Semi-finalists to be announced on December 27th

  • The StartSmart Conference and Awards ceremony will take place in King Salman International Convention Center in Al Madinah Al Munawara on February 23, 2022.
  • The total non-equity cash prize for this year’s competition will be $160K.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia December 12, 2021: MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab and MITEF Saudi Arabia announced that Al Madinah AlMunawarah Chamber would support the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition this year as a Business Alliance partner, organized by Community Jameel Saudi Arabia and Bab Rizq Jameel, under the patronage and supervision of the Governorate of Madinah Region.

On this occasion, Al Madinah AlMunawarah Chamber Secretary-General, Eng. Abdullah Ahmed Abualnasr, stated, “We were keen at Al Madinah AlMunawarah Chamber to support the MITEF Startup Competition in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world and to be the business partner of this year’s event. This partnership stems from the role the Chamber plays with regards to fostering business development and economic growth in the Madinah region, empowering entrepreneurs, supporting distinct ideas, attracting investors to Madinah, and developing the region business sectors in line with the Vision 2030 objectives that focus on turning Madinah to a digital, technological and innovative center”.

“This competition will contribute to building and nurturing the culture of entrepreneurship; create local and regional work opportunities. It is indeed a golden chance for gathering, networking, building relationships as well as getting training, mentoring, and funding”, Abualnasr added.

On December 27, 2021, 60 semifinalists (20 from each track) will be selected from the pool of applications to proceed to the next steps. These teams will have the opportunity to attend the final event in Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia, during which this year’s Startup Investment Forum (SIF) will also take place. Three lucky winners will be selected from each track, and their names announced during the Final Awards Ceremony taking place in king Salman International Convention Center in Al Madinah Al Munawara on February 23, 2022.

A total of nine (9) winners across the different tracks will receive cash prizes as follows: The first prize for the winners of both Startup and Social Entrepreneurship tracks will be 50K for each team. 

The first prize for the winners of the Ideas track will be 15K. The prize for the first runner-up of each track will be 10k, and the prize for the second runner-up of each track will be 5K. 

For more information on the MITEF Startup Competition 2021-2022 application submissions process, eligibility, and judging criteria, please visit the competition website.

Stay tuned for more news and developments on social media:

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Notes to editors about MITEF Saudi Arabia:

MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Saudi Arabia is part of a global network of chapters dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. MITEF informs, connects, and coaches Saudi entrepreneurs—enabling them to rapidly transform ideas into world-changing companies.

Founded in 2015 with the goal of promoting and enriching the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, MITEF aims to celebrate and support all potential startups and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom through Startups and Ideas Competition.

The MITEF Saudi startup competition has three tracks: Startups Track, Social Track and Ideas Track. The competition offers over SAR 325,000 cash prize, in addition to workshops and training and guidance sessions supervised by specialists and experts in all economic and social sectors. The finalists will have the opportunity to participate in StartSmart, one of the MIT Global Forum’s programs which is organized before the announcement of the winners and attended by specialists from MIT University, USA. The aim of the program is to encourage, motivate and guide entrepreneurs to achieve success at the level of the three tracks: ideas, social enterprises and business enterprises through workshops and enrichment programs directly related to technology and creativity.  

About MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab:

MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab is part of a global network of chapters dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. We inform, connect, and coach early-stage technology entrepreneurs—enabling them to rapidly transform ideas into world-changing companies. Founded in 2005 with the goal of promoting and enriching the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Arab World, we aim to celebrate and support all potential startups and entrepreneurs in the Pan Arab Region through our programs.

For more information, please contact: 

Abir Ben Bechir

Email: abir@communityjameelsaudi.org