After the success of the NAMA II startup competition organised in 2020, as part of the Economic Resilience through the COVID-19 programme funded by the Qatar Fund for Development, SPARK has partnered with BINA Business Incubator again to create jobs through a Business Startup Incubation opportunity for Syrian Refugees in Turkey.
The NAMA III competition, which was launched in 2021, has now awarded 25 startups with $25k in seed funding to help kickstart their companies.
The first phase of the competition saw the recruitment of 25 mentors, who would guide the entrepreneurs through coaching and mentorship. Then, 80 new startup phase entrepreneurs joined the training programme and received multiple courses including business plans and skills development training, team leadership, pitching skills, HR training and idea development training, as well as a certificate from the Institute of Leadership and Management.
“During the competition cycles, I had the pleasure to meet Syrian entrepreneurs who proved that they are capable and willing to change. They are all ambitious to be independent and productive,” said Rasheed Khankan, Founder of Developed Technologies and one of the startups supported by NAMA III competition.
Upon completing the courses, a jury committee selected 60 businesses to join the bootcamp. During the bootcamp, the participants received 120 hours of entrepreneurship training based on BINA’s curriculum for entrepreneurship. The teams showcased their projects to the judges, and 25 exciting new startups have now received $25k in seed funding to help kickstart their companies.
“The value of NIMA III is not limited to the financial grant, but to the unexpected benefit of coaching and mentoring. Coaches helped me to change misunderstood ideas and concepts related to entrepreneurship,” commented Rajaa Blkassem, Founder of Goodmoms and one of the winners.
These 25 exciting entrepreneurs will now proceed to the next phase of the competition, where they’ll be incubated by BINA Business Incubator and to accelerate their startups until July 2022.
