App Olympics

Dubai’s App Olympics Is the Must-Win Competition for Startups

Impact

Accelerated UAE’s transformation into one of the leading digital economies in line with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).

Program Building Stage

  • The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy launched the App Olympics as part of the “Create Apps” program. It is United Arab Emirate’s flagship contest for Mobile App Development.

  • The App Olympics is a global competition that aims to position Dubai as the leading App Economy City by 2025.

  • Think Media Labs collaborated with the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy to help participant startups tackle their challenges, refine their pitches, and present them to royalty.

Key Strategic Activities

  • Advised and trained startups on how to pitch within timeframes of two and five minutes, including a pitch to H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

  • Guided startups on how to demonstrate their app concept, traction, and competitive differentiation.

  • Developed a scoring system, and reporting was set up to help judges select the winners.

Conclusion

The App Olympics attracted more than 1,100 startups from 64 countries, of which 247 were selected to compete. The award ceremony was hosted at the Museum of the Future.