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Startup Challenge by PwC France & Maghreb

Reinvent Corporate Business Models to survive the next decade and become future proof

Building trust in society and solving important problems. 
With offices in 149 countries and more than 370,000 people, we are among the leading professional services networks in the world. 
We help organisations and individuals create the value they are looking for, by delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services.

Our Challenge 

The megatrends and innovations from startups are reshaping industries and urge to create new business models. Companies that can adapt to these changes and leverage these innovations will be well-positioned for future success.

Reinvent Corporate Business Models

Context / Need: 
If your Startup provides an innovative solution or technology helping companies to improve, transform and reimagine how they create, deliver and capture value to become future proof, you will be more than welcome to apply to this challenge. 


More info: 
Competitive pressure and customer preferences quickly change, Companies are faced with the urgent need to explore how they will generate revenue and make money differently. 
· 50% decrease in average age of S&P 500 companies compared to 1980 (from 37 years back then to 17 years today). 
· 52% of companies on the Fortune 500 since 2000 have gone bankrupt, been acquired, or ceased to exist. 
· 68% of French CEOs believe their company will not be viable in ten years unless it changes course 

 (PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey) 

Business model reinvention (BMR) involves a fundamental rethinking and restructuring of how a company creates, delivers and captures value. It goes beyond making incremental changes and improvements to existing processes and strategies. 
 It’s how a company fundamentally overhauls the core elements that drive its business, including value proposition, its profit formula, capabilities, process and resources. 

BMR by PwC: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKPBtb6S3E&t=65s" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: underline;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKPBtb6S3E&t=65s</a> 
 
Climate Action and Energy Transition 
Megatrend: 
Tackling climate change, adopting sustainable practices and transitioning to renewable energy sources.
 
Innovations:
Renewable energy technologies, carbon capture, and circular economies. 
 
Impacted Industries: 
 
• Energy: Innovating in clean energy. 
• Manufacturing: Adoption of sustainable materials and processes. 
• Automotive: Shift towards electric vehicles and sustainable mobility solutions. 
• Utilities: Integration of renewable energy into the grid. 

 
Generative AI and Automation 
Megatrend: 
The rise of AI and automation in various sectors.
 
Innovations:
AI-powered applications (Agent), robotics, and machine learning.

 
Impacted Industries: 
 
• Healthcare: AI to create medical notes from doctor-patient conversations. 
• Manufacturing: Use of AI for predictive maintenance and quality control. 
• Finance: AI-driven financial services and fraud detection. 

 
Personalization and Customer Experience 
Megatrend: 
Increasing demand for personalized experiences. 
 
Innovations:
Data analytics, AI-driven personalization, and customer engagement tools. 
 
Impacted Industries: 
 
• Retail: Personalized shopping experiences and targeted marketing. 
• Entertainment: Personalized content recommendations and streaming services. 
• Hospitality: Customized travel and accommodation experiences. 

Other interesting trends could also be: Rapid Urbanization, Smart Cities and Future of Mobility, Demographic Shifts and Aging Population, Digital Transformation and Connectivity, Health and Wellness, Blockchain and Decentralization (DeFI), Etc. 

 For Corporates to adapt to these changes and leverage innovation they need to:
 

1. Understand their business environment: 
 
• Focus on customers and how and where their needs are changing. 
• Understand the underlying megatrends and “triggers” that might catalyze innovation and how to leverage it. 
• Be prepared for a world where external collaboration is a competitive necessity. 

To what extent does your solution provide insights and knowledge and/or competitive advantage in these areas for Corporates? 


2. Understand their capabilities, and blockers: 
 
• Identify and harness the underlying business capabilities you need activate the model you’re building. 
• Foster innovative culture to deepen employee engagement. 
• Identify company skills gaps 

How do your solutions help Corporates to understand their strength and weaknesses and how do you help to improve the situation? 


3. Transform decisions to actions: 
 
Iterate, test, and learn using MVPs to understand impact of new designs 
• Everything as a Service 
• Connected physical products 
• Digital products 
• Ecosystems 
• Channel disintermediation 
• Value chain shifts 

Does your technology/solution facilitate and/or accelerate the evaluation of such designs in the Corporate environment to measure impact?

Selection Criteria

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★ Value proposition
 The startup value proposition should fit at least one of the 3 pillars of the challenge presented.
 
 ★ Regulation compliance and Security by design 
 Regulation compliance and Security by design are key components to be able to fit in the Corporate’s organization and must be at the heart of the solution.

 ★ Business potential 
 The business potential with PwC business lines and/or with our clients’ issues. 

 ★ Geography 
 EMEA & US.
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★ Maturity
 Maturity: post-MVP stage to growth and scale-up with at least 2 existing clients in their portfolio. 
 
 ★ Technology 
 Technology: Deep tech and low tech will be considered. 

 ★ Global Scale operation
 The potential to operate at a global scale. 
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Rewards

 Presence within our PwC Booth @Vivatech 2025 (at least 1 day)

Vivatech with PwC

Possibility to participate to a talk with a client and a PwC expert (Business days).

Talk with PwC

One session (2h) with the PwC Studio to brainstorm and challenge the business model of the winner (if applicable).