GITEX Technology Week to shine spotlight on Arab and international innovation
GITEX Technology Week (16¬–20 October 2016) aims to shine a spotlight on Arab and international innovation and entrepreneurship through a weeklong showcase of global force, aiming to unite young innovators from around the world to share, learn, experience and build lasting partnerships. The GITEX Global Startup Movement will feature more than 400 startups from 60 countries and over 1,000 entrepreneurs. While the UAE will be represented with 85 startups, 79 per cent of startups will hail from the rest of the world.
Over 200 investors and influential tech investment executives from Silicon Valley, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including SoftBank Group International, 500 Startups, Accel Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners amongst others will arrive in Dubai to explore, discover, evaluate and potentially fund some of the most promising startups with a particular eye on regional talent. The illustrious funding ventures of these investors include global giants Facebook, Dropbox and Spotify among others.
Fourteen government-led startup delegations will attend the event, including the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and United States. Egypt, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, and Oman will bring startup delegations to the GCC for the first time.
In the dramatic GITEX ‘Strut-Up’ Pitch Competition, startups will go head-to-head to take home USD 160,000 in prize money across categories including Best GITEX Startup, Best Arab-Led Startup, the Best Women-Led Startup and the Best Youth Start Up.
Across its largest-ever space of over one million square feet, the organisers of GITEX expect over 100,000 visitors from 150 countries. Held under the theme ‘Re-Imagining Realities’, GITEX will host 4,000 exhibiting companies and showcase 230 speakers, provide visitors with 130 conference hours.
