Business Festival in Vienna as the Centre of the International Startup World
Vienna will be the venue for one of the biggest start-up events in the world this month. Thousands of visitors from over 40 nations will attend the ViennaUP'22 festival between 27 May and 3 June. If you want to find out what the 8-day programme will focus on and why ViennaUP is unlike any other festival, read on.
The goal of the event is to connect people from over 40 nations under the sign of cooperation and future topics. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Dimitry Anikin, CC0
From 27 May to 3 June, the international start-up festival ViennaUP'22 puts Vienna at the centre of networking and economic cooperation. The goal of the event is to connect thousands of participating people from over 40 nations under the sign of cooperation and future topics.
The eight-day programme addresses a primarily global, but also Austrian audience of start-ups, organisations, tech enthusiasts, investors and visionaries. People can participate in the individual events on site in Vienna or digitally.
Social issues, environment and strong women as business leaders on the programme
The ViennaUP'22 conference will explore the future of technology, innovation, the environment, social issues, and women in business. Life sciences, production, ICT, FinTech, and the creative industries will also be part of the festival's programme.
More than 60 individual events will be organised by 30 local and international programme partners. The festival will attract thousands of visitors from over 40 countries, who can expect an unforgettable Vienna experience along with the festival content.
The ViennaUP puts female entrepreneurs and founders in the spotlight with the 'Lead Today - Shape Tomorrow' conference. Over 40 speakers will be present at Europe's largest event for female business leaders, including the Startup Worldcup, the largest startup competition in the world.
The Sustainable Blockchain Hackathon will award up to 15,000 euros to the best ideas on social and ecological sustainability. The Impact Days at the Hofburg in Vienna are Europe's premier conference for social entrepreneurship, and the Smart City Summit focuses on how cities can remain liveable in the future.
Since this year, the city has counted four so-called Unicorns, i.e. start-ups valued at over one billion dollars. "The Viennese startup scene is pulsating and has scored highly internationally in this area, especially in the last five years. The ViennaUP will further fuel this positive dynamic and make our city even more visible as a location for economic success," Hanke is convinced.
Innovation meets tradition
In order to provide participants with a lasting Vienna experience beyond the program points, the ViennaUP'22 will bring innovation and tradition together in a targeted manner.
The coffeehouse culture of Vienna is also an integral part of the program. Among them are four selected Vienna coffee houses - historically the first co-working spaces - that will provide meeting zones for international businesses. They include cafés Bräunerhof, Savoy, Schwarzenberg, and Wortner.
International cooperation and cosmopolitanism as a recipe for success
As such, ViennaUP is not comparable to any other startup event worldwide as it takes place at different locations in the city and not a conference center. Furthermore, the way the program is organized makes ViennaUP unique.
"The special thing about ViennaUP'22 is that this festival was made by the Viennese startup community for a global audience, 'Made in Vienna', so to speak. We are envied worldwide for our authentic and cooperative startup ecosystem," knows Vienna Business Agency Managing Director Gerhard Hirczi and adds: "At the end of May, entrepreneurs from all over the world will try to find solutions for crucial future issues together in Vienna.
Especially in times of international conflict, the value of a unifying business festival like ViennaUP'22 for Vienna, Austria, Europe and the rest of the world cannot be overstated."