Technological startups are among the driving forces of modern business. Therefore, it is important to have a space where the initiatives of young entrepreneurs turn into real business ideas and are given the opportunity for future development. START-UP Marathon, organized by Alte University this year for the third time, is just such an opportunity.
The project was implemented with the support of TBC for Youth, TBC for Business, Entrepreneur Georgia, and GITA • Tech Park, once again providing school students with a unique opportunity to turn their innovative ideas into reality.
The project aims to foster entrepreneurship, innovative thinking, and business skills among young people. It offers high school students across the country a unique chance to work with a team of professionals to develop their ideas, transform them into business plans, and even secure funding to bring them to life.
The final event was preceded by a challenging, multi-stage process. It all began with the announcement of the competition, which invited 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students from any school to bring their innovative ideas to life. Nearly 500 applicants expressed their interest in participating. The jury had the tough task of selecting the 11 most promising teams from among them.
What followed was a period of intensive work: the selected teams collaborated with mentors, received entrepreneurship training, and participated in mentorship programs that helped them shape their initial concepts into fully-developed business models. These final presentations were delivered on April 17 at Alte University, in front of a specially gathered audience and jury.
The main focus was environmental protection using the latest technologies, educational and social issues, and improving the quality of users’ lives through artificial intelligence.
After presentations by the student-led teams, Alte University, together with the project’s partners, selected the teams with the most outstanding business ideas.
The participants and winners of the marathon were awarded certificates and special prizes, including educational grants from jury members, for the further advancement and improvement of their innovative ideas.
The majority of teams participating in the marathon represented schools from different regions of Georgia. Many of them successfully reached the final stage. The event concluded with more winners than originally planned: Entrepreneur Georgia selected not just one, but three teams — G-AID, Astrobrain, and სივრცე/Sivrce — in its role as the project media partner, giving them the opportunity to share their ideas with a wider audience.
GITA • Tech Park also decided to support the prototype development of three teams — სივრცე/Sivrce, G-AID, Polymorph, and Aquaguard — instead of just one, as was initially planned. A fourth team was awarded a mentorship program.
TBC Bank also named its winner — the team სივრცე/Sivrce, awarding them a cash prize of 5,000 GEL to support the realization of their idea.
The project “Polymorph” was selected by Alte University, with its main idea focused on recycling plastic and reusing it. The authors of the project are 11th-grade students from the Vladimir Komarov Tbilisi School of Physics and Mathematics — Dimitri Ardoteli, Giorgi Mikiashvili, Irakli Mekvabishvili and Iasho Gelenidze. Alte University awarded the chosen team a 1,000 GEL educational grant.
It was the competition itself that inspired the boys to come up with the idea of creating a machine for recycling used plastic and manufacturing new products. They presented their concept and received high praise from the jury. Both the team and their idea went through a demanding journey of development and refinement before reaching this stage.
The machine designed by the students melts plastic, which is then poured into molds. These molds are cooled in a refrigerator, after which the melted plastic takes its final shape – a new item. The students claim that this method allows businesses to reuse plastic and reduce costs, while also benefiting the environment by decreasing plastic pollution.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to Alte University’s chosen team:
“As soon as we heard that Alte University was holding such an interesting start-up marathon, we quickly gathered a team and presented our idea,” the boys noted. “Polymorph is a plastic recycling machine that produces recycled plastic for reuse. Not only is it a lucrative concept for companies, at the same time, we protect nature. A vast amount of unrecycled plastic remains on Earth, causing the destruction of flora and fauna and leading to ecological disasters. We hope to make a significant contribution toward solving this pressing issue.
“We will gradually begin collaborating with local companies, and, later, we’ll think about expanding to the international market. We are very grateful to Alte University for selecting our project and for this gift, as well as for the positive feedback from all the jury members. Their support is very important to us and gives us a lot of motivation.”
Jury members summarized and evaluated the marathon, unable to hide their excitement due to truly innovative ideas and the professionalism of the 15-17-year-old students.
David Kikvidze, Dean of the Business School at Alte University, stated:
“I sincerely congratulate both the winners and all the participants on their success. The marathon lasted around two months. More than 500 participants expressed interest in taking part, which is a great honor and joy for us. It was incredibly difficult to select from so many applications, as there were numerous outstanding ideas. It took significant effort to choose the teams you saw in the final today. During this time, the participants received various trainings in entrepreneurship, and mentoring programs were provided to help them develop their business models and presentations. Today, we witnessed the results of all that hard work. I am truly happy to see such an educated and talented new generation. The start-up and innovation ecosystem is a vital area for any country and economy—modern leading economies are essentially built upon it. Alte University, and especially the Business School, fully recognizes this. Even our academic programs are now tailored to fostering entrepreneurial skills among young people.
“The Start-Up Marathon serves precisely this purpose—to instill entrepreneurial abilities, as well as a mindset oriented toward innovation and technology, from the very beginning. I believe we’ve achieved great results today, seeing so many young people actively interested and engaged in this field. At Alte University, we’ve been organizing the Start-Up Marathon for three years now, and I can confidently say that the quality of the projects and ideas presented improves with each passing year. I’m confident that most of the ideas presented here will eventually grow into real, successful business projects.”
Levan Gobejishvili, Head of Commercial Operations for Micro Business at TBC Bank, shared his thoughts on the 2025 marathon and its participants, stating: “With the partnership and support of Alte University, TBC Bank, Entrepreneur Georgia, and GITA • Tech Park, it turned out to be quite an interesting event. It is truly encouraging that our younger generation is thinking about business development. Today, they presented innovative ideas that aim to address global challenges.
“Collaboration across different sectors is of great importance in supporting these ideas—both educational institutions and private organizations play a vital role. TBC introduced the startup project to the banking sector in 2017, and since then, we have actively supported innovative initiatives and ventures, collaborating with various organizations.
“I believe our partnership with Alte University has been fruitful and successful. We’ve been working together for three years now, and each year we witness some truly fascinating projects.”
Aleksandre Siradze, Executive Director of Entrepreneur Georgia, noted: “Entrepreneur Georgia has been a media partner of the Start-Up Marathon for years. School students need to start thinking about their own business ideas—how to start and develop their own ventures. Many have ideas, but often those ideas remain just that—ideas. Events like this help cultivate entrepreneurial skills, which ultimately equip students with the abilities modern entrepreneurs need to turn their concepts into reality. Entrepreneur Georgia has supported this initiative by Alte University from the very beginning, and most importantly, we are thrilled to see that the quality and level of student-led projects improve year after year. The students are coming in more and more prepared each time. This year was no exception. I am truly amazed by their thinking and ideas—ideas that even many adults may not have.”
The START-UP Marathon is not just a competition—it is a real opportunity for young people to find investors, develop, and eventually, with the involvement of the project organizers and supporters, implement their innovative business projects.
A clear example of this is the 2022 START-UP Marathon finalist, Zurab Tsiklauri, who also became a finalist for GITA’s 150,000 GEL grant program with the same idea. Also worth noting is the team “Robobook,” which won TBC’s grant in the 2022 marathon and began creating an interactive book with an innovative method for teaching robotics.
The winning teams of the 2023 marathon were “Robofarmia” and “DIDOSTATY.” The TBC New Generation and TBC Startupper’s chosen team, Robofarmia, received a 5,000 GEL gift, and was also named one of Alte University’s chosen teams, receiving an additional cash prize from the university. The university awarded another team, DIDOSTATY, with an educational grant, while the Innovation and Technology Agency of Georgia assisted them in prototyping and participating in various grant competitions.
By Ana Dumbadze
