Apply to compete in Startup Battlefield MENA 2018

There’s nothing we love more than the excitement of Startup Battlefield, unless it’s bringing the world’s best early-stage startup pitch competition to a new region for the first time. And guess what? Thanks to Facebook, we’re heading to Beirut to showcase amazing entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa!

The search is on for the very best entrepreneurial tech minds and makers in the region to compete in the inaugural TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018. The competition takes place on October 3 at the Beirut Digital District in the very heart of Lebanon’s dynamic startup scene. Applications are now open, so apply today.

Here’s how Startup Battlefield MENA works. Our highly discerning TechCrunch editors will review all eligible applications and then select 15 pre-Series A startups to compete. Every Battlefield team receives free, expert pitch coaching from our seasoned editors so they’ll be prepared to step onstage and face a panel of four judges — consisting of top entrepreneurs, technologists and investors with relevant experience in each tech category.

All competing teams get six minutes to pitch their company and to present a product demo — in front of a live audience — to the Startup Battlefield judges, who follow up immediately with a rigorous Q&A. The judges then select one overall winner to become “The Middle East and North Africa’s Most Promising Startup.”

The founders of the winning team receive US$25,000 in no-equity cash and a trip for two to compete in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

Win or lose, every team that competes in Startup Battlefield receives invaluable exposure to investors and media coverage — plus entry to the Startup Battlefield alumni network. This community consists of almost 750 companies that have collectively raised more than $8 billion in funding and produced more than 100 exits. Names like Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, TripIt, Getaround and Cloudflare might ring a bell. That’s some good company to keep.

Does your startup qualify? To compete in Startup Battlefield MENA, you must:

• Have an early-stage company in “launch” stage
• Be a resident from one of these eligible countries: Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen.
• Have a fully working product/beta reasonably close to, or in, production
• Have received limited press or publicity to date
• Have no known intellectual property conflicts
• Apply by July 17, 2018, at 5 p.m. PST

Don’t miss your opportunity to compete in the first-ever TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018. The event takes place on October 3, at the Beirut Digital District Nassif Yazigi, Lebanon. We can’t wait to see the amazing startups coming out of the Middle East and North Africa. Apply today!

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