The third German-Saudi Startup Competition took place in Jeddah after a successful first round in Riyadh and second round in Bahrain.
The German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO) had called upon startups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to apply for the competition in May.
This time, the competition was aiming to find the best high-tech startups in the fields of IoT (Internet of Things) and health care.
The pitch event took place at the BMW showroom in Jeddah on July 9 with the participation of around 200 guests, local entrepreneurs, investors as well as speakers from the respective sectors.
GESALO organized the event in cooperation with the German Embassy in Riyadh, the German Consulate in Jeddah, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology as well as the chambers of commerce in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
The event was supported by companies such as Alexander & Partner, Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors, Detasad, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Lufthansa, SAP, and Siemens Healthineers. Speakers like Michell Atallah (CEO, Siemens Healthineers), Stratis Pelekidis (SAP DGTAL X) and Fabian Blumberg (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung) underlined the importance and accountability of companies and institutions to support startups and innovative ideas, especially in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Holger Ziegeler, German consul general, said: “Most of the big companies were once a startup.”
The jury and the audience followed the innovative pitches and ideas of 10 Saudi and Bahraini startups with great interest. Followed by their three-minute presentations, the startups had to face questions and convince the jury of their project.
It was a tight competition in the field of IoT. Mustafa Mousa won for his team at SADEEM International Company.
In the health care sector, Zahra Amohanna convinced the jury of her concept as CEO and founder of YouPositive.