Fifteen Percent Award $250K--UN Tourism Challenge--AI Data Challenge £50K

The newest grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits you need to know about

Author

Diane Bailey
September 22, 2025

Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.

Whoopsie-doodles: META explains why smart glasses demo failed at Meta Connect. “When the chef said, ‘Hey, Meta, start Live AI,’ it started every single Ray-Ban Meta’s Live AI in the building. And there were a lot of people in that building.”

~Diane

💪 The Biggies

15 Percent Pledge Award - $250K

Fifteen Percent Pledge is partnering with Shop with Google to provide $250,000 in grant funding to unlock the next horizon of growth for three Black-owned businesses.

UN Tourism Social Innovation Challenge

This Global Social Innovation Challenge seeks to identify and support groundbreaking startups, scaleups, SMEs, and entrepreneurs who are driving change in three key areas: Community-based Tourism, Inclusivity & Accessibility, and Green Projects.

Civil Service Data Challenge - £50K

The Challenge gathers ideas from civil servants in all grades, professions and departments on how government could harness the potential of AI and data, then builds teams of civil service volunteers around the most promising.

Newly Added: Grants, Pitch, Awards, Summits

🎤 Pitch Competitions

VC Pitch Day 2025 — Secure investor meetings
Canada; Scaling tech; Life science | Oct 1 | Apply Here

💰 Grants

Columbia REA Legacy Grants — $250,000
Washington; Electrical infrastructure; Energy | Oct 10 | Apply Here

🏆 Awards

15 Percent Pledge Achievement Award — $250,000 total pool
Black-led; E-comm | Oct 16 | Apply Here

2025 E+E Leader Awards — Recognition
Sustainability; Energy | Dec 31 | Apply Here

🔨 Challenges

Civil Service AI & Data Challenge — £50,000
UK; AI; Public Services | Nov 5 | Apply Here

UN Tourism Social Innovation Challenge — Pitch at UN Tourism Demo Day
Social Impact; Sustainability | Dec 8 | Apply Here

Closing Soon! Last Chance!

🎤 Pitch Competitions

🎤 2025 Roadmap to Billions Pitch Competition — $10,000 CAD
Canada; Black, Women founded | Sept 25 | Apply Here

🎤 The Future of Capitalism Startup Competition — $1,000,000 investment
Social impact; all tech | Sept 26 | Apply Here

🎤 MEST Africa MAC Pitch Competition — $50,000 + Pilot with Absa
Pan-Africa; FinTech | Sept 26 | Apply Here

🎤 Keep It 100 Pitch Competition — $50,000
All tech; Media | Sept 26 | Apply Here

🎤 Vogue Codes Future Innovators — $10,000
Australia; tech-led | Sept 28 | Apply Here

💰 Grants

💰 LaunchKC Grant Competition — $60,000
Relocate to Kansas City | Sept 24 | Apply Here

💰 Poker Power x IFW Business Grant — $100,000
Women-led | Sept 26 | Apply Here

💰 NSW MVP Ventures Program — $75,000
Australia; TRL between 3 and 9 | Sept 28 | Apply Here

💼 Events

💼 2025 Advanced Functional Fabrics Summit - Massachusetts; Sept 23-24 — Keynotes; Demos
Textiles; Manufacturing | Sept 22 | Apply Here

💼 IoT Tech Expo - Amsterdam; Sept 24-25 — Panels; 5 events
AI; Big Data; NLP; GenAI | Sept 23 | Apply Here

💼 ConV2X 2025 - Cambridge; Sept 25-26 — Speakers, Healthcare Execs
Decentralized Healthcare; Life Sciences | Sept 24 | Apply Here

💼 Groceryshop - Las Vegas; Sept 28-Oct 1 — Apply to speak; 5,000+ attendees
Food & Bev; CPG; Consumer Brand | Sept 27 | Apply Here

💼 Bits&Pretzels - Germany; Sept 29 - Oct 1 — 7,500+ attendees
All tech | Sept 28 | Apply Here

💼 Pack Expo - Las Vegas; Sept 29-Oct 1 — 2,300+ exhibitors
Packaging; CPG; Consumer Brand | Sept 28 | Apply Here

💼 Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) - Toronto; Sept 29-Oct 2 — 10,000+ attendees
B2B; Manufacturing; 3D Printing; Robotics | Sept 28 | Apply Here

🚀 Accelerators

🚀 Lift Beauty Accelerator by Rare Beauty — $10K + Pitch to JCPenney
Underrepresented; Consumer brand; CPG; Beauty | Sept 22 | Apply Here

🔨 Challenges

🔨 EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Innovation Open Call — €2,000,000
Europe; Sustainable Mobility | Sept 23 | Apply Here

🔨 Gas Networks Ireland Innovation Challenges — €1,000,000
Ireland; Energy; Infrastructure | Sept 26 | Apply Here

One Hour Pitch Deck: Bootstrapped founder-friendly services to get you a big step forward in your journey. Deck upgrades, grant content, or get the same due diligence reports VC’s use when screening your deck. Book a 15-min clarity call at onehourpitchdeck.com to learn more about positioning your startup for funding.

🚪 Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 6,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $60M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.

Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.

📣 Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Connect with me on LinkedIn.