Arabnet Arabnet

Seedstars World, a seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, has brought its Sharjah pre-selection rounds to an end. With the support of the local host Sheraa, Seedstars World will be holding a dynamic pitch event on August 30^th at the American University of Sharjah, to choose the country’s Best Startup.

The UAE was previously represented by Junkbot Robotics with their innovative DIY robotic kit that enables young and old to create and build working robots from almost anything. “At the Seedstars Summit, we were able to connect to the whole world in a single place; different types of mentors, investors and cool startups”, says Ehteshamuddin - PA of Junkbot Robotics.

The 10 startups to advance to the finals are:

• Linkers IoT: We provide data analytics about branches foot-count, Energy Cost and Equipment Consumption to reduce cost and optimize marketing & operation.
• OFFICY: An on-demand Personal Assistant service for work tasks. People can focus on critical tasks only and delegate the rest to their PA.
• Medvice: A digital healthcare platform that gives customers on-demand access to certified physicians.
• Plantshop.ae: UAE's no.1 online store selling plants and gardening products and services.
• QuikWORK Technologies: The newest app for part-timers to find work efficiently. The solution is live for talents and in pilot mode with employers.
• Smart Crowd: Digital real estate investment platform allowing people to build real estate portfolio by acquiring fractional assets
• Tuitify: Leveraging your company's most valuable assets: Knowledge & Experience to boost your productivity
• Xpence: The Gulf region’s first neobank for solo entrepreneurs and startups that combines bookkeeping and banking in one beautiful app.
• FriendyCar: The first and leading marketplace for P2P Car rental in the Middle East & North Africa
• Verismart: A global trust engine for instant identity verification & sharing backed by blockchain & AI platform to automate KYC process.

The startups will pitch in front of a jury that consists of Hans Henrik Christensen - Vice President at DSOA, Tamer Bazzari - Founder and CEO at Genero Capital, Abdullah Mutawi -  Founder and Chairman at Dubai Angel Investors, and Pelin Gonul Sahin -  Director at Startupbootcamp Dubai.

Besides representing the country at the Seedstars Regional Summit, the winner will win an all-inclusive trip to Switzerland, to compete at the Seedstars Summit for the title of Seedstars Global Winner and up to $1M in equity investments and other prizes.

To attend, members of the public and press should register on the Seedstars Sharjah website.