On 14 May, despite another difficult night in Kyiv, founders, innovators, and ecosystem representatives gathered for the Startup Battle by Challenger Sustainability Accelerator — an evening dedicated to bold ideas, live startup pitches, and meaningful conversations around sustainable innovation.

During the event, four startups — Brooko, WaterGuard, SunVent, and Soily.World — presented their projects live on stage, competing head-to-head and receiving direct feedback from an expert jury in front of an engaged audience from Ukraine’s startup and tech ecosystem.

The Startup Battle became a space for connecting founders, ecosystem players, and sustainability-focused innovators working on solutions that strengthen resilience and create positive impact. Alongside the live pitches, participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss the future of impact-driven entrepreneurship, and build new connections across the community.

The winner of the evening, Soily.World, received two tickets to IT Arena 2026.

The jury panel included Bohdan Dorosh, Markiian Moroz, Hlib Polianovskyi, and Mariia Alipatova.

The event took place within the Challenger Sustainability Accelerator — a three-month, equity-free program designed to help Ukrainian startups scale internationally, connect with EU investors, and grow globally.

Applications for the program are open until 21 June 2026.

The program is implemented by Civitta in partnership with THINGS and funded by the Swedish Institute.