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MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA • ECOSYSTEM ENABLER, EDUCATION & CONSULTING
Saniya Giniatullina
DEC. 9, 2019
This 1st December, the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs together with Seedstars will launch an open call for startups in countries and regions prone to strong migration movements in MENA and Africa.
The aim of the project is to support socially driven business models in countries and regions prone to strong migration movements. Entrepreneurship by and for migrants and refugees has the potential to create shared benefits for the foreign born and local communities alike by contributing to livelihoods and social cohesion. The ultimate objective is to improve human security for the individual by promoting freedom from fear and a life in dignity in a sustainable manner.
The eligible ventures must create promising business opportunities locally and offer innovative solutions alleviating the pressure for people to take dangerous routes leaving their homes. The solution can be aimed for society at large thus aimed at migrant and the local population, and be implemented in the origin, host and transitory countries.
Additionally, the ventures must be seed-stage, meaning that they must have a minimal viable product and initial user traction, and operate in either English or French language. Accepted countries of operation are: Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Israel, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE.
Any business matching these criteria are welcome to apply to the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize on its official page migrationprize.seedstars.com by 31 January 2020. The shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews after 10 February, while the finalists will be announced on 20 February. The finalists will include 10 selected ventures, which will be invited to participate to the Seedstars Investment Readiness Program, a customisable educational program that helps to get ready for fundraising. Out of the 10 finalists, 5 ventures will get the full Seedstars Summit experience in Switzerland in April 2020, where they will participate in the 3-day bootcamp with mentors and investors. One global winner will be selected and announced during the summit receiving the official Migration Entrepreneurship Prize.
