DSOA Launches ‘The Entrepreneur Day' Competition

•    Two winners for ‘Best Business Venture’ and ‘Best Islamic Economy Venture’ to be awarded
•    Overall Winner will win a trip to travel to Silicon Valley’s PITME Labs
•    Cash prize for the ‘Best Islamic Economy Venture’

Dubai-UAE: 08 October 2014 – Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, has launched ‘The Entrepreneur Day Business Plan Competition’. The competition will offer start-ups in the UAE the chance to win incubation support and a trip to San Jose, California USA to be part of Silicon Valley based acceleration program for Middle Eastern entrepreneurs - Progress in Technology Middle East (PITME) Labs. 

Organized by Silicon Oasis Founders (SOF), a technology incubation center wholly owned by DSOA, the competition aims to support entrepreneurs and start-ups that are focused on technology products or solutions. In line with its support to Dubai's ‘Capital of the Islamic Economy’ initiative, the competition will have a special award for businesses that focus on digital and online Arabic content domains. To participate in the competition, entrepreneurs are required to submit a prototype product or a detailed business plan.

In the first round, 10 shortlisted start-ups will pitch their business plans to a group of national and international angel investors and venture capitalists. At the end of the evaluation, two winners will be awarded in two categories mainly ‘Best Business Venture’ and ‘Best Islamic Economy Venture’. These winners will be announced at ‘The Entrepreneur Day’ event, scheduled for November 16th, 2014 at Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai.

The winners will be provided with funding, incubation support, and a business license from DSOA. An overall winner will additionally receive three weeks of hands-on training at the PITME Labs, Silicon Valley on aspects such as product development, marketing, company modelling and customer acquisition strategies. 

The winning start-ups will be allocated office space at the DSO-based Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Centre (DTEC), which has been designed specifically to support entrepreneurs and young talents.

Commenting on this competition, Shahla Ahmed Abdul Razak, Deputy CEO at DSOA, said: “This competition is in line with our commitment to provide a growth platform for entrepreneurs to achieve their long term goals as well as build a technology-centric smart ecosystem for the community. Winners will have the unique opportunity to be part of DTEC that is shaping up as the largest technology based entrepreneurship center in the MENA region within the integrated hi-tech park. 

“This initiative will empower entrepreneurs with the expertise they need to succeed in today’s dynamic technology domain. We are working towards creating an enabling environment similar to that available in Silicon Valley where entrepreneurs get recognized for their innovations as well as unique business models,” Abdul Razak added.

PITME™ Labs is a 3 week acceleration program for Middle Eastern startups in Silicon Valley. Teams will receive expert training in different aspects of their business, including product development, user experience (UX)/ User Interface (UI) design, marketing, business modeling, customer acquisition strategies, funding, and much more. Each day a minimum of three mentors will engage with participants to guide them through their entrepreneurial journey of increasing revenue, growing their companies, raising money and better managing long-term partnerships.

Further details on the competition are available at: www.f6s.com/dsoated 

A wholly-owned entity of the government of Dubai, DSO operates as a free zone technology park for large and medium enterprises, and small companies looking to set up their offices in Dubai.