JEDDAH: The MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Saudi Arabia, which is part of the MIT Enterprise Forum global network, has announced its fourth annual Saudi Startup Competition. The competition, which is dedicated to the promotion of Saudi entrepreneurs and provides a platform to present their projects and ideas and enhance their role in the future innovative business environment, is in collaboration with Bab Rizq Jameel, an initiative of Community Jameel, the global philanthropy.
Registration for this year’s competition is open to all Saudi and non-Saudi entrepreneurs of all ages in one of the three tracks: Ideas, startups and social enterprise. Registration began on Sept. 10, via the official website of the competition, and will continue until Dec. 21.
“The competition focuses on attracting high-potential social and business startups and ideas in all social and business fields. Entrepreneurs of all ages can apply. The submitted project must be innovative, have the potential for scalability and must have a positive impact on the community,” head of MITEF Saudi Chapter and Entrepreneurship Program Bayan Algamdi told Arab News.
FASTFACT
• Registration for the 4th MITEF Saudi Startup Competition opened on Sept. 10, 2019
• The 45 teams qualifying for the semifinals will be announced on January 16, 2020.
• The closing ceremony of the competition will be held on March 7, 2020 in Jeddah.
• Cash prizes for the winners totaling more than SR325,000.
She added that a team must consist of at least two people with one Saudi national participating.
“After a specialized panel of judges from the entrepreneurial community has evaluated applications, the names of the 45 teams to qualify for the semifinals of the MITEF Saudi Startup Competition will be announced on January 16, 2020. The names of the 27 finalists will be announced on March 5, two days before the final announcement, which will include only nine winners,” she said.
Judges will be looking at team experience, value-added, and the relevance of each team member to the project. The judging criteria will also take into consideration the newness of ideas. An old project can also be approved if it is found to add value to an existing solution or a business process.
BACKGROUND
Looking for innovative and scalable ideas that provide effective business or social solutions, the competition runs for more than six months, during which e-induction briefs will be organized in selected universities throughout Saudi Arabia from September to mid December.
Financial sustainability is also a point that the judges will consider, as the startup should clearly demonstrate the ability to be financially sustainable in the long term. Moreover, a startup should not be limited to a nationwide market. Preferably, the business should be easy to replicate regionally or globally as the company expands. Judges will also assess the extent to which a project will have a positive impact on the community (Social Entrepreneurship Track).
With a vision of building a better world by accelerating the creation and growth of world-class business and social enterprises, MITEF Saudi Arabia is part of a global network of chapters dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide.
The MITEF Saudi Startup Competition focuses on attracting high-potential social and business startups and ideas in all fields and industries. Participating in this competition will give entrants local and international exposure and recognition through the MIT Enterprise Forum Global, as well as through MIT Technology Review, a media company wholly owned by MIT. As a part of the MITEF Pan Arab Region, the nine winning teams will be invited to participate in the 13th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition. In addition, there will be cash prizes totaling more than SR325,000 ($86,650)
“Saudi StartSmart aims to encourage, motivate, and guide entrepreneurs in terms of idea creation and commercial and social enterprises through workshops and seminars focused on technology and innovation,” Algamdi said.
She added that they will hold the Saudi StartSmart conference on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the competition on March 7, and will focus on a range of related topics.
She said: “Following the success of the first roadshows of the competition that took place at the Jeddah Youth Hub and White Space, the real interaction we noticed from the decision-makers and partners will definitely make us intensify our roadshows in the coming days to reach key cities of Saudi Arabia, especially in that the competition’s deadline approaching.
“The competition runs for more than six months, during which e-induction briefs are organized in selected universities and educational institutes throughout Saudi Arabia from September to mid December 2019,” she said.
