Personal care giant Procter & Gamble has announced the launch of a pitch event at the digital conference Dmexco, based in Germany, which will see up to 20 startups pitch ideas in the hope of working with the company.

Applications open on August 31 for the event, which takes place in Cologne from Sept 14-15, with P&G inviting entries from any startups that provide digital marketing or Internet of Things services, who will pitch ideas to the company at the conference’s Start-Up Village section.

Of the 20 entries, four of the start-ups will then be in with the chance to win $20,000 in a ‘Shark Tank-like’ event on Sept 15.

Sophie Blum, P&G’s Vice President of marketing for Europe and IMEA, said, “We are looking forward to engaging with the brightest minds to shape the future of brand building and accelerate growth through an open innovation ecosystem.”

Judges include Blum, Dr. Florian Heinemann, Founder and Managing Director at Project A, Christoph Schuh, Partner at Lakestar and Terence Kawaja from Luma Partners.

P&G’s Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard will also deliver a keynote speech at the event.