The most popular global startup competition is back in Sharjah!
Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event that brings together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains to build their business ideas and compete to win AED 25000, 15000, and 5000 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place*
This event is open for both individuals with and without business ideas:
- If you have a business idea, you can participate by pitching your idea and forming your team on the first day of the event (Individuals who have started building their prototype prior to the event will be automatically disqualified from the competition).
- If you do not have a business idea, but you are a passionate individual who can make ideas happen, you will have the chance to join others’ teams during the event.
Agenda:
- Day 1 (Thursday Sep 27): Participants will pitch their business ideas on the first day. Judges and voting will decide the top 10-15 qualifying idea makers to stay throughout the weekend and participate in the competition. By Thursday end, individuals with qualifying idea will form teams by networking with and including other attendees.
- Day 2 (Friday Sep 28): Qualified teams from first day will work on business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation with support of mentors and experts.
- Day 3 (Saturday Sep 29): Teams will continue working to get ready for the final pitch by 5 pm in front of a panel of judges who will decide the top 3 winning teams.
Prizes:
First Place Prize: 25,000 AED
Second Place Prize: 15,000 AED
Third Place Prize: 5,000 AED
(In addition, all top 3 places will be incubated in the Sheraa Pre-Seed program to build their startups).
*The award money will not be handed over in cash upon winning. Instead, it can only be redeemed in installments with every progress milestone met during incubation of the startup team in the Sheraa Pre-Seed (Build) program.
