Local telecom giant Dhiraagu and management consultancy firm Sparkhub on Wednesday announced the first ever local edition of the Online Seedstars World (SSW) Competition, the world’s largest contest for innovative entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
Based in Switzerland, Seedstars is a global organisation with activities in key emerging markets, impacting people's lives through entrepreneurship and technology.
The Online Seedstars World Competition 2020/21 - Maldives edition, which will be held exclusively online, is open for all interested tech-based startups, ventures and/or early-stage companies that meet the critera:
- Must have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Initial traction with their users
- Ongoing operations based in the country/city of application
- Must have no previous investments larger than USD 1 million
The winner of SSW - Maldives will receive global mentoring opportunities, join ten startups selected by Seedstars for a USD 50,000 growth programme investment, and compete the Global Winner investment prize of up to USD 500,000.
“We hope that the promising tech startups from Maldives do not miss this wonderful opportunity to represent the country in this global competition, get international exposure and access to valuable opportunities. Dhiraagu has been focusing in supporting startup programmes to help foster the local startup culture and innovation", said Athifa Ali, the Director Corporate Services at Dhiraagu, regarding the competition.
“Sparkhub has worked on bringing the world best brands relating to Startup development to Maldives and with Seedstars, we are finally able to bring something which the established Startups of Maldives could reap benefits from and penetrate into a global market through mentorship and investment opportunities”, added Hussain Jinan, co-founder and CEO of Sparkhub.
Seedstars invites promising startups in emerging markets to join its global community every year, accelerating the rising ventures through their programmes and investments. With local competitions organised in 94 cities, Seedstars has opened the applications for startups until August 15, 2020.
Over 1,800 startups will be trained through the Online Seedstars Academy, with one local startup winner per city selected for the Regional stage competition. The startups selected for each region will compete at the Grand Finale slated for April 2021.
“As the open-call for the Seedstars World Competition has now launched, we could not be prouder to support a community that is eager and capable of taking concrete and constructive steps. By remaining independent while always standing in solidarity, we aim to go beyond physical interactions in order to create impact on broader society", said Pierre-Alain Masson, the Co-Founder of Seedstars.
Interested local startups may apply for the Online Seedstars World Competition 2020/21 Maldives at: https://www.seedstarsworld.com/event/seedstars-city-2020/
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