Third edition of The Startup Roadshow-Wired launched in Jordan

AMMAN — The Startup Roadshow-Wired kicked off its third edition on Tuesday, bringing together 4,000 entrepreneurs in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, with the aim of “leaving no entrepreneur behind” during the pandemic.

Organised by Jusoor and SPARK, with the contribution of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), Jordanian entrepreneurs will be admitted to new open-access online entrepreneurship trainings and will get the chance to meet and work with Turkish, Jordanian, and Iraqi and Syrian entrepreneurs, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

The 50 entrepreneurs (Startups and SMEs) will then compete to pitch at the final Roadshow Demo Day, where they will battle it out for cash prizes of $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third place winners, according to the statement.

“We knew we had to keep innovating during COVID-19 to ensure entrepreneurship in the region remains supported — the stakes are too high not to. We are so pleased to be working with Jusoor again this year in supporting refugee and host country businesses through these incredibly challenging times. Special thanks for our partners,  the Qatar Fund for Development, who believed in and supported The Startup Roadshow-Wired 2020,” said Yannick du Pont, founder and director of SPARK, in the statement.

The winners of The Startup Roadshow-Wired will also get the chance to showcase their businesses during the 2021 SPARK Ignite annual conference. 

Entrepreneurs with business ideas from any of the four host countries can register for the entrepreneurship bootcamp in December 2020.

The Startup Roadshow-Wired was first launched in 2018. Given the pandemic, this year’s competition has been reinvented to provide trainees with access to virtual training and mentorship. 

The roadshow will also offer new online Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, which will be available to thousands of entrepreneurs in the MENA region.

“Looking at the data from the last few years, we knew we had to offer a new track for SMEs this year, especially given how hard Syrian-led small businesses have been hit by the pandemic. We are also so excited to expand our model to reach thousands of new entrepreneurs this year through the exciting open access online training in Arabic — a first of its kind in the MENA region,” said Dania Ismail, board member and director of Jusoor’s Entrepreneurship Programme, in the statement.

Jusoor is an NGO founded by Syrian expatriates with a mission to support Syrian youth to realise their potential through programmes in the fields of education, entrepreneurship, and global community engagement, according to the statement

SPARK provides access to higher education and supports entrepreneurship development in fragile states so that young, ambitious people can lead their societies into stability and prosperity, according to the statement.