- Continuing strong commitment to diversity - the Accelerator will host founding teams representing 13 countries
- The Accelerator can be found at AREA 2071 - Dubai’s experimentation space for governments, multinationals, and startups to design and implement global solutions with human-scale impact
Dubai: Techstars Dubai Accelerator in Partnership with GINCO continues its momentum as the most prestigious accelerator program in MENA with the announcement of its second class of companies arriving in Dubai from around the world.
Techstars Dubai in Partnership with GINCO is welcoming their second class off the back of a very successful inaugural program. Demo Day 2018 from year one was widely attended by over 400 attendees including VIP guests such as the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, His Excellency, Omar Sultan Al Olama and the CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, His Excellency, Khalfan Belhoul.
It is worth noting that over a third of companies participating in the program across both classes were founded in or have moved to Dubai and all have done business development in the emirate. Additionally, the companies have collectively raised millions of dollars in venture funding and have been recognized by press around the world as innovators in their respective industries.
“Year one was a great success for Techstars Dubai,” said David Brown, founder and co-CEO at Techstars. “We are excited to continue to expand Techstars’ presence in Dubai, empower more entrepreneurs on their road to success, and further contribute to the UAE Centennial 2071 initiatives through these efforts.”
In their second year, Techstars and GINCO Investments, the investment arm of GINCO Group, will be hosted in the brand new AREA 2071. Area 2071 is a government and private sector experimentation space launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai located in the heart of Dubai government in the prestigious Emirates Towers.
“Part of our mandate to become a global hub for talent, AREA 2071’s partnership with Techstars and GINCO Investments is seen as a testament to our vision to co-design the future for Dubai”, said Abdulaziz Khalid Al Jaziri, Deputy CEO at Dubai Future Foundation,
He further added, “We are proud to host second cohort of Techstars MENA at AREA 2071 for the second year in a row and look forward to welcoming the 10 selected global companies to our space”.
Alongside a global network of support, each startup will be eligible to receive $120,000 as an initial investment along with the lifelong support of Techstars and the Gheyath family. Additionally, the companies will be eligible for over $2 million in perks provided by partners such as Amazon Web Services, SendGrid, Dentons, and others. The companies will join a family of over 1600 Techstars companies who have collectively exceeded $17 Billion in market capitalization.
“After an extensive worldwide recruitment process and a record number of applicants, 10 global companies were diligently chosen to participate in the program for 2019. All 10 selected startups will go through an intensive 13-week acceleration process centered around mentorship, curated workshops and supported by the Techstars ‘power of the network’”, said Vijay Tirathrai, Managing Director of Techstars Dubai
Techstars Dubai will culminate in a Demo Day on April 17th where all program participants will have an opportunity to pitch government officials, investors, startup enthusiasts, and domain experts with the goal of securing strategic partnerships and investment.
“We are excited to welcome the second class of entrepreneurs who chose our program and Dubai to build their business,” said Gheyath Mohammed Gheyath, chairman of the GINCO Group of Companies. “We are particularly proud to be the first global accelerator to welcome an Emirati-led company into our program”.
We’re pleased to share our second class with you and invite you to join Techstars, GINCO Investments, and AREA 2071 in welcoming them to Dubai:
- Buglance is a crowd testing platform for testing mobile apps, games and mobile sites led by a UAE based Azeri team.
- Clara is a legal operating system that digitizes and automates startup legal expertise led by a UAE based Canadian team.
- Element 16 has developed a new thermal battery, which is similar to a conventional battery but stores high-temperature heat instead of electricity led by a California based team.
- LuggAgent is a same day luggage delivery to/from airport and hotels in over 70 top tourism cities founded by a Taiwanese team based in Hong Kong.
- Nestrom is a software company specialized in technologies for field service management led by a Jordanian team.
- Ottogee is the world’s smartest IoT-enabled solution for labor-intensive industries led by a Texas-based Lebanese-American team.
- Three Wheels United uses innovative technology and finance to enable sustainable last mile transportation based out of India and led by a Cameroonian CEO.
- VeePlay is the most advanced player for in-app video monetization led by a German team.
- Vivoo is the first personal wellness assistant in the world that takes real data from your body and gives personalized nutrition and wellness advice to you, based on your urine sample analysis led by a Turkish CEO.
- Yacob empowers and inspires children to lead a healthier, more active life led by an Emirati founder.
The teams at Techstars, GINCO Investments, and Area 2071 cordially invite interested parties to visit the accelerator in AREA 2071 at Emirates Towers!
About GINCO Group
GINCO is a company of engineers founded in 1975 by Mr. Gheyath Mohammad Gheyath. Operating out of 5 branches across the Middle East, the GINCO Group of Companies employs over 4000 staff representing 13 nationalities. GINCO is a full service general contracting firm, covering the full lifecycle of the construction process from concept to execution and supervision. GINCO works with the best-known brands in the Middle East, including Dubai Municipality, Emaar, Dubai Properties, WASL, and Nakheel, among others. GINCO Group launched GINCO Investments to focus on supporting and nurturing the local SME community and empowering entrepreneurs with global ambitions. www.ginco.investments
About Techstars
Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Techstars founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates three divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs and Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships. Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs help founders do more faster and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships helps brands supercharge growth by accelerating innovation and cultural transformation. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,600 companies with a market cap of $17 Billion. www.techstars.com
About AREA 2071
The UAE Centennial Plan aims to make the UAE the world’s leading nation by 2071. AREA 2071 is a physical manifestation of this vision with the sole purpose of creating a positive global impact. It’s a space and ecosystem purposefully designed to deeply connect corporates, governments, startups, investors, the youth, and the public in order to co-create the future. It brings together many different types of people and organizations. Together they form a collaborative creative community focused on solving important human challenges at scale. AREA 2071 is designed to help these people thrive – both the next generation of Emirati innovators and the best talent from across the world. In 2018, AREA 2071 launched the first phase of its state-of-the-art facility in the iconic Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE. www.area2071.ae
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