Under the patronage of H.E Zayed Bin Rashed Alzayani Minister of Industry, Commerce & Tourism
SEEDSTARS WORLD IS COMING TO GCC TO FIND THE BEST STARTUP IN THE REGION
On September 9, 2017, 15 of GCC’s best seed stage startups will compete to travel to Seedstars Summit and win up to USD 1 million in equity investment.
Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes is coming to Bahrain for the third time. With the support of the local host CH9 and under the patronage of H.E Zayed Bin Rashed Alzayani – the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Seedstars World will be holding a dynamic pitch event on September 9, 2017. In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 80 countries this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to USD 1 million and network with investors and mentors from around the world. Its previous participants have raised over USD 61M collectively, providing employment to more than 1000 employees worldwide.
The companies selected to pitch at the Seedstars GCC event need to be less than 2 years old, have raised less than USD 500,000 in funding and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction. The Seedstars World team is searching for one additional criterion – the startup’s regional and global scalability. With a strong network of international partners such as BBVA, Merck, Enel, Trecc and Standard Bank, Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and develop profitable products for the global market, to support their regional businesses and growth.
“Seedstars World is a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs, pulling the spotlight from Silicon Valley and Western Europe. As this will be our third time to organize our event in Bahrain, our excitement level and expectations are high. We have heard so much about the bustling startup ecosystem in GCC and we are now here to witness the reality” explains Katarina Szulenyiova, COO at Seedstars World, “We are impressed by what we have seen in the continent so far and cannot wait to add startups from GCC on our map.”
Up to 15 of the best seed stage startups from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman will be invited to pitch for the opportunity to compete at the Seedstars Summit, that annually takes place in Switzerland.
In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and aiming to deliver the best possible event, Seedstars World is closely working with CH9, who is representing the initiative throughout the year. Mohamed Altawash, founder and managing director of CH9, notes, “the number of talented entrepreneurs in this region is phenomenal, and CH9 would like to help these entrepreneurs gain visibility in and out of this market.”
Further support is provided by a lot of entities in the GCC region such as Bahrain Economic Development Board, Batelco, Endeavor Saudi Arabia, Tawasul Oman, Start-up oman and The Badir Program for Technology Incubators and Accelerators at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).