Seedstars to host its pitch competition for seed-stage startups in Iraq & Libya for the first time

Seedstars World, one of the largest startup competitions for emerging markets is coming to Iraq & Libya for the first time to find the most promising seed-stage startups from the two countries.

They are looking for startups that are less than two year old, have raised less than USD 500,000 in funding, have a minimum viable product and ideally some traction. Seedstars prefers products that can scale at a regional or global level.

The pitching competition of Libya will be held in Tripoli at the Radisson Blu Hotel on August 6 at 3 pm and the applications are open until July 24 here.

Iraq’s edition will be held in Erbil on August 10 at 2 pm with the support of a local player TechHub. The applications for Iraq are open until July 30 here.

Seedstars will select ten best startups for each edition who will be given five minutes to pitch in English on the day of event. The jury comprised of local startup ecosystem representatives will select the best startup from each competition who will then be flown to Switzerland next year to take part in the Seedstars Summit and compete against startups from more than sixty emerging markets for the prize of 1 million USD in equity investment.

Omar Barakat, Regional Associate for MENA with Seedstars, speaking about taking the competition to these countries for the first time, said, “At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. We see ourselves as a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs in places where normally people wouldn’t think startup ecosystem have such traction, growth and buzz. We are very excited to be in Libya and Iraq for the first time and we are here to witness the reality.”

The events will be open to general public and press as well. Anyone wanting to join will have to register in advance using the links above.