Seedstars World is an exclusive worldwide startup competition traveling to over 30 cities in 2014 and taking place in Beirut on November 20-21.
The competition aims at finding the best young entrepreneurs in emerging and fast-growing startup scenes such as Lebanon. The pitching event is exclusively sponsored by Banque du Liban and hosted by Lebanon’s first international startup conference, Banque du Liban Accelerate 2014. The bank has been supporting startups in Lebanon for the past couple of years, providing them with a boost and turning Beirut into a strategic hub for them.
Up to 50 startups will be selected to participate in the competition. Each one will have an exhibition stand at the conference, and will conduct a 1 Minute Lightning Round Pitch on the main stage on November 20. The top 10 startups will then enter the Finalists Round on November 21, from which the winner will be selected.
The winning startup will be crowned “Seedstars Beirut Regional Winner“ and flown to Geneva, Switzerland for a 3-day boot camp and the Seedstars Final Event. They will represent Lebanon and compete for the prestigious title of “Seedstars World Best Startup”, which will grant them a $500,000 investment as well as the opportunity to pitch in front of a wide panel of European investors. Last year’s winner was able to raise $6M thanks to this final pitch.The winner will also receive $20,000 worth of hosting services from Softlayer and $60,000 worth of prizes from our global partners. The 2nd and 3rd runners-up will get $50,000 worth of prizes.
The 50 competing startups will receive regional media coverage and have the opportunity to meet with potential partners and peers. The startups can come from any field but have to be for-profit and prepared to pitch in public, in English. The company must have been founded less than 2 years prior to the competition, and have a maximum funding of $500,000. If your startup fits the criteria, you have until November 14th to apply; Seedstars World will inform you if you have been selected 5 days before the event.
Seedstars World is after the next big thing and is willing to push it as far as it can through training and pitching opportunities. This is a rare opening that can change the future of your startup.
