Entrepreneurship World Cup Welcomes Applications From MENA Entrepreneurs For A Chance To Win A Share Of US$1 Million EWC is accepting applications from entrepreneurs in UAE, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
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MENA "treps, it's time to represent the region at the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC)! Accepting applications from around the world, the second edition of the global pitch competition for startups is offering entrepreneurs a chance to pitch on a global stage for a share of US$1 million in cash prizes, investment opportunities, as well as $75 million of in-kind support. With an aim to go beyond the 102,000 contestants from 187 countries who participated in its first year, the EWC will be held on a digital platform to make it more accessible, diverse, and inclusive, given how physical events around the world have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year's edition of the EWC is open to entrepreneurs with startups from all stages, and it seeks to provides applicants with tools and resources to grow their respective ventures. This year, the competition offers EWC Accelerates, a virtual training and mentorship program to help entrepreneurs hone their skills and increase their chances of winning national competitions and advance to the global finals. With the platform, participants will access an exclusive content library for their entrepreneurial journey, such as pitching and deck creation, customer feedback and product development, and team building and company culture.
There's other perks too: applicants can access online resources available provided by partners such as Google Cloud, Hubspot, Stripe, and more, which, according to a release, has an estimated non-cash value of $25,000. The second edition of the competition also includes a new social entrepreneurship category, as well as a new standalone prize for categories such as "Best Idea" or "Best Growth."
Source: EWC
The competition is hosted by the Misk Global Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Network, and The Global Education & Leadership Foundation. Building from the success of last year has been important to the team behind EWC. Abdulrahman Al-Suhaymi, Misk's EWC lead, said, "Bigger and better has been our simple mantra, but in the current circumstances, we have now added different."
"The virtual platform that we're developing means that the EWC 2020 will be more accessible, more diverse, and more inclusive than ever before, as we target 200,000 startups taking part," he added. "Whatever the coronavirus throws at us, our ambition remains undimmed. Because at Misk, we believe that young people are not a problem to be solved, but the world's greatest problem solvers and now, more than ever, we need to empower their entrepreneurial spirit. "
The deadline for applications is August 2, 2020, with the competition being open to entrepreneurs located in the UAE, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. The business must be either based in the country or intend to be registered in the country (if it's in idea stage). With up to 25 virtual competitions to be held over the summer, the Global Finals will be held at the Misk Global Forum in October 2020.
