StartUp Bahrain, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s leading platform for startups, recently hosted the much-awaited 8th edition of the StartUp Bahrain Pitch series. The event was organized in collaboration with key industry stakeholders, including the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Labor Fund (Tamkeen), Bahrain Economic Development Board, and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB).
The event was also held as a special edition of the series in partnership with the Supreme Council of Women and was held at Riyadat Mall. The event featured keynote speeches from 500 Global’s general partners. Amal Dokanshared their personal experiences about the challenges they faced as entrepreneurs, the risks and opportunities of growing in the field.
The event focused on five Bahraini startups presenting their innovative business ideas to a distinguished panel of judges comprising local and regional experts including: FAger ArpacachiGeneral Manager of Hope Ventures, Vijay Tirathrai, Managing Director of Riyadh Techstars, Eman Shakoor, Founder and CEO of Blossom Accelerator, and Amal Dokhan, General Partner of 500 Global.
Before qualifying to participate in the event, the five startups underwent an intensive fundraising and pitching bootcamp conducted by industry experts titled “Raise: Art of Fundraise.” Participating startups include Arsedh, a smart, contactless digital alternative platform to paper receipts that enables business owners and Allows shoppers to obtain proof of sale. Imprint Production (Ba9ma) is a local Bahraini production company focused on Bahraini filmmaking and art. Sellou is a social media app with a unique focus on location, connecting consumers with places, products, and people. His IBuildNow, his online local multi-vendor marketplace that aims to fully digitize the construction industry, and finally his IBuildNow, which aims to revolutionize e-commerce for buyers and sellers through live video. Siin is a B2C marketplace.
Following a very attractive line-up of pitches, a panel of judges thoroughly evaluated each startup’s potential and ideas. In the end, Siin, founded by Hesham Al Saati, was announced as number one.
“StartUp Bahrain Pitch was a pivotal platform that put our startup in the spotlight. I cannot thank you enough,” said Hesham Al Saati. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Tamkeen Ministry of Commerce, the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Bahrain Development Bank, the esteemed review committee, and of course Startup Bahrain for giving us this wonderful opportunity. ”
It is worth mentioning that Siin combines the excitement of live video with the ease of online shopping to establish the Gulf region’s premier live shopping marketplace. Siin’s mission is to make live shopping easy, safe and fun, and we plan to launch in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in January 2024.