Arabnet Arabnet

The international startup acceleration program, Startup Pirates, is being held for the first time in Syria from November 14 to 21, 2015.

Startups Pirates Damascus is open to entrepreneurs or teams with an idea they wish to develop. 30 applicants will be chosen to attend the 8-day program at the IT Plaza in Damascus for a chance to win a place at Startup Pirates’ incubation space, Startup Lisboa (Portugal), as well as valuable perks.

Startups Pirates Damascus is accepting applications until October 9, 2015.

Why Join the Navy If You Can Be a Pirate?

Startup Pirates Damascus organizer, Mohammad Azayzeh, is hopeful that the program will help kick-start a lot of initiatives to solve problems linked to Syria’s current difficult social and economic circumstances.

Founded in 2011, Startup Pirates is a global non-profit organization aiming to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop their business ideas and become part of social and economic change in their country.

Startup Pirates proposes a very hands-on approach, with the support of a large community of experienced entrepreneurs. The week-long program includes trainings, meetings with guest speakers, mentorship, team exercises, and a few surprises.

At the end of the program, the participants will pitch their ideas to investors and business leaders. The winning team will be hosted for 1-3 months at the Startup Lisboa incubation space (Portugal). The winner will also benefit from perks offered by Startup Pirates’ network of more than 40 partners (including Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft BizSpark).

After the program, Startup Pirates’ network of partners supports the teams on their quest to thrive

To date, Startup Pirates is present in 30 cities from 17 countries. It has launched more than 45 programs with over 1,000 participants.