Eligibility
Applicants must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible to participate in the Jabchor 2.0 Pitching Event:
1) The applicant must be a citizen of Bhutan.
2) The application must contain all parts required (described below in Application Instructions).
3) The application must be received by the announced submission deadline.
4) All applications must focus on Agriculture, Manufacturing, Service Industry, Green Industry including Foreign Direct Investment Priority Sector Activities under Schedule I, Schedule II and Schedule III.
5) For applications in the Idea Stage category: The applicant must show proof of concept with first paying customers (provide transaction records), Business license not required and priority given to scalable ideas in key sectors (Agriculture, IT, Manufacturing, Services)
6) For applications in the Startup Stage category: The Startup business must be, licensed and at least be one-year operations and able to produce financial report (audited preferred) and Tax Clearance Certificate.
7) For applications in the Growth Stage category: the Startup business must be, licensed and at least be at least five-year operations and able to produce audited report (preferred) and Tax Clearance Certificate.
8) Teams/individuals may only enter the event participation once.
9) For a team application, each team must select one member who will be the applicant for the team in the event. In team situations, eligibility is determined by the applicant team member, not the team as a whole. This member does not have to occupy a particular position on the team, (e.g., CEO); however, their role and responsibilities within the team must be documented in the application. Should the application progress to the final selection, the applicant team member will represent the team at the Jabchor 2.0 Pitching Event. The applicant team member is hereafter referred to as the applicant and will be the recipient of the investment. Should the applicant from a team be unable to attend the final pitching event, another member of the team may be appointed as a replacement; however, that replacement must meet all the eligibility requirements for the event as stated in this document. In the case of a replacement, the replacement team member becomes the applicant representing the team at Jabchor 2.0 Pitching Event and will be the recipient of any investment.
10) Each applicant must choose to enter the event as either an Idea Stage, Startup Stage and Growth Stage classification based on the following criteria:
Three Stages
Idea Stage
• The entrepreneur has research or a technology with commercialization potential.
• The entrepreneur has not started a business yet and is willing to start a business.
• The entrepreneur has defined the qualifications of a management team needed to execute the idea.
• The entrepreneur has paying customers for its product/services
Startup Stage
• The venture is for profit
• The venture is less than five years old from date of startup.
• The venture has funding already between Nu.1M to Nu.10M—either through revenue, through external financing (from public or private sources), or a combination of both.
• The venture has a product or service that is currently made available for commercial release.
Growth Stage
• The venture is for profit
• The venture is more than five years old from date of establishment.
• The venture has funding already above Nu.10M—either through revenue, through external financing (from public or private sources), or a combination of both.
• The venture has at least 1 year latest financial report (audited report) and Tax Clearance Certificate
12) Applications that fall under the following categories will not be accepted:
– Research projects with no demonstrable commercial potential
– Teams based at a charity or foundation (not-for-profit) organization
– Teams based at organizations that buy and resell technologies and other goods
13) The applicant must be at least 18 years old and must be able to both read and speak English proficiently (specifically if pitching to FDI investor).
14) All materials submitted must be the original work of the applicant (see Appendix B).
All investment winners of the Jabchor 2.0 Pitching Event must be incorporated and obtain a business current account in the newly incorporated company that is able to accept wire transfers in order to receive funds.
