Terms & Conditions – KPMG Private Enterprise’s China Tech Innovator 2024

This AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is effective as of 24 April 2024 (the “Effective Date”) by and between:

Party A: KPMG Tax Services Limited, an entity organized under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“Hong Kong”) and validly existing with its address at 8/F, Prince’s Building, Central, Hong Kong.

Party B: [name of vendor], an entity organized under the laws of [name of jurisdiction] and validly existing with its address at [           

All references to ‘KPMG’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ or any variations thereof within this Agreement shall refer to Party A. All references to ‘You’, Your’ or any variations thereof or ‘Applicant(s)’ within this Agreement shall refer to Party B. 

Applications for KPMG Private Enterprise’s Global Tech Innovator 2024 Competition (the “Competition”) will open on 24 April 2024. In order to enter the Competition, you must complete and submit the application form available at: 

 https://www.meridianwest.eu.com/jfe/form/SV_3kl8ZU0XADAIjau

before 23:59 on 5 July 2024 and be available to attend a National Competition during May- August 2024 (successful applicants will be informed of the national competition joining procedures) and the global final at Web Summit in Lisbon in November 2024 (as explained below) if your entry progresses to that stage.  We reserve the right for national and global events to be held virtually depending on relevant restrictions at that point in time.

This Competition is aimed at businesses typically in the start-up and scale up phase and which have innovative technologies, robust business models, the ability to demonstrate traction in their activities and the potential for global scale.

For the purposes of Competition, Applicants should:

• Be a registered company (including partnerships and equivalent for-profit corporate structures) in one of the following countries:
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Ghana
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Kenya (East of Africa) 
  • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • Philippines
  • Portugal
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • Turkey
  • UK
  • US 
• Have been operating for 5 years or less (in current form)
• Revenue generating between USD $1-10m; or have raised at least $500,000 inequity
• Either a pure technology, tech-driven or a tech-enabled business
• Not majority owned by a large corporate

You must be available to pitch your entry at:

• A National Competition to be held between [May and August] 2024 (successful entrants will be informed of the dates for their national competitions); and
• At Web Summit in Lisbon from 11 November – 14 November 2024 (if selected as a national winner).

All entrants entering the competition on behalf of a company must:

• Be residents of the country in whose national heat they apply to participate; and
• Be aged 18 or over. 

The Competition is open to KPMG audit clients as decided by member firms. The Competition is not open to any company or legal entity which is a KPMG audit client or an affiliate or a connected party to the audit client.

There should not be more than one entry per company/entity.

All valid applications will be assessed once the application stage closes. Applications will be collated and assessed by KPMG professionals under three categories with equal weighting to each. The categories are innovation and disruption, market potential, and traction and momentum.

Subject to KPMG screening checks, Applicants who are successful after this initial assessment will be invited to pitch at the National Competition where they will be judged by a panel of industry experts made up from within KPMG and outside of KPMG. Some countries will have Regional Competitions in addition to a National Final.

All Applications will be assessed under five categories with equal weighting to each. The categories are innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, company growth potential, customer focussed and risk awareness. The decisions of the industry expert panels will be final. 

One winning entry from each National Competition will win the chance to pitch at the Final to be held at Web Summit in Lisbon where the overall winning entry will be announced.

Written feedback will be provided to the applicants in relation to their scores awarded at the country competitions and the Final. 

There are no charges for entering the Competition. Applicants will be responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary technology and internet access to participate in all virtual/online aspects of the competition. 

One entry from each National Competition will be selected to go to Web Summit in Lisbon 2024 where the Applicant will pitch to industry experts on stage and one overall winner will be selected as the KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator 2024.

Finalists will receive: 

• Facilities to exhibit at Web Summit including a dedicated, prominent booth. The conference is attended by 70,000+ founders, investors and corporate decision makers from around the world. Flight, accommodation, exhibiting platform and conference pass are included; 
• Profile for their business with media before, during and after Web Summit, leveraging various KPMG channels; and 
• Attend KPMG events with business luminaires and CEOs from leading fast growth private global business

The overall winner will receive the right to identify their business as the KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator 2024. 

