On January 14, we announced this year’s official list of semifinalist teams for the 12th Arab Startup Competition. The semifinalists, divided into three main tracks, are officially competing for a total sum grand prize of $160,000, among other in-kind services like mentorship, training, networking, and media exposure.
This year, we are truly lucky to be joined by our Main Partner Community Jameel, International Partner World Bank, Strategic Partner Touch, Governmental Partner Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), and our supporting partners Careem, Beirut Digital District, Roland Berger, CMA CGM, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
The competing teams will be receiving an intensive 2-day training in Amman, Jordan, ahead of the final award ceremony to be held, for the first time, in Beirut on March 28-29.
Here’s what this year’s competitors should expect during the 2-day training in Amman. To make things clear, we’ve divided the schedule per track. The training will involve the participants in an interactive and dynamic environment, where they learn from each other’s experiences through a number of carefully designed exercises.
Below, we will list the title of sessions the participants should expect.
Day 1: Wednesday, February 26
Startups Track: ‘Finance for Startups (focusing on workshops in building the Cash Flow Requirements and Ask from VCs)’, ‘User Design Thinking to Build the Next New Product' (focusing on building a design-led product development team), ‘How to Never Stop Practicing Lean' (Until you are acquired), a training session by members from KAUST, ‘The Do’s and Don’ts of a Pitch Deck’, and finally ending the day with a 1-on-1 mentorship session.
Social Entrepreneurship Track: ‘Using Design Thinking to Identify the Problem' (focusing on Customer and User Interviews for Empathy and Key Features)’, ‘How to Use Lean Startup to Build a Social Enterprise’ (Focusing on Impact Planning and KPIs), ‘Finance for Social Enterprises’ (focusing on workshops in Balancing the Impact Measurement and Ask from Impact Investors), a training session by members from KAUST, ‘The Do’s and Don’ts for a Pitch Deck’, and finally ending the day with a 1-on-1 mentorship session.
Ideas Track: ‘Challenges of Learning Fast to Build Better’ (Using Lean Startup to Eliminate Existential Failures), ‘Finance for Startups’ (focusing on workshops in building the Unit Economics Model and Ask from Angel Investors), ‘Using Design Thinking to Identify the Customer Use Case Risk' (Focusing on Customer and User Interviews), a training session by members from KAUST, ‘The Do’s and Don’ts for a Pitch Deck’, and finally ending the day with a 1-on-1 mentorship session.
Day 2: Thursday, February 27
All participants will start the day with a recap of the previous day, followed by a quick Q&A session.
Startups Track: ‘Scaling Talent: Preparing for the Next Stage of Growth and Culture’, ‘Tips and Tricks for Judging Q&A’, ‘Stages of Financing - How to Plan for Series A’, ‘Defensibility and Competitive Advantage’, ‘Marketing Growth Funnel for Different Channels’, and lastly a Mentorship session.
Social Entrepreneurship Track: ‘How to Design a Transformative Customer Journey’, ‘Defensibility and Competitive Advantage’, ‘Unique Stakeholder Value Creation’, ‘Stages of Financing - How to Plan for FFF and Angel Round Investment’, ‘Positioning and Focusing on Traction’, and lastly a Mentorship session.
Ideas Track: ‘How to Negotiate with Giants’, ‘How to Design a Transformative Customer Journey’, ‘Marketing Growth Metrics to test for Early Traction’, ‘Positioning and Focusing on Traction’, ‘Stages of Financing - How to Plan for FFF and Angel Round Investment’, and lastly a Mentorship session.
The training sessions will be tailored to the level of growth the participants have reached in developing their solutions.
Stay tuned for further news and updates #ASC2019 #MITEFArab
You can now register to attend the final award ceremony and conference in Beirut on March 28-29. #ASC2019 #MITEFArab
