Seedstars Is Coming To 4 Saudi Arabian Cities To Select The Kingdom's Best Startup

Seedstars World 2018 MENA tour is still on and its next stops are in four Saudi Arabian cities: Dammam, Abha, Jeddah, and Riyadh; taking place respectively on the 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th of September, and the 7^th of October. Around ten hand-picked seed-stage startups will present their projects to compete for the title of “Best Startup in Saudi Arabia.”

After a careful screening, the Seedstars team will shortlist up to 15 of the best seed-stage startups in each city to participate in the bootcamps, where they will be mentored by top-notch local and global experts in growth, pitching and acquisition channels. The third day of the event will be open to the public, where the selected startups will give a three minutes pitch in English, followed by a five minutes Q&A session with the jury. The third day of each event will also feature panel discussions and keynotes on top trends in technology and entrepreneurship.

“At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. We see ourselves as a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs in places where normally people wouldn’t think startup ecosystem have such traction, growth and buzz. We are very excited to be in the Saudi Arabia highlighting such a bustling entrepreneurship ecosystem and we are here to witness the reality,” explains Meghan Warner, Regional Manager for MENA at Seedstars, “We are also experts in identifying which companies to pull through and how. We’re impressed by what we have seen in the region so far and cannot wait to add Saudi startups to our map!”

The companies selected to pitch at any of the events need to be less than two years old, have raised less than $500,000 in funding and built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction, as well as a plan for the startup’s regional and global scalability. 

The top-two startups from each event will participate in the Seedstars World Saudi Arabia finals in Riyadh. The top-four in the finals will be awarded cash prizes of up to SAR 100,000  (approximately $26,660) and will be invited to an all-inclusive trip to Lausanne, for the Seedstars Summit, as part of the Saudi delegation. The winner at Riyadh will be representing the kingdom in the global arena in Switzerland in April 2019.

Seedstars World is travelling to more than 65 countries to identify the most innovative seed-stage startups, awarding them the opportunity to win up to USD 1 million and network with investors and mentors from around the world at the global Seedstars Summit in Switzerland. Its previous participants have raised over USD 92M collectively, providing employment to more than 2.100 employees worldwide.

If you're a startup that fits in all the criteria and based in Jeddah or Riyadh, you still have the time to apply. 

Apply before September 15th if you're based in Jeddah. 

Apply before September 23rd if you're based in Riyadh.