At today's ArabNet 2015, Flat6Labs announced its fourth startup accelerator, to be established in Beirut. This comes a week after Flat6Labs commenced their first Abu Dhabi boot camp for entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates.
"As an Egyptian, it was a no brainer to go to Lebanon for entrepreneurship. The Lebanese entrepreneurship stories are known all over the world. It is the stuff of legends. With Circular 331, you are getting one of the most dynamic ecosystems within the Middle East. It is an unmissable opportunity," said Hany Al-Sobaty, co-founder of Flat6Labs and Sawari Ventures.
The new accelerator is in partnership with ArabNet. Similar to the other three Flat6Labs, the accelerator will offer seed stake financing, access to mentors as well as administrative support to start-ups. They plan on establishing 100 Lebanese companies and raise $40 million in invested capital.
Operating for the past three years, Flat6Labs claims to have spent 7,000 hours training startups, first launching in Cairo and then expanding to Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. Some success stories include Injaz, an Arabic-based online travel agency, and Integreight, which develops novel products for the electronic hobbyist and education market.
Since being founded in 2010, Flat6Labs says it has fostered 75 companies. Over 50 percent of the start-ups that have accelerated by Flat6Labs have gone on to raise funding, creating more than 400 jobs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
"At the core of our philosophy at Flat6Labs is to invest in entrepreneurs in the Middle East, especially when they are starting their journey. This is what we do, this is what we love," Sobaty said.