Arabnet Arabnet

The Misk Foundation is launching a Growth Accelerator for MENA tech startups in partnership with Seedstars and Vision Ventures. The Growth Accelerator, targeted at startups with product/market fit that are looking to scale, will take place from September to December 2019. With three on-site bootcamps and a demo-day in Riyadh, the hybrid (virtual/on-site) program permits startups to stay close to their customers while benefiting from constant coaching from in-house and external growth experts.

Seedstars, the preeminent emerging market startup community and investor and Vision VC, a renowned venture capital firm investing across MENA, will co-invest $100,000 in the participating startups and consider follow-on investments of up to $1 million. Kais Al-Essa, Founding Partner and CEO of Vision Ventures said, “Being entrepreneurs ourselves, we know how Founders suffer in their journey towards success. Our role is to try to add lighting and directions to the roads ahead of them. The co-investment model in this program gives startups two great institutions on their capitalization table, access to the strong local/regional network, and knowledge of Vision Ventures, in addition to the global Seedstars platform.”

The focus of the Growth Program is on helping startups with product/market fit to implement a process to deliver consistent high growth. “Startups often have a misconception that growth comes from hacks, while in fact it’s a process. Growth is a culture, a mindset and a methodology that needs to be implemented and that’s the main goal of the program, ” remarked Charlie Graham-Brown, CIO of Seedstars. The program participants will also receive coaching on other key topics such as talent management, leadership and fundraising strategy.
Applications to the program are now open and will be accepted until the 21st July. To enroll in the program, startups should meet the following criteria:

● Tech startups from any sector in the MENA Region
● Raised funds between $250,000 and $1,000,000
● Have over $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue
● Have product/market fit

The Growth Accelerator aims to build on the essential work of startup ecosystem enablers across the MENA region, who have developed a healthy startup community and early stage dealflow. “Misk Innovation has been supporting early-stage startups through various initiatives such as events, bootcamps and acceleration programs. We now see a need to help startups make the jump to become ready for Series A round. We believe that the combined program of investment and the know-how can make a real difference,” commented Osama Alraee, Entrepreneurship Growth Director at Misk Foundation. He added, “this is all part of how we support Misk’s wider mission of empowering youth to become the architects, not tenants, of the future economy, by unleashing their huge entrepreneurial potential.”