Semifinalists of the MITEF Startup competition in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world have been announced by the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region and the MIT Enterprise Forum Saudi Arabia. The competition, which covers three tracks — startups, ideas, and social entrepreneurship — is to organize the Start Smart Conference along with the closing ceremony on Feb. 23, 2022 at the King Salman International Convention Center in Madinah.
Semifinalists were selected by a panel of 150 judges, who are business and academic experts from all around the universe. More than 2,600 submitted projects coming from 20 Arab countries were evaluated as per the competition criteria gauging creativity, scalability and the positive impact on society. At the top of the list came the ideas track with 1,466 candidates, followed by startups with 853 entries, and social entrepreneurship with 288 entries.
The Semifinalists are to be hosted by the Taibah University training camp which will be held in the university campus in Madinah on Feb. 17-18, 2022 and will be supervised by specialized trainers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The second judging round is to be launched on Feb. 20, 2022 to announce the finalists; while the third, which will select the winners, will be on Feb. 22. The Startups Investment Forum will be held in Saudi Arabia over Feb. 21, - 23, 2022.
“The entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem has reached an inflection point as 450-plus alumni are leading their way through the domains of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and environmental infrastructure,” said Hala Fadel, founder and chair of MITEF Pan Arab. “Today and more than any time before, we must innovate and invest in sustainable businesses that ensure a better future for our communities. The Startup Competition depends on its regional reach to attract Arab innovators of all backgrounds. The aim is to bring their startups and their expertise and grant them the opportunity to find new ways to progress with our partners in Community Jameel Saudi and the MIT Enterprise Forum Saudi Arabia.”
Hassan Jameel, vice chairman of community Jameel, said: “On behalf of Community Jameel Saudi, it’s extremely encouraging to see such a diverse range of submissions at this year’s MITEF Startup competition, marking an exciting milestone in the growing entrepreneurial environment in Saudi Arabia and the Arab region. This is the first time Al Madina Al Munawara has welcomed a competition of this scale, especially in partnership with an internationally renowned body like MIT, which firmly places the city at the forefront of the evolving incubator scene for entrepreneurship and startups in the Kingdom and beyond.”
