Seedstars World, the largest startup competition for emerging markets, is landing for the first time in Baghdad and is calling on startups to compete for a chance to win up to $500,000.
By SWB team
On August 1 & 2, Seedstars World, the largest startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes will land for the first time in Baghdad. Around 20 of Iraq’s best seed-stage startups will compete to represent the country at the Seedstars Summit for a chance to win up to $ 500,000 in equity investments and other prizes.
Seedstars will be holding a dynamic training for entrepreneurs on the first day of the event which will indulge in the topics around Investment Readiness, the Art of the Pitch, in addition to tailored mentorship sessions with experts from the market. The list of experts will include Ali Ismail, Co-founder & Curator at Fikraspace Solo Creative Studio, Montather Rassoul, Consultant, Council of the European Union and Ammar Rafid, Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility Senior Officer at Zain Iraq.
Every year, Seedstars World gathers the top entrepreneurs from emerging markets at the Seedstars Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. Photo credit: Seedstars.
In order to participate, startups 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. Nonetheless, the Seedstars team is searching for a one additional criterion which is the startup’s regional and global scalability.
After a careful screening and training on Day 1, the Seedstars team will shortlist around ten of the best seed-stage startups in Iraq to pitch on August 2 for the opportunity to compete at the Seedstars Summit, that annually takes place in Switzerland. The list of the Jury members will include Ali Hili, Youth and Entrepreneurship at Zain Iraq, Bassem Abdel Hadi Hassan, Spokesperson for the Central Bank, Noor Alhandal, Chairman at Ashur International Bank, Khaled Alabadi, Project Manager at GE, Dhafer Hasan, Programme Analyst at UNDP and Anas Al-Chalabi, Business Development Manager at Social n’ Tech.
“As the Seedstars ambassadors in Baghdad, we’re more than proud to host the competition in Iraq; This event will be a massive networking and funding opportunity to the finalists. Bringing Seedstars to Iraq will open the door for other global incubators, accelerators and competitions by encouraging them to expand to Iraq. we are here to make a difference, to create opportunities and give exposure to the ecosystem,” says Mohamad Salah, Managing Director at Social N Tech.
Mohamad Salah, founder of Social N Tech. Photo by: Valentina Primo ©Startups Without Borders.
A lot of partners have supported Seedstars at making this event happen. The Main Partners of the Event are Central Bank of Iraq continue to position themselves as great believers in the impact of entrepreneurship. The Local Partners of the event are The Station and Social N’ Tech . Further support is provided by Careem, one of the regions most successful startups, as Entrepreneurship Partners.
“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 Baghdad, highlighting such a bustling entrepreneurship ecosystem and we are here to witness the reality”, says Mira Charkawi, Community Events Manager at Seedstars.
Main photo credit: Creative Commons license, CC BY-SA 4.0,
