A $100,000 prize is open for UAE women entrepreneurs making right business pitch

Dubai: Women entrepreneurs in the UAE have a chance to tap into a $100,000 pool if they come up with the best business pitch.

The 2020 Pitch Competition offers early- and late-stage women-owned businesses to compete. The owners need to pitch their business idea to their local TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) chapter and thus gain access to mentors who will guide and train them.

Finalists from each chapter will be invited to attend the Women 2020 finals to be held in December in Dubai, and get to be in the Grand Finale Pitch with a chance to win $100,000 as well as investor support.

“According to research, just one in seven investments in the Arab World go into female founded businesses, we all recognize the challenges women face when accessing funding and financial support,” said Ziad Matar, President of the Dubai Chapter of TiE.

The TiE Women initiative is open to registered businesses founded or led by women across the MENA region. Participants can submit their nomination online on https://bit.ly/2Xj62AI . To be accepted, participating startups can apply for the early stage or late stage category and need to be established for seven years or less.

A December finale

Nominations will open from today to August 1, and 20 businesses will be shortlisted to participate in live online pitch. Three shortlisted businesses will also be nominated in September for an accelerator programme to be run locally for three months, where each business entity will receive personalized coaching.

The finalist will participate in the December finals.

“There is so much untapped potential in the Arab World and by empowering women to go into business and rewarding aspiring female leaders, we will ensure global economic gains and a competitive knowledge economy,” said Matar.