Unbound Bahrain: Everything you need to know about the latest ‘innovation festival’ of MENA

Unbound, a company that specializes in global innovation events is organizing its first-ever ‘innovation festival’ in MENA. Taking place in Bahrain, the event is being organized in association with Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and supported by Startup Bahrain. It is in-fact part of the Startup Bahrain Week that will run from 3rd to 8th March and will feature different events.

Who is it for?

Anyone who is interested in technology, startups or innovation. So if you were to name the kind of people that should attend the event, they will be startup founders and enthusiasts, corporates and brands, investors and government agencies – there will be something for all of these. If you’re part of the startup ecosystem in Bahrain or Saudi’s eastern province, it’s a must-attend event.

Where?

Bahrain International Cricuit (Location Map)

When?

7th & 8th March

How much does it cost?

Normally it would cost $200 for the two day pass. But you can use MENABYTES100 discount code to get an absolutely free pass to the event.

Speakers

Unbound Bahrain is bringing some of the biggest names of the region including Leap Ventures’ Hala Fadel, MEVP’s Walid Mansour, Wamda’s Walid Faza, VentureSouq’s Sonia Gokhale, Mumzworld’s Mona Ataya, 500 Startups’ Hasan Haider, Vezeeta’s Amir Barsoum, Bahrain Fintech Bay’s Khalid Saad and many others. Many international speakers will also be participating in different talks and panels at the event.

Must-Attend Sessions for Startups/Founders

There will be tens of sessions throughout the event. Ideally you should attend all of them but if you’re a startup or founder and can attend only some of the them, these are our recommendations:

• Investing in Innovation – Day 1 – 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM – Main Stage
• The Electronic Silk Road – Day 1 – 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM – Main Stage
• Investors, VCs & their strategies – Day 1 – 4:40 PM – 5:20 PM – Main Stage
• Female Entrepreneurship in Kingdom of Bahrain  – Day 2 – 3:00 PM – 3:35 PM – Main Stage
• Global Stories of Startup Success – Day 2 – 10:50 AM – 11:30 AM – Main Stage
• Building MENA Innovation Ecosystems – Day 2 – 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM – Main Stage

You might also want to attend the ‘In an elevator’ series in which different founders will share some details about their entrepreneurial journey and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Activities & Competitions

Unbound will also have an exhibition area where fifty startups from the region will be showcasing their products and services. The event will also feature a Female Founders Startup Challenge, pitch competition (face-off) for seed and growth stage startups with $25,000 as first prize and $10,000 for the runner-up, and American Express Middle East Hackathon with $35,000 in prizes for the winners.

To know even more details, you can visit Unbound Bahrain’s website here.