PITCH group round 1

Web Summit Lisbon 2025: Startups Revolutionize Global Trade, AI, Hospitality, and Digital Trust

(This article was generated with AI and it’s based on a AI-generated transcription of a real talk on stage. While we strive for accuracy, we encourage readers to verify important information.)

The first round of the Web Summit Lisbon 2025 Pitch competition, presented by KPMG Private Enterprise, showcased a diverse array of innovative startups. The esteemed judging panel, comprising Mr. Fabrizio Del Maffeo, Mr. Carlos Silva, Mr. Ricardo Jacinto, and Mr. Oivind Lorentzen, meticulously evaluated each presentation and engaged with the founders through insightful questions.

Mr. Imran Nuruhussen, CEO of Ethiopian Export Market, addressed the challenges within Africa’s $80-100 billion agriculture sector. He highlighted issues such as market fragmentation, opaque export systems, and farmers’ heavy reliance on brokers, leading to unfair profits and widespread fraud. The current system, he noted, is built on paper, trust issues, and guesswork.

His solution is a pioneering blockchain-based marketplace designed to directly connect small farmers, cooperatives, and exporters with international buyers. This platform ensures transparency through QR-based traceability and secure document storage on the blockchain. It also provides crucial market insights, including live prices, harvest seasons, and price history, enhanced by AI for demand forecasting.

Ethiopian Export Market has achieved significant traction, becoming a go-to source for export data with thousands of monthly users. Mr. Nuruhussen reported that over 500 of Ethiopia’s 2,500 exporters have pre-registered, and the company has already facilitated the export of more than 100 containers. The venture is actively generating revenue, with $6,000 recorded last month.

Ms. Viktoriia Abed, Chief Revenue Officer of Pitch Avatar, introduced an innovative solution for automating sales, support, and training processes. She pointed out that many such automation projects fail due to their inherent complexity and lack of scalability. Pitch Avatar offers an all-in-one platform to rapidly create a “perfect digital worker” in the form of an AI avatar.

These advanced AI avatars are designed to operate tirelessly, speak 70 languages, and possess a deep understanding of a company’s products. Users can easily assign roles, upload visual aids, and integrate knowledge bases, gaining full control and access to performance analytics. Ms. Abed emphasized that clients achieve up to 90% savings on content creation.

Pitch Avatar is experiencing rapid growth, with 1,500 new sign-ups each month, and aims to secure 300 paid clients by the end of the year. The platform leverages cutting-edge lip-sync and voice-to-text technologies, positioning itself as a unique, customizable, and analytics-powered alternative to existing avatar tools, particularly for HR, sales, and support teams.

Mr. Iyad Kayrala, Co-Founder and CEO of Vertassit, presented his vision for transforming luxury hospitality. He explained that discerning guests demand increasingly personalized experiences, yet hotels struggle to deliver this without incurring prohibitive labor costs. Vertassit’s answer is “Vert,” an in-room voice AI butler tailored for high-end establishments.

Vert allows guests to effortlessly request various services, from room service to spa appointments, simply by speaking, thereby eliminating traditional phone calls. Mr. Kayrala highlighted Vertassit’s unique approach, which prioritizes bespoke customization, a voice-first human touch, seamless integration with existing hotel infrastructure, and stringent privacy protocols.

Vertassit has secured a pilot agreement with a prominent luxury hotel in London and is pursuing further agreements in key tourism hubs like Abu Dhabi and Greece. Targeting a $265 billion luxury market, Mr. Kayrala underscored the necessity of integrating AI thoughtfully to preserve the essential human element in high-end guest experiences.

Ms. Catalina Plinschi, Director of Operations at Fagura, outlined her company’s ambitious goal to empower one million entrepreneurs by facilitating access to capital and specialized support. She noted that a significant majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) fail within their first five years primarily due to insufficient funding and guidance.

Fagura addresses this by providing a streamlined platform that connects SMEs with investors, offering a frictionless application process devoid of traditional paperwork. The platform utilizes a proprietary AI scoring engine to evaluate risk, enabling financing for early-stage startups that often lack collateral or credit history.

The company boasts impressive metrics, including €15 million in intermediated investments, €2 million paid in interest to investors, and a non-performing loan rate of 4.8%, outperforming many banks. Fagura also offers “smart money” through an AI system that can assist with accounting and legal functions, providing crucial added value to entrepreneurs.

With over 40,000 users and two licenses, Fagura has more than doubled its investment volume in 2024 compared to the previous year. Ms. Plinschi announced that the company has raised €2.5 million to date and is seeking an additional €2 million to expand into three new markets and strengthen its operations in Moldova and Romania.

Mr. Denys Bets, Co-Founder and CEO of Bankstore, presented a solution to the common challenge startups face in securing international banking and merchant accounts. He explained that traditional banks often view startups as high-risk, making it difficult for them to access essential financial services needed for global expansion.

Bankster’s FinTech platform streamlines this process by creating a comprehensive compliance profile for each startup. Utilizing AI tools, it intelligently matches clients with banks whose risk appetites and requirements align, ensuring a higher success rate for account openings and eliminating mismatches.

The company’s revenue streams include platform fees from startups and VCs, referral fees from its network of over 70 partner banks and payment systems, and fees for additional services aimed at improving client compliance scores. Mr. Bets reported 2024 annual sales revenue of $190,000, with a projected 30-35% increase for the current year.

Finally, Mr. Omer Shafiq, CEO of Hovi, highlighted the substantial financial and trust losses incurred annually due to cyber identity fraud, amounting to over $50 billion. He underscored the complexity of identity verification in the AI era and the impending impact of the EU Digital Identity initiative on 450 million people.

Hovi offers a reusable digital identity platform, conceptualized as “Stripe for identity,” to help businesses establish digital trust. Through APIs, SDKs, and a no-code platform, Hovi facilitates reusable identity verification, secure AI interactions, and cross-border trust using cryptographic digital proofs, simplifying compliance and integration for businesses.

Mr. Shafiq noted Hovi’s significant achievements, including the issuance of approximately 50 million digital credentials in the past year and active partnerships with governments, such as Finland. Hovi operates on a subscription or license-based model, targeting a €12.9 billion market that is poised for rapid expansion with the rollout of the EU Digital Identity wallet.

The first round of pitches at Web Summit Lisbon 2025 concluded, demonstrating a vibrant landscape of entrepreneurial innovation. These startups are actively addressing critical global issues, from enhancing agricultural trade and modernizing financial access to elevating customer experiences in hospitality and fortifying digital security.