A call out to all the techies, graphic designers, and Bahrainis with business and innovative minds – mark your calendars off on November 15th because Techstars’ Startup Weekend is coming back to Bahrain for the 7th time, and you don’t want to miss it out.
In case you’re wondering what exactly is Startup Weekend – it’s a global 54 hours event launched by Techstars, a worldwide network which supports and empowers entrepreneurs through their various programs, including Startup Digest, Startup Week, and Startup Weekend. Still, need that extra push? Here’s something really cool: Big successful startups such as Uber, Easy Taxi, Classpass and a lot more actually graduated from Techstars’ accelerator program.
This year, Startup Weekend will be held at Bahrain FinTech Bay, under Tamkeen’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) from November 15th until November 17th at Bahrain FinTech Bay. Get your early bird tickets now!
But what’s new this year at Startup Weekend, and why should you be as psyched as we are for this event? Here’s the gist:
- It’s going to be held in Bahrain FinTech Bay. The home of some of the innovative FinTech startups in Bahrain such as Adsertor, Azolla, and a lot more. This is where all the magic happens, and you will get the unique chance of experiencing it all. Also, there will be a lovely view of Bahrain Bay, and Bahrain’s skyline that’s for sure going to churn up your creativity and productivity.
- GDG Manama workshops to prepare you to slay during Startup Weekend. Bahrain FinTech Bay has partnered up with GDG Manama to host 10 informative workshops to prepare you for Startup Weekend. The workshops are for free and are going to cover a number of topics ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Digital Marketing, State of Data Science and the list goes on. You can register for them here.
- An awesome line-up of coaches and mentors. When building a product or a solution, you’ll need an expert’s opinion to guide you through it all, and Startup Weekend comes prepared. After forming your teams, mentors will show up the next day to give you some tips and hacks on perfecting your product or solution. These mentors include Fawaz Shakralla, Head of IT at BIPD, Ameen Al Tajer, Managing Director of INFINITEWARE, Nadia Muijrers, Founder of Alphard Consulting, Moyez Kassam, Managing Director at Growth Alliance, Nada Darwish, Curator of the Manama Hub of the Global Shapers Community, Ali Abdulla, Head of Marketing & Conferences at Bahrain FinTech Bay, and Mohammed Abdulaal, CEO of All Food for Food Stuff.
- The prizes are to die for. Flat6labs are offering the first place winner an entry into their bootcamp which could qualify them for their 3rd cycle accelerator program. Not only that, but the 3 winners will also receive co-working spaces at Tenmou. And all you have to do is work within a team, build something, and go up on stage to impress. The best (or worst) part of competitions is the adrenaline rush you feel before the announcement of the winners, isn’t it?
- Cool bean bags to work on, courtesy of Al Doshag. Nothing screams startup culture more than Noora Bucheeri’s bean bags. If you get bored at your desk, you can just chill on the comfy bean bags to revive some of that creativity and innovation.
Of course, there is so much more than you’ll get to experience during Startup Weekend. Here’s what last year’s winner Mohammed Jafar says about Startup Weekend:
“If I would say anything, I would say it was worth it. Memorable moments, masterminds and meetings.”
And if you’re still curious about what’s it like to participate in Startup Weekend, you can read all about what to expect here.
This year Startup Weekend is held in Strategic Partnership with Tamkeen, with StartUp Bahrain being the Gold Sponsor, and with Flat6Labs Bahrain, Tenmou, and GDG Manama as supporting Partners, and Al Doshag as the creative partner. For more information about this year’s Startup Weekend, read here.
What are you waiting for? Get your tickets now! Would you rather be a couch potato and Netflix while sipping on karak, or actually spend your weekend doing something meaningful and creative? We’ll leave that decision to you.
Make sure you follow Startup MGZN on Instagram for the full live coverage of Startup Weekend.