New Zealand, 14 October 2020 – Today Microsoft for Startups launches the Highway to a Hundred Unicorns initiative in Asia Pacific to strengthen the region’s startup ecosystem. This follows the initiative’s success in
India, where 56 startups were selected to participate in Microsoft’s Emerge X program from six states, home to more than
15,000 startups. The Emerge X competition awarded outstanding startups with global market access support, a 3-day
founder bootcamp with world class mentors, access to funding, ongoing mentorship, and guidance on Azure, artificial
intelligence, machine learning and more.
The program is now expanding to 16 countries across Asia Pacific. Innovation is critical to unlocking inclusive economic growth in the region. High income economies invest three times more in research and
development as compared to their peers. To spur innovative entrepreneurship, Microsoft will work closely with
governments and industry partners to discover and nurture technology startups with a high potential to become truly
global enterprises in the future.
“Now more than ever we are looking to innovative companies to bring new ideas to the New Zealand economy,” said Vanessa
Sorenson, Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director. “We are a nation of digital pioneers and innovators so this
initiative is incredibly exciting, to assist and empower startups to grow into strong, thriving businesses. Today’s
startup is tomorrow’s Microsoft, and so I really encourage New Zealand startups to submit their ideas so we can work
together to bring their vision to life.”Emerge X Competition
Innovators and entrepreneurs from a total of 16 countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) are invited to be
a part of the Highway to a Hundred Unicorns initiative.
To be considered, startups will first have to submit an application for Emerge X competitions in their countries.
Criteria for startups to apply for Emerge X are as follows:Business-to-Business companies with product-market fit, revenue generating with at least 3-4 clients.Business-to-Customer companies with a large customer base (upward of 100K customers) and revenue generating.Funding is a plus.
All Emerge X startups will be awarded with free GitHub and Azure credits and focused business and technology workshops.
Three finalists per country will be announced in November. They will additionally benefit from a year-long mentorship
with technical and business deep dives, a Founder Bootcamp over three days, access to enterprise clients globally
through Microsoft’s unique co-sell program as well as opportunities to interact with Microsoft experts and industry
stalwarts.Information Webinars for Interested Startups
Date and Time:October 14th, 3:30 - 4:30 PM NZDTOctober 14th, 9:30 - 10:30 PM NZDTOctober 15th, 3:30 - 4:30 PM NZDTOctober 15th, 5:30 - 6:30 PM NZDT
Link to register: https://aka.ms/highwaywebreg
APPLY for the Emerge X competition:Submit an application on GrowthEnabler: https://aka.ms/highwayStartups must bring their GrowthEnabler profile to 80% to be consideredApplications close on 31 October 2020For any support, please contact v-kashe@microsoft.comAbout Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.