Teams from Berytech, Berytech Fund I, Berytech Fund II, and IM Capital took part in Arabnet Beirut 2018 and were available at the Berytech booth to answer questions around startups and entrepreneurship, funding and valuation, incubation and acceleration, trainings and coaching programs, as well as access and subscriptions to the Berytech FabLab and the Agrytech Accelerator Program, dedicated to innovations in the Agri-Food sector.
The three-day conference had several ongoing tracks focusing on Digital Transformation, Media and Advertising, Banking, Innovation and Investment and dedicated an entire day of workshops to entrepreneurs.
Berytech had the pleasure of hosting H.E. Mr. Saad Hariri, President of the Council of Ministers at the booth, who inquired about the startup journey.
The Innovation Avenue Competition
Two teams enrolled in the Agrytech Accelerator Program competed in “The Innovation Avenue”, one of four competitions that took place at the conference. MekaPrep, co-founded by Abed Jawhar, is a startup that is building a dispensing machine that makes fresh-baked manoushe; and LifeLab Biodesign, a startup co-founded by Ali Makhzoum, is the world’s smallest turnkey vertical hydroponic modules.
MekaPrep was featured in the live feed of the conference by Annahar : “MekaPrep is a FoodTech startup that developed a vending machine that can make, bake and customized Lebanese Mankoushis in 90 seconds. The startup aims to deploy their self-cooking vending machines in different universities across Lebanon, co-working spaces, and other business and real estate centers. Meka Prep plans to expand its market regionally in countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and internationally in countries such as the Netherlands, Canada and the US. “We all love Lebanese mankoushis, and this is best way to get it in the most hygienic, fastest, cheapest way,” Abdel ElKader Jawhar told Annahar. Jawhar added that due to the cooking procedure being mechanized, it reduces the startups cost in terms of work force, “which allows to use quality and organic ingredients that everyone can enjoy.”
The Ideathon and Startup Battle
Members of the Berytech Community also took part in the Arabnet competitions. Find A Nurse, a startup that allows families to find qualified home care professionals quickly and affordably, pitched for the Startup Battle Competition. Yalla Bus, winner of the Femme Francophone Entrepreneur competition pitched for the Ideathon and won the People’s Choice Award. The platform offers reliable direction to find a bus in Lebanon.
Judging and Moderating
Berytech’s Deputy GM Ramy Boujawdeh was part of the jury in the Startup Battle Competition and also moderated a panel titled ‘On-Demand Services Reshaping F&B‘. The panel discussed the digital shift that the service industry is dealing with. It focused on the incorporation of digital in the customer experience. Read full article here.
IM Capital on Angel Investing and Early Stage Support Networks
Dr. Nicolas Rouhana, General Manager of IM Capital spoke during the Innovation and Investment Forum in a panel titled ‘Angel Investing and Early Stage Support Networks‘ joined by Khaled Ismail – Chairman of HIMangel and Maan Eshgi, Partner at VentureSouq KSA, moderated by Malek Hammoud, Group Executive Director Strategy & Business Development of Zain. While Investment Manager Corine Kiame was also participating in the the Ideathon Competition as a jury member where 10 aspiring entrepreneurs had the chance to pitch their ideas.
ArabNet is a leading events, media and research company focused on digital business and entrepreneurship in MENA. ArabNet organizes major annual conferences in Beirut, Riyadh, Dubai, and Kuwait; publishes news and analysis of the digital sector on its online news portal and print ‘ArabNet Quarterly’ magazine; and creates original research reports about the region’s digital industry.
