OVHcloud is adding to its Startup Program the Fast Forward Accelerator. Specifically crafted for startups and scaleups looking to accelerate, it provides increased visibility for members through the Shine On program, 1-on-1 mentoring to solve cloud and business challenges, access to market and funding with the Showcase series of events as well as access to a Content Hub to find helpful content.

Fast Forward is a critical addition to the OVHcloud Startup Program, offering a platform for growth in uncertain economic conditions to both startups and scaleups.

5 global finalists

Fast Forward’s third Showcase event for 2023, the 24 May All Verticals Showcase delivered in partnership with Empact Ventures, also hosted the final of the annual OVHcloud Startup Program Showcase Contest. The finalists for the 2023 Contest were:

• Namla: a technology company offering a Cloud Edge Orchestration platform that is cloud agnostic and compatible with any cloud provider,
• NeuralSpace: a language AI company specialized in NLP (Natural Language Processing) for over 100+ languages,
• SOAP Health: a digital health company focused on reducing diagnostic errors to save millions of lives globally and trillions of dollars in costs,
• WeavAir: a company offering a digital platform for direct measurement, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions for more effective ESG investment & energy transition implementation, financing & insurance,
• WeBoard: a company using AI solutions to improve employee efficiency and training quality while simplifying information retrieval.

The five finalists pitched to a jury composed of the following startup ecosystem experts: João Nunes Rosado, Head of Incubation at Startup Lisboa, Peter Fricke, Associate Director FinTech Business Development at EY and Jonathan Dove, M&A Director at OVHcloud.

The jury paid special attention to the mission of the startups, the problem they’re seeking to solve as well as their ambitions and key milestones. The jury also focused on the presentations by the teams, the technology used by the businesses, not forgetting the intended use of the 5,000 euros prize.

And the winner of the 2023 Contest is: WeavAir

At the end of these pitches, Michel Paulin, CEO OVHcloud, had the pleasure to announce WeavAir as the winner. 

"We cannot be prouder to support the startup ecosystem and we congratulate all participants of the OVHcloud Startup Program Showcase Contest for their submissions and their commitment. Together we’ll continue to thrive as an ecosystem by creating value," said Michel Paulin, CEO OVHcloud.

The founders of WeavAir were awarded the sum of 5,000 euros as well as one-on-one coaching with Philip Marais, Global Startup Program Leader OVHcloud.

"Well done to the finalists for their excellent pitches and congratulations to WeavAir for winning over the jury. The OVHcloud Startup Program looks forward to supporting all finalists in their journey on our cloud," said Philip Marais, Global Startup Program Leader OVHcloud.

The winner will also benefit from entry into the OVHcloud Startup Program with free cloud credits while enjoying Empact Ventures vast network of connections comprised of partners, customers, founders and investors. Each of the finalists will indeed benefit from the opportunities provided by up to five super connections.

"Working together with OVHcloud continues to prove incredibly valuable for startups all around the world. Congratulations to all finalists of the OVHcloud Startup Program Showcase, in particular WeavAir! We look forward to working with you all to get you super connected with potential partners, clients or funders moving forward to scale your impact," said Kosta Mavroulakis, CEO Empact Ventures.