In early 2020, the global business calendar seemed to be switched off overnight. Conferences were cancelled one after another, international forums postponed indefinitely, and business travel – once an ordinary part of professional life – suddenly became impossible.

For entrepreneurs, this was more than an inconvenience. International events are where partnerships are formed, investments discussed, and new ideas often take shape. When those platforms disappeared almost instantly, the business world faced an unexpected question: how do you present projects and build professional connections if people can no longer gather in the same room?

The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple – a laptop screen.

Within two years, the idea of international business meetings taking place anywhere – in an office, at home, sometimes even on a train between two cities – had become entirely normal. What initially felt like a temporary substitute for “real” conferences gradually evolved into a new infrastructure for global professional interaction.

When a Presentation Begins with a Notification

A small message appears on the screen: “Your presentation will begin in 30 seconds.”

Somewhere, a startup founder scrolls through the final slide of a presentation. On the other side of the call, members of the expert jury are already connected from several different cities and time zones. Cameras switch on, microphones unmute, and the countdown begins.

Among the experts are entrepreneurs, investors and executives from across the Eurasian region. In different years, the award’s Expert Board has included figures such as Mаrkо Čаdež, President of the Chаmber of Cоmmеrce and Industry of Serbia; Hаnzаde Dоğan Bоynеr, Chаirwоmаn of Dоğаn Оnlinе Grоup; and Cоlm Lуоn, founder of the fintech company firе.cоm. The board has also featured industry leaders such as Kyrylo Alpatov, Healthcare Entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Stoik LLC.

The presenter now has only a few minutes to explain the core idea of the project. Five minutes is a curious format for presenting a business: in that short time, founders must outline strategy, product, results – sometimes summarizing several years of work by an entire team.

Yet this is how many international competitions and awards operate today: a brief pitch followed by a rapid round of questions from the jury. Within those few minutes, entrepreneurs must convince experienced investors and industry leaders that their idea deserves serious attention.

The setting may be digital, but the pressure is very real.

This is how the final stages of the Eurasian Business Excellence Award (deboaward.com)  take place – an international initiative that brings together entrepreneurs and companies from across the Eurasian continent.

A Digital Arena for Entrepreneurs

The pandemic almost erased the global industry of business events. Many international conferences disappeared for a year or two; some never returned. Others attempted to move their traditional formats online, though the results often felt more like improvisation than a genuine alternative.

Against this backdrop, initiatives originally designed around digital participation proved surprisingly resilient. The Eurasian Business Excellence Award is one such example.

The final stage of the competition takes place through online pitching sessions, where entrepreneurs present their projects to an international panel of experts. Following the presentations, the jury evaluates the initiatives and determines the final ranking.

In 2022, more than 150 applications were submitted across over ten categories, ranging from fintech and IT to education technology and retail innovation.

For many participants, the digital format turned out not to be a compromise but an advantage. Presenting a project to an international audience no longer required long flights or complex travel logistics – only a stable internet connection and the ability to communicate an idea clearly within a few minutes.

A Geography That Continues to Expand

The winners of the 2022 edition offer a clear snapshot of how widely the award now reaches across the Eurasian business landscape.

In the Founder of the Year category, the finalists themselves reflected that geographic spread:

  • Rаdоslаv Dаnilаk, founder and CEO of Tаchyum in Slovakia, took first place.
  • Second place went to Dоuglаs Cаstro, founder and CEO of Nеurаl DSP, whose company operates from Finland’s fast-growing technology scene. 
  • Third place was awarded to Аnа Rоbаkidzе, founder of the Georgian platform Thеnео, representing the emerging startup ecosystem of the Caucasus.

Together, these founders illustrate how entrepreneurial innovation is appearing across very different parts of the Eurasian region – from Central Europe and the Nordic tech ecosystem to the rapidly developing startup communities of the Caucasus.

The broader list of winners reinforces the same pattern. The EdTech Excellence Award recognized Kazakh entrepreneur Аkzhоl Zаmbаyеv, founder of WеGlоbаl.аi, who finished third, while the Trading & Investment Excellence Award was won by venture investor Аlеx Ng from Singapore.

Plot these participants on a map, and a clear pattern emerges: innovation today does not come from a single center. Instead, it appears simultaneously across different parts of the continent – from technology hubs in Western and Northern Europe to rapidly developing ecosystems in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In that sense, Eurasia increasingly resembles not a single market, but a network of interconnected entrepreneurial ecosystems.

More Than One Winner

Another distinctive feature of the award is that each category recognizes three leading projects, rather than a single winner.

At first glance, this might seem like a simple organizational choice. In reality, it reflects how innovation tends to develop today.

Breakthrough ideas rarely emerge in isolation. Similar solutions often appear simultaneously in different countries and teams. By recognizing multiple finalists, the award highlights this broader landscape of innovation rather than focusing on only one standout project.

An Award That Weathered a Crisis

Over the past few years, the Eurasian Business Excellence Award has grown significantly. New categories have been introduced, participation has expanded, and the initiative has gained greater visibility within the international business community.

The pandemic could easily have disrupted this trajectory – as it did for many global initiatives. In this case, however, the crisis seems to have accelerated existing trends.

What once might have been viewed as an experimental digital format proved to be a sustainable model for international professional engagement.

A New Reality for Business Communities

The past few years have reshaped not only how events are organized, but also how international entrepreneurial networks operate.

Today, a startup founder can present a project to experts in several countries without leaving the office. Investors and executives can discuss new ideas with teams from different regions of the continent without spending hours in transit.

The pandemic closed borders for people. But for ideas, technologies and entrepreneurial initiatives across Eurasia, those borders have become far less visible.

And perhaps that is one of the most lasting changes in the modern business landscape.

Eric Robinson