Three Syrian- led startups were crowned as the winners of the Startup Roadshow last they will be pitching on the global stage during the SPARK Ignite conference in Amsterdam taking place on November 27th.
By Eathar Abu El Nasr
Three Syrian- led startups were crowned as the winners of the Startup Roadshow, along with cash prizes of up to $15.000, and will be pitching on the global stage during the SPARK Ignite conference in Amsterdam taking place on November 27th.
Third price went to Jellyfish, a social enterprise that uses recyclable material to create creative items to empower girls and women. They were awarded a cash price of $7K. Second price went to Medicine Box, a service that provides medications to vulnerable people at half the price. They were awarded $10K cash price. Finally, first place went to Spermly, a health tech startup which analyzes the quality of the sperm receiving $15K cash price. In addition to that, Therapist House won the People’s Choice Awards and granted a price of $2K cash.
Launched for the second time, the Startup Roadshow, organized by Jusoor and SPARK, in partnership with Startups Without Borders, aims to empower those with resilient spirits and innovative minds start a new journey as entrepreneurs across five cities in the Middle East: Amman, Beirut, Erbil, Istanbul, and Gaziantep. This competition is the first of its kind in the region devoted to Syrian entrepreneurs that are building a future and finally settling into their new lives.
Here is a glimpse of the ten champion finalists that got to pitch at the Startup Roadshow this year , starting with the winners.
Spermly (Gaziantep) is a Computer Aided Semen Analysis software for sperm quality using parameters set by the World Health Organization. The aim is to provide reliable accurate results with high predictive values when diagnosing fertility problems.
Medicine Box’s (Amman) idea is to improve the lives of vulnerable people through better access to medication. In Jordan, there is a high number of people that cannot afford medication, but need it. At the same time, there are medications with less than 6 months expiry date available at factories and warehouses, that are not being dispatched to the market. So Medicine Box is tackling the issue by providing the medicine at a lower price than the market.
Jellyfish( Beirut) is a creative social enterprise that turns wasted plastic bags to usable diverse objects. Inspired by similar initiatives in plastic-yarn weaving initiatives in African countries, the founder decided that plastic waste can be converted to be beautiful products made and used by women. Jellyfish starts with plastic bags collected by people in refugee camps, and empower those same people to make use of the color and threads in those bags to make some beautiful.
Therapy House (Gaziantep) is a creative startup that assists children with special needs or have been dramatically affected by conflict. They help them work out their problems through techniques like relaxation, verbalization, songwriting, and high vibration and frequencies- music. The startup is led by a group of therapists, music producers, acoustic engineers, and art educators.
Uders (Istanbul) is a platform that empowers university students to give in person private tutoring for school students to help them overcome the difficulties that they face in school subjects. It is about building a network between college and school students and encouraging students to spread their knowledge.
Sufha (Amman) is an online application that will help drivers identify the location of the nearest parking spaces to avoid the hunt for free parking spaces. Through the app, the user will be able to book the space, and simply park once they arrive.
Tdallal (Erbil) is a shopping service that will ensure quality and speed for delivery of items. It is environment friendly, and focuses on customer satisfaction.
Smart Budget( Beirut) is an online application that integrates a personal finance assistant called “Genny”. Genny is there to help the user with setting his/her budget via a simple voice command, instead of the long process of typing in the information and having multiple tables.
Salt & Sugar (Istanbul) is a catering and food services meant for employed women who just have no time to make home-made meals. The food is made by Syrian refugees.
Leftsaver (Erbil) is a smart recycle bin that helps hospitality businesses and households capture, track, and manage food waste, therefore contributing to food prevention for hospitality industries. This solution will reduce food waste, and increase profit.
