MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Startup contest winners to be announced April 19

Event to be held in Muscat with Zain Group as a digital partner 80 semi-finalists from 14 countries competing for $160,000 in cash prizes

MUSCAT/KUWAIT/BEIRUT: The MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab will host the final award ceremony of the 11th edition of its Arab Startup Competition on April 19, 2018, at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

This year’s event is in partnership with founding partner Community Jameel, and in collaboration with strategic partners Riyada and Omantel, with Zain Group as a digital partner.

A total of 80 teams from 14 Arab countries have qualified to the finals of the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Arab Startup Competition, which received thousands of applications from across the Arab world. The semi-finalists hail from 14 Arab countries, as follows: Lebanon (19), Egypt (13), the United Arab Emirates (8), Saudi Arabia (9), Jordan (7), Palestine (6), Morocco (4), Tunisia (5), Bahrain (2), Sudan (2), Kuwait (1), Qatar (1), Algeria (1), Oman (1).

The teams applied for three tracks: Ideas, Startups, and Social Entrepreneurship. Three winners will be chosen from each of the three tracks, and a total of $160,000 will be awarded amongst the nine winners.

During the two days event, the semi-finalists will undergo training sessions focused on the art of pitching. The teams will practice their pitching skills and pitch decks in front of the trainers, and attend sessions on the “do’s and don’ts” of a pitch, communication skills, and body language in order to be prepared for their oral presentations.

In addition to a mentorship activity where semi-finalists will have the chance to pitch their projects to 80+ stakeholders and partners from different expertise and backgrounds. These experts will give live feedback to the teams and share their experience in the business world. During this activity, teams will be exposed to different opportunities: coaching, mentorship, networking, and potential funding.

The Award Ceremony is preceded by a high-powered conference, including two panel discussions entitled Building Emerging Ecosystems and What Silicon Valley investors want to see in MENA.

Several high-profile entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials from across the Arab region and beyond will be sharing insights during the conference and judging the competition. These include Ahmad Al-Alfi of Sawari Ventures, David Fernandez of Startup Chile, Said Al-Shanfari of Omantel, Abdel Aziz Alloughani of Faith Capital Holding, and Abeer Abdullah of Riyada.

“We are so proud that this year’s biggest Arab startup event is being held in Oman. This event is not only a competition, but an opportunity for top tier Arab entrepreneurs to present and share their experiences in the area of innovation and the creation and nurturing of an ecosystem for innovation within Oman. Investing in Arab entrepreneurship will, in turn, contribute to the revitalization of the economy, and lead to the creation of new partnerships that can eventually transform into large institutions,” said Hala Fadel, MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Chair and Managing Director.

Ahead of the training sessions planned to be held in Oman on April 18 and 19, pre-bootcamps were organized in five different countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. During these prebootcamps, the 80 semi-finalists underwent design-thinking sessions and practiced their pitching to mentors from different institutions and fields, to fine-tune their deliverables which they will present to judges on April 18 and 19.