As GITEX-parallel start-up summit moves to Dubai Harbor, Flat6Labs is preparing to introduce hottest new tech firms to regional investors on the hunt for the UAE’s next unicorn.
Flat6Labs, the Middle East and North Africa’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, has announced a partnership with North Star to hold a Demo Day – showcasing start-ups from the latest edition of the Flat6Labs Ignite Program – at this year’s edition of Expand, the increasingly popular start-up event taking place at Dubai Harbour from 15 to 18 October 2023.
To be held on 16 October on the Marketing Mania Stage (XMD), Hall 4, from 4pm to 6pm, Flat6Labs’ Expand North Star 2023 Demo Day will feature seven start-ups from the VC firm’s most recent Cycle 5 cohort of its seed-funding and mentorship program, Ignite. Founders will pitch their value proposition and business strategy to potential investors, in a bid to secure additional funding.
The companies being showcased cover a range of specialties, including HRtech, Foodtech, Healthtech, Enterprisetech and Adtech. Among investors, attendees are expected to include representatives from the likes of Wamda, Aditium, MEVP and Global Ventures. The seven start-ups presenting pitches at the Expand North Star 2023 Demo Day have already raised seed funding anywhere between US$500,000 and US$1.5 million and this platform will give them the opportunity to gain further follow-on funding.
“The MENA VC ecosystem surpassed US$3 billion in 2022,” said Trixie LohMirmand at Expand North Star. “And as it outgrows colocation at GITEX, Expand North Star is the best venue in the world right now to connect investors to the latest rising stars. Flat6Labs is set to bring seven of the brightest and most promising start-ups from their UAE program and we are confident that hands will be joined and potential follow-on funding will be made into the companies plus many other new opportunities possible only at the event.”
In parallel to the Demo Day, Flat6Labs will also be featuring StartMashreq start-ups. The StartMashreq Growth Track program, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is Flat6Labs’ effort to support start-ups from Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq to scale their businesses and access new markets. The program focuses on empowering women, refugees, minorities and displaced persons.
“The region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is starting to see a strong recovery,” said Ryaan Sharif, General Manager for Flat6Labs UAE. “There has never been a more exciting time for investors to immerse themselves in the innovation wave and identify the next big thing. Flat6Labs is playing an integral role in the development of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through our participation at Expand 2023, we hope to entice more visionaries to join our Ignite program so we can help them reach their full potential and take the world by storm.”
Flat6Labs’ Ignite program is the result of a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, one of the MENA’s largest holding companies, which is focused on leveraging start-ups and entrepreneurship for the economic growth of the Emirate. To date, 46 start-ups have participated and 14 companies have raised a combined total of US$12.6 million in follow-on funding, over and above investments from Flat6Labs itself.