‘Google for Startups Accelerator’ in its 2nd edition calls MENA tech startups to apply

CAIRO - 5 May 2021: Google announced Monday the opening of the application window for the second ‘Google for Startups Accelerator: Middle East and North Africa’ program in response to the large interest after concluding the first successful cohort.

 

 

‘Google for Startups Accelerator: MENA’ is a three-month digital accelerator program for Seed to Series A technology startups based in the region, and will run virtually starting mid-July 2021. The first cohort included 10 top startups from six Arab countries - four of which are women-led businesses: Abwaab (Jordan), Carers (Jordan), Chefaa (Egypt), DABCHY (Tunisia), Designhubz (UAE), Lamsa (UAE), Lendo (Saudi Arabia), Nafas Meditation App (Oman), Viavii (Jordan) and 360VUZ (UAE).

 

Similar to the first cohort, selected founders will identify their top challenges and will then be paired with relevant experts from Google and the industry to help solve them. Participating startups will also receive mentorship on both technical and business challenges as well as workshops covering machine learning technologies, product design/UX, customer acquisition, and leadership development. Participants will also have access to 1:1 coaching by experts from Google and other tech companies, to help them pitch to investors after the program ends.

 

Applicants must be a technology startup based in MENA that have already raised seed funding. Google will consider the problem the tech startup is trying to solve and how it creates value for users, in addition to their willingness to use the latest technologies to solve business challenges and successfully scale in the long run. 

 

Commenting on the program, Salim Abid, Google’s Regional Lead of Developer Ecosystem in MENA, said: ‘‘Congratulations to the ten graduates of our first cohort. Thanks to more than a hundred mentors from Google and other key industry representatives of the startup community, we were able to support the startups solve their challenges whether related to product development, setting up OKRs, or exploring opportunities to scale with advanced technologies.’’

 

He continued: ‘‘We hope through our second cohort to equip more homegrown entrepreneurs with the latest digital skills to grow and tackle the unexpected societal challenges brought by the pandemic.’’

 

The application window for the second ‘Google for Startups Accelerator’ program in MENA will remain open until May 25th, 2021. Selected startups will be announced in early July 2021. For registration and more information, please visit: http://g.co/AcceleratorMENA

 

 

 

Quotes from the 10 graduated startups from the first cohort: 

 

 

 

‘‘The ‘Google for Startups Accelerator’ is an extremely valuable program with a wide range of benefits for startups. By providing the opportunity to meet experienced mentors and take a range of different workshops, it introduces startups to important business and tech concepts that help set them up for success.’’ - Hussein AlSarabi, Co-founder & CTO, Abwaab

 

 

 

‘‘A very fruitful and exciting experience that is full of knowledge.’’- Carers App

 

 

 

‘‘It was such a disciplined and an eye opening experience that impacted the founders and the entire team’’- Chefaa

 

 

 

‘‘Develop a passion for learning , if you do, you  will never cease to grow’’ - DABCHY

 

 

 

‘‘The Google for Startups Accelerator program was an amazing experience that enabled  us to connect with like minded founders and learn from each  other's experiences as well as interact with top mentors from google and from the tech community’’ - Nadim Habr, CEO, Designhubz

 

 

 

‘‘Google for Startups Accelerator was a terrific experience for us. We had the opportunity to tap into Google's teams and experts, while rubbing shoulders with fantastic founders and startups. The fact that the program was bespoke for every startup's needs was very unique and beneficial. We would recommend this program to startups anytime!’’ - Badr Ward, CEO, Lamsa

 

 

 

‘‘The program did not only help us acquire technical knowledge, but also introduced us to the amazing network of Google.’’ - Osama AlRaee, CEO, Lendo

 

 

 

‘‘One place for concentrated expertise in all what matters for startups’’ - Saif AL Essai, Founder, Nafas Meditation App

 

 

 

‘‘An eye-opening experience that highlights the importance of acquiring and retaining customers and building brand awareness.’’ - Rola Fayyad, Founder and CEO of Viavii

 

"We are happy to be part of the "Google for Startups Accelerator" that is held for the first time ever in the MENA region. With joining the program and support of its experts, we were able to utilize the latest tech solutions that Google offers to take  our platform to new global heights and scale our business in order to maintain 360VUZ position as one of the leading immersive media and entertainment platforms globally." - Khaled Zaatarah, CEO and Co-founder of 360VUZ