The world’s largest competition for entrepreneurs is kicking off in its third edition on December 15. The Startup Roadshow-Wired will bring together 4,000 entrepreneurs in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq, with the ambitious aim of “leaving no entrepreneur behind” during the global pandemic.
Organized by Jusoor and SPARK, with the contribution of The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), Jordanian entrepreneurs will be admitted to new open-access online entrepreneurship trainings and will get the chance to meet and work with Turkish, Jordanian, and Iraqi and Syrian entrepreneurs.
The 50 entrepreneurs (Startups and SMEs) will then compete to pitch at the final Roadshow Demo Day, where they will battle it out for cash prizes of $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third place winners.
“We knew we had to keep innovating during COVID-19 to ensure entrepreneurship in the region remains supported – the stakes are too high not to. We are so pleased to be working with Jusoor again this year in supporting refugee and host country businesses through these incredibly challenging times. Special thanks for our partners the Qatar Fund for Development, who believed in and supported The Startup Roadshow-Wired 2020,” said Yannick du Pont, Founder and Director of SPARK.
The winners of The Startup Roadshow-Wired will also get the chance to showcase their businesses during the 2021 SPARK Ignite annual conference.
Entrepreneurs with business ideas from any of the 4 host countries can register for the entrepreneurship bootcamp in December 2020.
The Startup Roadshow-Wired was first launched in 2018. Given the pandemic, this year’s competition has been reinvented to provide trainees with access to virtual training and mentorship. The roadshow will also offer new online Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, which will be available to thousands of entrepreneurs in the MENA region.
“Looking at the data from the last few years, we knew we had to offer a new track for SMEs this year, especially given how hard Syrian-led small businesses have been hit by the pandemic. We are also so excited to expand our model to reach thousands of new entrepreneurs this year through the exciting open access online training in Arabic – a first of its kind in the MENA region,” said Dania Ismail, Board Member and Director of Jusoor’s Entrepreneurship Program.
