Participation Terms and Conditions polisMOBILITY 2024 startupPITCH

The "polisMOBILITY startupPITCH" contest is organised by Koelnmesse GmbH, Messeplatz 1, 50679 Köln, Germany (hereinafter referred to as the Organiser or Koelnmesse), within the framework of the trade fair polisMOBILITY 2024.

The polisMOBILITY startupPITCH gives young companies (“start-ups”) the opportunity to present their visions, creative ideas and solutions at the trade fair and to measure themselves against other start-ups. To this end, 8-10 start-ups will be preselected from the entrants. These start-ups will have the chance to compete and to prove themselves before an expert jury at polisMOBILITY 2024 An expert jury will select the winners based on the live presentations.

The following eligibility requirements govern participation in the polisMOBILITY startupPITCH:

1. Participation is open to start-ups whose founders are at least 18 years old. Employees of the Organiser, the Agency and other persons involved in the hosting of the contest (such as IT service providers, jurors, etc.) and their relatives are not permitted to participate in the contest.
2. Entering start-ups must have been founded no earlier than 1 May 2014 and hence are ten years old at the most (determining criteria: entry in the commercial register or registration of a trade/proof of membership of a professional association in the case of undertakings that are not subject to registration requirements).
3. Only companies in the growth and scale-up phase are permitted to participate. This means that the participating start-up must no longer have minimum viable product (MVP) status and that it already has products/services on the market.
4. The product/service offered by the start-up must fall under one or more of the following verticals (theme blocks):
   i. Municipal Mobility Transition
   ii. Local public transport & mobility services
   iii. Urban drive system and energy transition
5. 
   Please see here for further details on the theme blocks.
6. To participate in the polisMOBILITY startupPITCH, start-ups must enter by 19 April 2024 (see Clause 4). An entry will be deemed to have been successfully made only if the start-up has completed all sections of both entry forms and submitted them and the Organiser has thus received all the start-up’s entry documentation. Participation is free of charge. No claims may be brought on the grounds that a final invitation to enter the contest was not received.
7. By submitting their entry, the founders agree that the information provided in their entry concerning the start-up and the founders may be used and processed in connection with the hosting of the contest and the selection of the participants for the final elimination stage. Photographic and video material and sensitive information such as turnover, profit and details on initial difficulties when establishing the start-up will not be made public without the start-up’s consent.
8. The founders agree that any costs incurred in connection with the contest, such as travel costs, will not be reimbursed by the Organiser.

1. The expert jury will assess the entries submitted using an evaluation form to ensure that all the start-ups are assessed on a fair and equal basis.
2. Participants will be informed whether they will proceed to the contest stage by 29 April 2024; this information will be sent to the e-mail address provided in the entry form. If the e-mail address provided is incorrect, the Organiser is under no obligation to determine the correct contact details. The participants shall bear the disadvantages resulting from the provision of incorrect contact details.
3. If a start-up that has been invited to the contest has not confirmed to the Organiser that it will be participating within two weeks of being informed, the start-up forfeits its right to participate without any claim to compensation. Koelnmesse is entitled to replace the start-up with another participant.
4. The final decision will be made on the day of the event. One of the founders must present the start-up to an expert jury in German or English on Thursay 23 May 2024. Attractive prizes will be awarded. Information on the prizes will be published in good time before the event on the polisMOBILITY website.
5. Any founders receiving a pecuniary prize bear full responsibility for complying with the fiscal regulations in connection with the payment of the winners’ prize.

The entry phase for the polisMOBILITY startupPITCH ends at 12 midnight on 19 April 2024. The Organiser reserves the right to extend the deadline in the event of force majeure.

1. Start-ups that breach the Participation Terms and Conditions and/or deliberately provide false information may be excluded from the contest with immediate effect. If the requirements for an exclusion have been met, the claim to a prize may be retrospectively withdrawn or the prize reclaimed.
2. The Organiser is entitled to exclude from the contest start-ups that cannot prove upon request that the requirements set out in Clause 2 have been met and those for which there is a justified suspicion that they are in breach of these Participation Terms and Conditions; in such cases, the Organiser may also retrospectively demand the return of any prizes awarded.
3. If, between the entry and the award of the prizes, insolvency proceedings are initiated against a participating start-up or an application for such proceedings is filed, the Organiser reserves the right to exclude the start-up while the contest is in progress.

1. The Organiser points out that the availability and correct functioning of the entry portal cannot be guaranteed. Liability of any kind in the event of a technical failure or any other interruption in operations is excluded. In particular, maintenance, security or capacity issues as well as incidents outside the Organiser’s control (such as disruptions to public communication networks, power failures, cyberattacks, etc.) can lead to short-term malfunctions or to the temporary cessation of the services. The Organiser does not guarantee that the entry portal website will be available at all times and can be accessed by the participants or that it will be free from technical defects or content errors.
2. The Organiser shall endeavour to provide correct information; however, it is not liable and provides no warranty for the currency, correctness or completeness of the information provided.
3. The Organiser is not liable for the insolvency of its cooperation partners and the resulting consequences for the hosting of the contest.
4. The following exclusions and limitations of liability apply to the Organiser’s liability for damages without prejudice to the other legal requirements for claims set out in this clause:
   
   • The Organiser bears unlimited liability to the extent that the damage is the result of intent or gross negligence.
   • Furthermore, the Organiser is liable for breaches of material obligations due to ordinary negligence where such breaches jeopardise the achievement of the purpose of the contract or for breaches of obligations whose fulfilment is a prerequisite for the orderly administration of the polisMOBILITY startupPITCH and upon whose observance the participants may ordinarily rely. However, in such a case, the Organiser is liable only for foreseeable damage typical for the contract. The Organiser is not liable for any breaches of obligations due to ordinary negligence other than those set out in the preceding sentences.
   • The foregoing limitations of liability do not apply in the case of injury to life, limb or health or in other cases of mandatory statutory liability.
   • Any exclusions or limitations of liability on the part of the Organiser also apply to the same extent to the personal liability of employees, representatives and vicarious agents of the Organiser.

Reference is made to the data protection notice.

1. The Organiser reserves the right to amend or adapt the Participation Terms and Conditions with effect for the future. In this case, the start-ups will be informed via the contest website.
2. The Organiser reserves the right to prematurely suspend the entry phase, completely or partially – including without prior announcement – or to restrict access to the entry portal, completely or partially.
3. If one or more provisions of these Participation Terms and Conditions should be ineffective or unenforceable, or if they should contain an omission, the remaining clauses of the Participation Terms and Conditions will not be affected. The ineffective or unenforceable provisions or those containing omissions shall be replaced by provisions that come closest to the substance of what would have been agreed if their ineffectiveness or unenforceability or the omission had been considered.

All legal claims are excluded.