Get All Access for $5/mo

Startups WaveX, Docswallet And uHONCHO Win At StartAD's Fintech Venture Launchpad Marking the end of a 10-day program that helped participating entrepreneurs develop skills around business model design, MVP development, team culture, and fundraising, New York University Abu Dhabi's (NYUAD) entrepreneurship platform startAD held a demo day of the Fintech Venture Launchpad at NYUAD on September 14.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

startAD
Winners of the startAD Fintech Venture Launchpad

Marking the end of a 10-day program that helped participating entrepreneurs develop skills around business model design, MVP development, team culture, and fundraising, New York University Abu Dhabi's (NYUAD) entrepreneurship platform startAD held a demo day of the Fintech Venture Launchpad at NYUAD on September 14. Aimed at helping early- stage startups "develop scalable, repeatable and capital efficient ventures," this edition of Venture Launchpad focused on fintech sector, and intended to connect startups in this space with large industry players.

At the end of a pitching session, where the program's top 10 teams showcased their businesses to investors, and other ecosystem stakeholders present, fintech startups WaveX, Docswallet and uHONCHO were declared the first, second and third place winners at startAD Fintech Venture Launchpad. Supported by the UAE Ministry of Economy, UAE Exchange, IBM, and Abu Dhabi Global Markets, the program attracted over 200 applications from the UAE and globally, 20 teams were shortlisted to participate in the program, and 10 were chosen as finalists.

Noting in a statement that the pace of emergence of fintech startups in the UAE is "almost three times faster" than other hubs in MENA, the program said it focused on helping entrepreneurs address key challenges such as visibility, customer awareness, and product trust. The demo day also featured a session of talks by industry professionals including Promoth Manghat, CEO, UAE Exchange, John Tate, CEO, Tamkeen, and Ramesh Jagannathan, MD, startAD, among others. The jury panel for the event included Erkki Altonen, Executive Director, startAD, UAE Exchange's Manghat, Todd O'Brein, MD, Smart City Dubai, and Yousef Hammad, Partner, BECO Capital, among others.

While Sharjah-based WaveX is working on building "a democratized energy market" leveraging Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain, India's Docswallet seeks to bring government transactions online using digital identity and electronic signature, and uHONCHO is an app freelancers can use to track, measure and manage their day-to-day activities and finances. The winning teams are entitled to US$120,000 in IBM Cloud credit for a year to implement their applications as part of IBM Global Entrepreneur program, in addition to mentorship, and go-to market support. startAD also noted that those finalist teams that stand out by way of their potential will also be considered for continuous mentoring and seed funding from startAD.

Related: Road Safety App By NYUAD Students Wins Top Honors At World Government Summit

Business News

Looking for a Remote Job? Here Are the Most In-Demand Skills to Have on Your Resume, According to Employers.

Employers are looking for interpersonal skills like teamwork as well as specific coding skills.

Growth Strategies

"We Got Funded!" UAE-Headquartered Epik Foods' US$15.5 Million Investment from Ruya Fund is Set to Propel its Regional Expansion Goals

The group's investment news thus comes just days away from its first anniversary as a fully operational business.

Starting a Business

He Started a Business That Surpassed $100 Million in Under 3 Years: 'Consistent Revenue Right Out of the Gate'

Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, had run a few small businesses on the side — but none of them excited him as much as the idea for a home cocktail machine.

Finance

The Entertainer's Donna Benton On Selling 85% Of The Business To Bahrain's GFH Financial Group

The latest transaction saw Abraaj Capital's Riyada Enterprise Development fully exit The Entertainment, while Benton continues as one of the key shareholders and executive management.

Entrepreneurs

Catalyzing Change: How UAE-Based Holo, The Middle East's First Digital Mortgage Platform, Is Transforming The Process Of Buying A Home

With free access to over 500 mortgage products from all the banks in the UAE today, the Holo platform directly addresses pressing issues that the home buying process is ridden with till date