Denis Opudo
AIM startup is expected to host the second edition of its annual Innovation Showcase and Pitch Competition in Dubai, United Arabs Emirates (UAE) in partnership with the Annual Investment Meeting, Future Cities Show and Digae from April 9th to 11th 2018. Out of the 100 startups that applied for the program, 25 startups were selected to take part in the grand annual event organized by AIM Startup a courtesy of UAE Ministry of Economy.
2018 will have 200 startups with potential converging under the same room to meet the investors, industry experts, government representatives, and cooperates and they will be accorded opportunity to showcase their ground-breaking solutions to the global audience of above 19,000. According to Magnitt which is a research firm, startups companies are on the move of changing the economic structures of the Arab countries and have already attracted above $1million investment. Rather than being employed, most Arabs young populations are becoming the employees who are seen as a way of boosting the economic statures of the countries in that region and at the same time reduce the number of unemployed youths.
According to the reports released by Ericsson AB, the high number of people using the mobile phones both in the Middle East and Africa is expected to accelerate the startup’s revolution between 2016 and 2022. AIM startups are considered to be the largest startups in the Mena region and are assisting in creating a startup world that will bring startups, investors and venture capitals closer to help reduce unemployment and speed up the economic growth.
Frost and Sullivan is a business consulting firm predicted that the GCC e-commerce market would be worth $41.5 billion in 2020, with 53% of this market in the UAE. However, the Mena Private Equity Association estimated that the value of e-commerce in the wider Mena region would reach $200 billion by 2020. As many as 60 start-ups from across Saudi Arabia, 20 from Jordan and 20 from Bahrain battled it out at separate pitch competitions hosted in Amman, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Manama, adjudged by a panel of experts. In Amman, Little Thinking Minds, Arabot, Mind Rockets, Madfooat, and Salasil – were the five start-ups selected by the panel.
In Jeddah, Kees Chic, Avokado, Sadeem, Sydality and Algorizm won the pitch while Fruits 360, Serviis, Ajeer, Fixtag and Nutrifit have been selected by judges in Riyadh. The winning start-ups from the Mena Roadshow and Pitch Competitions will join another five top start-ups picked up through AIM Startup’s upcoming Pitch Competition in Kuwait. They will then enter into the final round of the competition to attract funding and vie for the coveted prizes of up to $50,000.
This is the first such competition aimed at helping the region’s start-up community to flourish. The region-wide pitch competition gives the start-ups in the Middle East a chance to participate at the AIM Startup 2018 and makes their cases for funding among mentors, trainers, business leaders, investors – and help them source funding according to Dawood Al Shezawi, CEO of AIM Startup.
