Middle East Luxury Retailer Chalhoub Group Invites Applications For Its Retail Accelerator Referring to their initiative as "not a typical startup accelerator," Chalhoub Group notes in the official website that the "equity-free program will accelerate the implementation of the right solutions" at the heart of their own company.

MENA entrepreneurs, if you are working on a solution that has the potential to shake up the retail sector, this new challenge is sure to help you. Chalhoub Group, a Middle East luxury retailer, is looking for tech startups with ready to deploy products addressing a set of retail challenges through their new Greenhouse Accelerator.

Referring to their initiative as "not a typical startup accelerator," Chalhoub Group notes in the official website that the "equity-free program will accelerate the implementation of the right solutions" at the heart of their own company. Essentially, the ideas emerging out of the program stand a chance to carry out pilots and case studies with brands from Chalhoub Group, and get an opportunity to deploy their solutions at the MENA retail major.

In the process, the entrepreneurs / teams also get to work closely with and gain mentorship of retail and digital experts. Grégoire Charpe-Civatte, Head of Customer Experience and Marketing, Chalhoub, Rania Masri, Chief Transformation Officer, Chalhoub, and Dina Sidani, Head of Greenhouse Accelerator/ Innovation Lab, at Chalhoub Group are a few such mentors, who are set to be involved in the process.

"As a leading retailer of luxury in the Middle East, we've decided to transform. Our North Star vision is to become a hybrid retailer delivering luxury experiences to the fingertips of our customers everywhere," says Patrick Chalhoub, Co-CEO, Chalhoub Group, announcing the initiative on the website. "This is a unique opportunity for tech companies and startups from all over the world to implement and test their solution with the largest fashion group in the Middle East," he adds.

"We are looking to collaborate with you with the goal of being your customer or licensing your technology. We may also invest in you at later stages," reads the information on the equity-free accelerator program taking place from September to December 2018 in Dubai, UAE, and comes with a grant of US$20,000, and access to co-working space. Some of the retail challenges that the accelerator is looking to tackle relate to creating a personalized in-store experience, optimizing operations, omni-channel retail, and human capital allocation in the sector.

So, if you think your product meets the criteria, hurry and apply to Chalhoub Group's Greenhouse Retail Accelerator by July 10 here.

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