https://arab.news/r7ew6
MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab and MITEF Saudi Arabia have announced the launch of the MITEF Startup Competition 2021-2022. This year’s competition will provide the opportunity for the participants from Arab Startup Competition and Saudi Startup Competition to compete under a single competition, organized and supported by Bab Rizq Jameel and Community Jameel Saudi and under the patronage of the governorate of Madinah.
The MITEF Startup Competition 2021-2022 pits entrepreneurs in three different tracks: Ideas, Startups and Social Entrepreneurship. The competition aims to enable entrepreneurs and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, with a special focus this year on Madinah. This year’s edition launches with the slogan “Empowering Today. Transforming Tomorrow” and takes participants through a seven-month journey, filled with exciting activities like top-tier training, mentorship, media exposure, and networking opportunities. Moreover, the winning teams benefit from equity free-fund cash prizes.
The MITEF Startup Competition 2021-2022 will conclude with a final conference and awards ceremony that will take place during the Start Smart Conference in March 2022 in Madinah, during which this year’s Startup Investment Forum will also take place.
Applications are open for submissions until Dec. 6. Entrepreneurs and innovators from Saudi Arabia and the Arab world of all ages and industries can apply to one of the competition’s three tracks through the competition’s website: www.mitarabcompetition.com or www.mitefsaudi.org. The competition’s organizers will be conducting several roadshows and informative sessions throughout several Arab countries and Saudi Arabia, introducing the competition’s criteria and application process and helping candidates perfect their applications.
Mohammed Sanad Al-Yousif, CEO of the Economic Development Center in the Madinah governorate, said: “Community Jameel Saudi’s MITEF Startup Competition contributes to the enhancement of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the success of the region’s startups, and the support given to ideas and investment projects. This is the role that serves the expansion and support of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
He added: “We are pleased to host the forum in Madinah as a global destination for launching businesses and attracting qualitative investments to achieve sustainable development.”
Hala Fadel, founder and chair of MITEF Pan Arab, said: “After running the Arab Startup Competition for 15 successful editions in different Arab cities, we realize the importance of empowering our entrepreneurs by providing them with the proper training and mentorship and the effect that they have on transforming the entrepreneurship ecosystem. According to the 2020 Arab Entrepreneurship Maturity Index: Insights and Forecasts report that we published, ASC startups’ customer base grew by 43 percent over the previous two years and 45 percent of startups expanded into new geographic markets, notably the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa and East Asia.”
Hassan Jameel, vice chairman of Community Jameel, said: “We are proud to be a partner and to take part in this exceptional edition of the 2021-2022 MITEF Startup Competition welcoming entrepreneurs across the Arab world. The MITEF Pan Arab and MITEF Saudi Arabia startup competitions have succeeded in establishing more than 550 startups and providing more than 15,600 job opportunities.”