STAGE A
Hybrid – Lebanese VCs
After lunch break, Stage A kicked of with a hybrid discussion on Lebanese VCs. The speakers included the Managing Partner of Leap VC, Henri Asseily, Waleed Mansour the Managing Partner at Middle East Venture Partners, and Paul Chucrallah Berytech Fund 2 Fund Manager. Marvin Liao, partner at 500 Startups moderated the panel. The 3 VCs introduced their companies, listed the kind of companies they are interested in, and what they look for/expect.
Announcement – Berytech
Chairman of Berytech, Maroun Chammas made an announcement of new investments as follows: $4mil in Instabeat, $2.5mil to Loop, $900k in Slighter, $1.5mil ElementN/Scriptr, $2mil in CCC, & $2 mill in Mobinet.
Hybrid – Hardware innovation in Lebanon
The speakers included Jamil Corbani the CEO of Green Studios,the CEO of Multilane Fadi Daou, Ziad Yasmine at YLE and was moderated by Aziza Sheerin.
Hybrid – Building Communities
The speakers included Aziza Sheerin, City Director at General Assemb.ly , Co-Founder & Co-CEO of HUBBA Thailand Amarit Charoenphan, Head of Advertisement & Monetization Rishita Bachu, Mario Berta the Founder & CEO of FlySpaces. The session was moderated by Paul Papadimitriou.
Keynote -Investing in Emerging Markets
Partner at 500 Startups Marvin Liao provided some insights on how emerging markets grow, how being a small country could be an advantage since you’re obliged to think on expanding regionally/globally from the start. He gave examples of other small markets where ecosystems grew exponentially by being driven by an exit. Marvin also emphasized on the importance of an emerging ecosystem to have to think about how to grow the pie TOGETHER.
STAGE B
Idea stage startup competition finalists:
Bingo: an app that rewards recycling with online currency that can be used for online shopping.
Medsuite: an online platform that connects patients to doctors without the hassle of going to the clinic then pharmacy then laboratory.
Game Mrabba: an online platform that connects game developers with resources they need.
Early Stage Startup competition finalists:
Concepts: Smarter Sketching: an accurate creative design app
Reable: a financial solution for people with cognitive challenges
Altitude: an air quality monitoring device
Krimston: a dual SIM and hotspot add-on to your phone
ChefXChange: an online platform that connects foodies to professional chefs to book a personal chef experience.
Hackathon
Web and mobile Hackathon ideas:
How to better deal with traffic jams through technology?
How to better choose your career?
How to provide access to e-commerce for local retailers?
How to connect handymen with the marketplace and provide job opportunities?
How to create emotional information for better user understanding in every day services?
How to clean up Lebanon through technology?
Wearables hackathon:
mytrainer wearable device that gives you a personalized workout plan and monitors your exercise routine.
Wearable device that acts as a game controller based on the arms’ direction.
Wearable bracelets that allows parents to monitor their children from a distance based on their heart rates.
Wearable glove for tennis players that allows them to monitor their game performance and evaluate their progress.
Wearable motorbike helmet that alerts emergency based on a sensor in case of an accident.
Workshops:
Tools for business planning workshop just started in the Innovation workshop space with Andra Larin.
Data driven decision workshop with Imad Riachi in the Innovation workshop space.
Startup & VC fundraising workshop in the Investment workshop space.
Anti dilution clauses workshop started in the Investment workshop space with Lawyer Rita Khoriaty.
That’s a wrap! See you tomorrow!
