Startup Weekend Dubai was an eye-opener for its participants, who worked together to make its results-oriented networking platform grow beyond their expectations.
Hiba Daaboul, part of the winning team Kidz Weekend, went in feeling out of place. She feared her years of corporate experience didn’t match up to those of the generation of tech-savvy youth under 25. But she came out of the event empowered by a complete shift in perspective.
“I found a group with amazing team spirit, an experience of a lifetime, with mentors from diverse backgrounds offering huge resources, intensive learning opportunities, and on top of that a first position!”
Their first-place winning concept was a web and mobile app for parents to reward their kids on the weekends for accomplishing assigned tasks. Three other winners were selected by a panel of 5 reputable judges and market leaders, with Coco Events taking second place, and Rent A Local voted in third as popular vote winner. GaraJack was also chosen as the Emirati team with best social impact idea, garnering a range of financial, marketing, and high tech prizes plus other rewards.
This event, held between November 28 and 30 at Alserkal Avenue, was co-hosted by the Young Arab Leaders – UAE Chapter and the Khalifa Fund. It is part of a larger global network of Startup Weekends that attract top entrepreneurs, judges, enthusiasts, mentors and investors who work together to inspire change.
For more info – Startup Weekend Dubai
