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Save The Date: ArabNet Heads to Kuwait This October Recognizing the need to support Kuwait's entrepreneurship ecosystem through a transformative phase, ArabNet heads to Kuwait for the first time for ArabNet Kuwait 2016, on October 4-5, 2016.

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ArabNet
A scene from ArabNet Riyadh in 2014.

In a survey of global economies best placed to welcome the digital world (referred to as "The Fourth Industrial Revolution"), the World Economic Forum categorizes Kuwait as one of the nations that has made "significant improvements," rising 11 places over last year's ranking. Further, e-commerce acceptance is also growing in Kuwait, with PayFort's State of Payments 2016 revealing a 15% growth in the market valued at $1.26 billion. Recognizing the need to support Kuwait's entrepreneurship ecosystem through this transformative phase, ArabNet heads to Kuwait for the first time for ArabNet Kuwait 2016, on October 4-5, 2016. The two-day conference brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and other ecosystem partners to discuss opportunities and trends in emerging business areas such as e-commerce, online payments, digital banking, social media, and others.

On the agenda are workshops and discussions on topics related to entrepreneurship, running in parallel tracks. ArabNet Kuwait also hosts ArabNet TechFair, an exhibition that brings together 20+ regional and global companies to showcase their products and explore business opportunities with over 500 delegates. Not just that: if you are an entrepreneur developing a web or mobile- based idea, or a startup founded less than two years ago, ArabNet Kuwait is looking for you. While ArabNet's Ideathon competition will help entrepreneurs turn ideas into business, the Startup Demo challenge offers startups a chance to pitch their business to investors. The selected finalists of both events get to pitch their ideas/business to investors, and others at the conference.

Kuwait entrepreneurship ecosystem - infographic. Image credit: ArabNet.

Sponsored by media agency OMD, Talabat.com, and others, ArabNet Kuwait features insights from speakers including Abdulla Elyas, co-founder and MD, Careem, Dany Farha, co-founder and CEO, BECO Capital, and Ihsan Jawad, Managing Partner, Middle East Venture Partners, to name a few. The jury for the startup competitions comprises Ramez Mohamed, CEO, Flat6Labs, Fares Ghandour, Partner, Wamda Capital, and other investors. To know more and/or apply for Ideathon, click here, and startups looking to compete in the Startup Demo challenge can register here.

Related: Advocating Agility: H.E. Sheikha Al-Zain Sabah Al-Naser Al-Sabah Won't Let Kuwait's Entrepreneurs Go It Alone

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