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Two startups from Bahrain will be competing in the final round of the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Arab Startup Competition.

Scheduled on April 19th, the final round of the 11th edition of the competition will take place in Oman where 84 semifinalists from 14 countries will aim for the top prize.

MITEF Startup Competition is cosponsored by Zain Group, the digital partner of the event for the fourth year in a row, and Community Jameel, the founding partner and contributor to the event over the past 10 years. Local strategic partners for 2018 edition of the event include Omantel and Riyada.

The competition consists of three tracks, including: Ideas, Startups, and Social Entrepreneurship with 26, 34, and 24 semi-finalists competing in each category respectively. The two finalists from Bahrain include Glare, competing in the ideas track and Dual Networks SA aiming for the top spot in the Startup track.

A cash award of $160,000 will be divided among the nine lucky winners, three per track, at the end of the competition. Apart from the cash award, each of the 84 semi-finalists will receive extensive training, guidance, and personal mentorship from community leaders. In addition to that, they will also be provided with media exposure and an opportunity to network with investors, government officials, and other key stakeholders in the startup ecosystem of the region.

Of the 84 semi-finalists, 20 are from Lebanon, 14 from Egypt, 10 from the UAE, nine from Saudi Arabia, seven from Jordan, six from Palestine, four from Morocco, six from Tunisia, two from Sudan, two from Bahrain, and one each from Kuwait, Oman, and Algeria.

There were as many as 5,300 applications for this year’s edition of MITEF Startup Competition.

Hala Fadel Chair of the board of MITEF Pan Arab commented: “Every year, our confidence and belief in the importance of this competition in supporting and nurturing the culture of entrepreneurship grows. Developing the ideas and projects of the Arab youth and empowering them to transform these pioneering ideas into success stories couldn’t make us prouder.”