Why Dubai’s App Olympics Is the Must-Win Competition for Startups Globally
As reported by Entrepreneur ME,H.H. Sheikh Hamdan stated that “empowering the technology sector is an integral part of efforts to achieve the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to establish Dubai as one of the world’s top three cities.” Then he added that“ the extensive participation of innovators and digital creatives from around the world in the App Olympics reflects Dubai’s stature as a global hub for research, innovation, and opportunity and a leading city that offers sustainable growth and a high quality of life.
Overview
The App Olympics Competition is an initiative organized by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy as part of the “Create Apps” program. It is a global competition that aims to position Dubai as the leading App Economy City by 2025. It is open to all residents and international startups, offering the chance to win a fully funded mobile application development. The event is organized and managed by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, which demonstrates Dubai’s dedication to promoting digital innovation.
“After the startups went through the preparation process of Think Media Labs, they were well-prepared, communicated clearly in business terms, and almost unrecognizable from before.”
The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy’s process of selection and judging included the following steps:
Shortlisting: From the large pool of applicants, 24 semi finalists were selected based on their innovative ideas and the potential impact of their apps.
Review by Specialists: A panel of judges, consisting of industry specialists and venture capitalists, reviewed the pitches of the semifinalists and, from them, selected the 12 finalists.
Final Award Ceremony: The final award ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. The ceremony took place in Dubai at the Museum of the Future, where the winners were announced and awarded.
Preparation of Startups for Pitching
Think Media Labs assisted startups in tackling their challenges and refining their pitches by providing business advisory, office hours for feedback and guidance, rehearsal sessions, and pitch preparation workshops. Think Media Labs also developed a scoring mechanism for judges to use after each pitch during competitions.
Business Advisory: Startups received guidance on how to effectively demonstrate their app concept, market traction, and competitive differentiation.
Pitch Preparation: Advice was provided on crafting a compellinggo-to-market plan and how to succinctly pitch within specific timeframesof two and five minutes.
Addressing Challenges: Considering the varied levels of business maturity, experiences, and models among the startups, a tailored approach to preparation was applied.
Time Management: Emphasis was placed on enabling startups to deliver their pitches concisely, within the allotted timeframes, which presented a significant challenge.
Scoring Mechanism: An online scorecard based on the weighted scoring system was developed, and reporting was set up to help judges select the winners after each batch presented their pitches.
To participate in the App Olympics competition, visit createapps.ae