Listen up startups, investors from all over the world are coming to our Kingdom of Bahrain, and we don’t know about you, but if we were in your place we wouldn’t want to miss out on some really good prospective cash for our startups. Now that we got your attention, read on to know what’s up and who’s who.
unbound Bahrain is coming to Bahrain on the 7th and 8th of March at the Bahrain International Circuit with a bunch of exciting activities planned out for you. From technology, entrepreneurship, influential speakers, you name it, it’s all going to be there at the event.
The festival will be held as part of the StartUp Bahrain Week which will kick off on the 3rd of March until the 8th. StartUp Bahrain Week is held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), and organized by the EDB and StartUp Bahrain, in strategic partnership with Tamkeen.
The two-day event is organized by unbound in partnership with the EDB and supported by the community initiative StartUp Bahrain. The festival is bringing together over 1,000 startups, investors, and businesses. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to network and connect with people who share the same passion and interest as you do. Did you get your tickets yet? If not, you can totally get them for FREE by using our promo code STARTUPBAHRAIN100. You can get your tickets over here.
Now for the part you’ve been waiting for: the investors. unbound Bahrain will bring investors from all around the world to Bahrain to get to know a little bit more about our startup ecosystem. This is where you can flaunt your startup and finally use the pitch you’ve been practicing for a while now.
Wondering who’s going to be there? Here’s a list:
- Dave Ng: A principal at B Capital Group (USA), which is co-led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Dave is an expert in early and growth stage venture investments, business strategy, enterprise technology, startup operations and product development. He’s also a Board Director at Capital Match, and an Investor at Mswipe Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
- Frank Meehan: He’s the Managing Partner and co-founder of SparkLabs, a new type of seed-stage funds that invests in innovative and creative startups with over 63 investments in companies across the world. He’s also the co-founder and CEO at SmartUp.io, a fast-growing Micro-Learning platform for startups, business schools and corporates. Frank was previously with Horizons Ventures (HK) where he represented them on the boards of Spotify, Siri, Summly, Affectiva, Bitcasa, Fixmo, and more.
- Hala Fadel: One of the most renowned entrepreneurs in the MENA region, Hala is the Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Leap Ventures, a tech-focused an entrepreneur-led venture capital firm. She’s also the Chair of MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab and a Board Member of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global.
- Dr. Abdul Malik Jaber: President of the MENA Angel Investor Network, he has invested in more than 35 startups, and works hard towards building an innovation-friendly ecosystem in the MENA. He was previously the Chairman and Founder of Zain’s MENA Apps in Jordan, as well as the COO of Zain Group, and CEO of Paltel Group. He’s currently the founder and Vice Chairman of CH9 based here in Bahrain, in addition to the President and Managing Partner at Peppers & Rogers Group amongst other things.
- Walid Mansour: Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer at Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP). Walid is passionate about venture capital and financing innovation in the MENA region. He strives towards building tomorrow’s tech companies. Walid is also a Board Member of Shedul, FADEL, TreasuryXpress, Anghami, and Falafel Games.
- Douglas Hansen-Luke: He’s the Chairman of Future Planet Capital, and the Senior Advisor for HLD Partners and the CEO, of MENA and Central Asia and Advisor to the Managing Board of bfinance amongst other things. He’s an experienced asset management professional dedicated to helping institutional investors and corporations achieve strategic investment objectives.
- Debu Purkayastha: Debu is a Managing Partner at 3rd Eye, and an Investor & in the Board of Directors at TaDaweb. In addition he’s also amongst the Board of Directors in the University of Cambridge, and Mercy Corps, and is the Chairman of the Advisory Board at VEON, and a Senior Industrial Advisor at EQT Holdings.
- Khalid Talhouni: He’s a career venture capitalist and currently the Managing Partner at Wamda Capital fund investing in tech-enabled companies in the MENA region. Khalid started his career at Dubai International Capital where he supported the development of the region’s first capital fund. He was previously the Head of Strategy & investments & Ventures Associate at twofour 54.
And there are many more investors that you would miss out on if you don’t come to the unbound Bahrain festival. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and grab your FREE tickets!
And make sure you follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for some awesome live coverage of all the events taking place during StartUp Bahrain Week – including unbound Bahrain! You can also visit www.startupbahrainweek.com to learn more about what’s happening during StartUp Bahrain Week, and keep an eye on #StartUpBahrainWeek to track the latest developments.