Winners of the Competition agree that KPMG may use their name and image, and the name and branding of the company that they are representing, to announce the winner of the Competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional and marketing purposes.

Participants warrant that any submissions entered as part of the Competition shall be their own original work and shall not infringe any intellectual property rights of any other person or entity.

Participants hereby grant to KPMG a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use the content of their submissions and pitch materials and any intellectual property included in the submissions, for the purpose of administering the Competition and for KPMG’s own purposes, including sharing the submissions with its network of KPMG member firms for their further development of solutions to their business.

Participants may announce their participation in the Competition and refer to KPMG when doing so subject to KPMG policies including trademark requirements and restrictions. No other use of KPMG's name, logos, trademarks or other intellectual property (whether registered or not) is permitted without the express written permission of KPMG and no licence for the use of KPMG intellectual property is granted by these terms and conditions or by entry into the Competition. KPMG may at any time, in its sole discretion, require Participants to remove references to KPMG or the Competition.

Recent public health restrictions mean that KPMG may be required to change the timings or structure of the competition at short notice. For example, it may be necessary to conduct the final round in the Competition (the “Final”) virtually or to delay the Final if travel to Lisbon is not feasible for some or all participants.

If entrants are unable to attend the Final due to local travel restrictions, vaccination status, or other public health related reasons KPMG will make reasonable efforts to facilitate their involvement in a virtual way but this may not be possible and all decisions that KPMG takes with regard to the operation and timings of the competition shall be final.

If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, KPMG may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you and/or your company from participating in the Competition and future competitions operated by KPMG. By entering the Competition, you are agreeing on your own behalf and all directors, and on behalf of the company which you are entering, to be bound by these terms and conditions.

The Applicant understands that KPMG is committed to complying with all applicable anti-bribery legislation to which KPMG is subject. The Applicant represents and warrants that during the course of the Competition, it (and any associated entity) shall:

• not authorise, offer, give, solicit, accept or agree to offer or give any bribe (whether directly or through an intermediary such as a commercial agent), even if such conduct is legal or permitted under applicable law and local practice; 
• not make facilitation payments unless there is an immediate and credible threat to life, limb or liberty;
• avoid conduct that may give the impression of involvement in bribery; 
• take steps to assess and mitigate the risk that any third party who acts on its behalf (e.g. agents, distributors, consultants etc.) does not offer, promise, make, solicit or accept bribes on its behalf; and
• implement and at all times maintain adequate procedures designed to comply with its obligations under this clause.

Except where prohibited by law the Applicant must promptly report to KPMG in writing upon becoming aware that it, or any of its associated entities involved in the provision of services during the Competition, has in connection with this Agreement:

• committed an actual or suspected breach of the preceding clause or of any applicable anti-bribery legislation; 
• received any request or demand for any undue financial or other advantage in connection with the performance of this Agreement; or 
• become the subject of any police, judicial or regulatory investigation or proceedings in relation to any suspected breach of any applicable anti-bribery legislation.

The Applicant shall give reasonable assistance and cooperation to KPMG in relation to any investigation or enquiry of any kind in relation to any suspected bribery or corruption, whether during the term of this Agreement or up to six years after its termination.

The Applicant undertakes that it is committed to and procures all of its officers, employees and agents to protect the privacy, confidentiality and security of the personal information they hold in relation to this Agreement by complying with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486 of the laws of Hong Kong) (the “Ordinance”) with respect to the processing, use and management of Personal Data (as defined in the Ordinance).

The Applicant shall immediately rectify, erase or return the Personal Data on receiving instructions to this effect from KPMG. The Applicant undertakes in particular to rectify, erase or return all or part of the Personal Data if it appears that such measures are required by the Ordinance. 

By entering and participating in the Competition, you hereby agree to abide to KPMG China’s Online Privacy Statement.

No one shall have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Cap. 623 of the laws of Hong Kong) to enforce any part of this Agreement. KPMG and the Applicant may rescind or vary this Agreement without any third party’s consent.

KPMG reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the Competition and/or the prize where it deems it necessary to do so.

Insofar as is permitted by law, we will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate a winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize, except where it is caused by our negligence or that of our employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.

These terms and conditions shall be governed by Hong Kong (SAR) law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong (SAR) courts.