focus on Phygital Experiences, Wearables, Data Analytics, Hospitality Services, Sponsorship Activation, Fan Segmentation and Digital Infrastructure.

These startups had the opportunity to pitch their solutions to the industry’s most relevant leaders during a special online event on January 27 and the jury, composed by leading professionals from across the global sports industry, decided the 1 winner and 2 special mentions of the competition:

1. Snow 51 (China) – Winner

They are “the driving range of skiing”, a professional, safe and full-year-round training/fitness center for urban ski-lovers who want to learn, practice, improve and enjoy skiing in their neighborhood with families and friends. Their carpet-ski-teaching-system enables progress 4x faster than on snow. The carpet-ski education – supported by video recording, data analyses, social media exposure and laser technology – allows an easy and trouble-free learning experience, being the perfect catalyst for hospitality, sports tourism, and mountain lovers.

• MoonBikes (France) – Special mention

A company that is revolutionizing snow mobility. MoonBikes re-conceptualized the snowmobile experience and created an electric, ultralight & silent snowmobile, foldable to ease its transport, simple to use and affordable.

• Xeerpa (Spain) – Special mention

Xeerpa is a Social Media Profiling solution that can help identifiy the lifestyle and preferences of users by analysing their profiles in social media and offer them products and services personalised to their preferences and affinities. The detailed profile Xeerpa creates includes favourite Brands, Interests, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Locations, Comments, Personality and more.

Minister of Presidency, Economy and Enterprise of Andorra Government, Mr. Jordi Gallardo, states that “we are very happy with the participation, the level of the proposals that arrived to the final was exactly what we were looking for: improve the user experience and de-seasonalize the sport and touristic offer in Andorra.  The winning solutions are boosted by consolidated startups and could be developed in the country with the local stakeholders and even with International organisations”.

“The selection process wasn’t easy due to the high level of all the applicants, but eventually we achieved our goal of detecting solutions that will allow Andorran government ad sports entities to engage with the customers, know their preferences and add value to Andorra stakeholders.”, says Iris Córdoba, General Manager at GSIC.

As prizes, the winner will receive memberships to both the Global Sports Innovation Centre powered by Microsoft and the Andorra Sports Cluster, as well as a touristic pack to visit and enjoy Andorra. Also, the winner and the two special mentions will participate in a 3-months mentoring program with GSIC and subject matter experts, as well as in an Investors Day and business meetings with members of Andorra Sports Cluster in order to explore the possibility of running pilot projects. The winners will be able to showcase their solutions at Andorra’s Mountain Living Lab too.

The 3-months mentoring program will consist of 6 sessions – 2 sessions per month – where the startups will be able to learn more about topics such as sports marketing, investment & funding, sports as a digital business, social media strategies & Microsoft programs from different experts and leaders of the sports and innovation industry.