Lebanese Startup Fabric Aid Wins "Get In The Ring Beirut" And Is Off To Portugal

Lebanese Startup Fabric Aid, a startup that enables underprivileged people to get decent clothing at affordable prices, walked away with a cash prize worth of $2,500 at Lebanon's first Get In The Ring Beirut, winning the title of "Middleweight Champion" on Saturday April 28th. "I’ll be proud to represent Lebanon in the finals in Portugal”, said Omar Itani, the co-founder of Fabric Aid.

The winner also received a spot in the Global Meetup in Portugal in May to represent Lebanon in the Middleweight class - which lies between $600,000 and $3 million valuation. Out of the 50 Lebanese startups which applied to the competition, 16 startups were shortlisted to take up the challenge for the title fight. Following pitch training and mentorship sessions, six finalists participated in the Get In The Ring battles and pitched their businesses in front of 2,000 investors, experts, and media representatives. 

Spike, a Speed@BDD startup who is developing a mobile assistant that helps diabetics better manage their diabetes, came next as the first runner up and walked away with $1,500 while the second runner up, Sidelick, an online platform that connects pet owners to pet lovers around them, received $1,000.

The rest of the six finalists include Mabsoot Labs, a platform that offers unique and out-of-the-box experiences designed and led by talented and passionate local hosts, Crave Home, a Speed@BDD-incubated startup which is an online homemade food ordering and delivery platform that connects users to local home cooks whose kitchens are certified by the platform's food safety program, and Lemonade Fashion, which provides users with complete control over their fashion by making bespoke custom-made fashion affordable and accessible.

The Get in the Ring Foundation is an organisation that gives startups a fun and global podium to make valuable connections to start, grow and scale up their business. Like the name suggests, Get in the Ring is a global competition for startups, where mimicking boxing battles, two startups battle head-to-head in a ring via pitching their businesses. A battle consists of several rounds about each team, the business model, and its finances. Along the way, the entrepreneurs receive pitch training, advice about their businesses, and the opportunity to meet with investors, business leaders, potential customers, and like-minded entrepreneurs. The competition started with 5,000 contestants from 80 countries with 130 preliminary rounds around the world. The local winning startups, which include Fabric Aid in Lebanon's case, will travel to Cascais, Portugal, to finally settle the score and crown the winners. 

Main Image: Courtesy of Speed@BDD