The final award ceremony of the 10th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition held last month in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s International Circuit, with three Egyptian startups picking up top prizes.
The competition, organized in partnership with Community Jameel, Zain Group and Tamkeen, is one of the biggest entrepreneurship competitions in the Arab region, receiving 5,000 applications each year since inception.
Applications for this edition opened last year and saw several startups applying, with 74 from 11 countries eventually selected for the semi-finals of the competition.
They underwent a round of training and presented their businesses over a three-day period – 25 April to 27 – to a jury comprising some of the Arab world’s key investors and business people.
Egypt’s Blink App, Kiliim and Money Fellows emerge winners of the Ideas, Social Entrepreneurship and Startups track respectively. Blink App received US$5,000 while Kiliim and Money Fellows each received US$50,000. Egypt’s Nano Green Hub, second runner-up in the Ideas track, received US$5,000.
“It is time to invest more in the infrastructure that helps young people to hone and develop their entrepreneurial ideas, stressing the importance of utilizing technological innovation towards the modernization and development of tools that enable entrepreneurs to create technological solutions,” said Hala Fadel, Chair of the board of MITEF Pan Arab.
He added, “This will in turn contribute to the revitalization of the economy and encourage the inauguration of partnerships that can eventually transform into large institutions that will house impeccable talent and capacities with opportunities to grow and develop.”
Aside the cash prizes, the winners will receive advanced training sessions, personal mentorship and guidance, as well as receiving a great deal of media coverage and excellent networking opportunities.
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