harvard arab competition
Source: Shutterstock

The Arab Conference at Harvard is organised in collaboration with the Harvard Arab Alumni Association and student groups, and is considered to be the largest pan-Arab conference in North America!

Every year, it assembles more than 1,300 students and professionals to discuss the most pressing issues of our region.

Marking its 11th edition, this year’s conference themed ‘Claiming tomorrow’ will be held on November 9-12, 2017.

The annual Startup Pitch Competition is also returning to record its 6th year of success.

The competition will be held on the last day of the Arab Conference and aims to put the MENA startup ecosystem on the map.

Here are 5 reasons why every Arab entrepreneur should apply to this year's Harvard Startup Pitch Competition:

Arab Conference at Harvard
Arab Conference at Harvard Source: FB

1. Top 3 winning teams will share a prize of up to 30,000 USD!

money arab conference
Source: NYT

2. Startups will get the opportunity to receive direct feedback from members of the jury.

3. Top 10 teams will get a chance to participate in 'Entrepreneurship & How-to-Pitch' workshops.

Source: Shutterstock

4. You will be able to network with leading entrepreneurs, VCs and investors!

5. Teams will participate in the Harvard Business School Career Fair the day after the competition.

Source: NCE

A few guidelines to remember:

  • 10 pre-selected teams will be chosen by a high-profile panel of judges from the world of entrepreneurship.
  • At least one founder should be from the MENA region, or the start-up needs to serve the MENA market.
  • Preferably, ventures need to have launched a MVP and have not raised significant investment rounds.
Arab Conference at Harvard
Arab Conference at Harvard Source: FB

Important dates:

The organisers at Harvard Business School will start accepting applications from today, September 13, 2017.

The deadline for submissions is October 4, 2017.

The 10 qualified startups will be announced on October 6, 2017.

Although the Arab Conference at Harvard will start on November 9, 2017, the official competition day is set to be November 12, 2017.

You can apply for this amazing opportunity via this link.