Google announced the list of startups for the second cohort of ‘Google for Startups Accelerator Middle East and North Africa’, a three-month digital accelerator program for Seed to Series A technology startups based in the region. The twelve technology startups come from six Arab countries across automotive, agriculture, fitness, fintech, real-estate, e-commerce and entertainment.

The startups, five of which are women-led business, were selected based on criteria like the problem they are trying to solve and how it creates value for users, in addition to their willingness to use Machine Learning technology to solve business challenges and successfully scale in the long run.

The accelerator program will run virtually starting this week till the end of September. Selected startups will receive mentorship in Machine Learning, Cloud, digital marketing, product design / UX, customer acquisition, and leadership development, and will be connected with VCs. Additionally, Google will offer workshops on ‘Design Thinking’ to all startups that have applied for the second cohort.

‘Google for Startups Accelerator Middle East and North Africa’ was announced last year as part of ‘Grow Stronger with Google’, a program to accelerate the MENA region’s economic recovery by offering digital tools, training and financial grants to support local businesses and job seekers. The first cohort included 10 top startups from six Arab countries: Abwaab (Jordan), Carers (Jordan), Chefaa (Egypt), DABCHY (Tunisia), Designhubz (UAE), Lamsa (UAE), Lendo (Saudi Arabia), Nafas Meditation App (Oman), Viavii (Jordan) and 360VUZ (UAE).