Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) is pleased to announce BAE Ventures as the sponsor of Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) Europe. The successful pitch competition featuring hospitality technology start-ups will conclude the first day of HFTP’s inaugural Digital Horizons 360 (DH360) symposium on Tuesday, 20 February 2024.

Focused on nurturing startups within the tourism value chain by providing funding, resources and industry expertise, BAE Ventures is a Lisbon-based venture capital firm with a primary goal of igniting innovation through strategic alignment, smart investments and expert guidance. This makes the venture capital firm a natural fit to sponsor E20X. The firm acts as the primary conduit between corporations, start-ups and investors within the tourism value ecosystem, curating connections at all levels to ensure businesses reach their full potential in the evolving hospitality tech landscape.

“We at BAE Ventures are thrilled to be the main sponsor for E20X at the prestigious Digital Horizons 360 Symposium,” said BAE Ventures CEO Henrique Veiga. “This event represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of hospitality technology, especially in these challenging times. Our commitment to fostering innovation aligns perfectly with HFTP's mission to bring together the brightest minds in the industry. We believe that through collaborative efforts and exchanging ideas at symposiums like this, we can drive significant advancements in technology that will shape the future of hospitality.”

Established in 2015, HFTP’s Entrepreneur 20X provides hospitality technology start-ups with a career-boosting opportunity, exposing them to top industry mentors, investors, leaders and executives. For the competition one person from each startup will pitch for four minutes to a packed session room and a panel of judges. Immediately following the pitch, the judges have four minutes to question the pitcher. The start-ups compete for two separate awards: the Judges’ Choice Award with a €2,500 prize and the People’s Choice award, a popular vote selected by the DH360 audience.

“We’re grateful to have BAE Ventures onboard as HFTP reenters the European hospitality community with DH360,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. “Having our show sponsor be so specifically focused on the development of fledging entrepreneurs reiterates our commitment to industry advancement and partnership.”

Additionally, financial infrastructure platform Stripe has shown their support for the future of hospitality technology by becoming E20X Europe 2024’s prize sponsor, offering $10,000 USD in payment processing credit without fees for all participating start-ups and $30,000 USD of processing credit without fees for the Judges’ Choice winner.

“Stripe and HFTP share the vision of creating an innovative travel industry for organizations of all sizes, and there's a lot the industry can learn from the next generation of travel startups,” said James Lemon, Stripe’s Global Industry Lead for Travel & Leisure, Automotive and Transport. “Stripe is delighted to be offering a package of credits and support for the finalists and winner, to accelerate their growth and help them implement Stripe's payment and financial infrastructure.”

Applications to compete at E20X Europe are currently open through December 15, 2024. In addition to the European competition HFTP is hosting two other E20X competitions in 2024 at HITEC Charlotte and HITEC Dubai (co-located with The Hotel Show) next June, with applications open. For more information regarding the competition, email e20x@hftp.org.

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