The Ukrainian AI-powered application for sports and rehabilitation has received top marks from the jury of the international youth entrepreneurship competition, World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2024 (WYEC). The competition is organized by the global educational network Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). The team's successful performance in the final round, held at the New York Stock Exchange (USA), brought them international acclaim and a financial reward.

"The Junior Academy of Sciences actively supports young entrepreneurs and youth startups, particularly through the Ukrainian Future business incubator. I’m thrilled that our work has contributed to the OUTEX startup's significant success on the global stage — becoming a finalist in the prestigious World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2024!," congratulated the team, the President of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Stanislav Dovhy.

OUTEX's journey to the global final began in the summer of 2024 at the BizCamp entrepreneurship camp, organized by Ukrainian Future, the business incubator of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, according to NFTE standards. This was followed by a victory in the national selection round of WYEC and a trip to the global finals in the United States as part of the incubator delegation. Two other national finalists accompanied them — the PhAInix project (a drone communication protocol switch system) and EcoMind (a project improving waste sorting processes using neural networks).

The final round took place on November 21, 2024. Notably, the WYEC jury included representatives from renowned global corporations such as Ernst & Young, UBC, Product Gym, Citi, Certiport, Zuora, and the New York Stock Exchange. Alongside the Ukrainian startup, two projects from Palestine also made it into the top three. The winners had the opportunity to present their projects to a global audience, receiving valuable feedback from industry leaders and financial rewards from the competition organizers and partners.

In addition to the youth entrepreneurs' final pitch, the World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2024 featured a series of side events designed to help participants gain new knowledge, acquire valuable experience, and refine their ideas.

"The scale of the competition and the professionalism of the NFTE jury amazed me the most. Our lecturers and speakers were either founders of their own projects or top managers of major businesses. We established many professional connections at the competition — not only with participants but also with trainers, mentors, and business experts. As for preparing for WYEC, the BizCamp entrepreneurship program and mentoring from the Ukrainian Future business incubator were incredibly helpful. The program’s accessible teaching made it easy for me to grasp complex business concepts. Moreover, working with experts from the business incubator enabled our project to reach a new level, the level of finalists in one of the world’s most prestigious youth competitions!" shared Yuliia Tkachenko from OUTEX.

"We are incredibly proud of OUTEX's achievements! Great success is the result of consistent steps, and we’re happy that this team is moving towards their goal with us. The business incubator offers structured programs that not only foster entrepreneurial and innovative thinking but also help systematically structure a project and bring it to the level of a mature startup. If you are a young innovator ready to work hard on your project and strive for success, we will be happy to welcome you at Ukrainian Future! Here, you will find the support and resources needed to bring your ideas to life, develop your startup, and reach new heights," said Iryna Bystrova, head of the Ukrainian Future business incubator.

About Ukrainian Future: Ukrainian Future, the business incubator of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, is a comprehensive support space for businesses and innovations. It offers a wide range of consulting services and material infrastructure to support startups at various stages of project implementation. Ukrainian Future's primary mission is to develop and scale the innovative activities of young entrepreneur-innovators by transforming their business ideas into financially self-sustaining business models.