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September 5th, 2020, Open Startup Tunisia Pre-incubation Program Jury Day was held at South Mediterranean University (SMU), Tunis. More than 50 startups pitched their ideas, competing to get one of only 20 spots within an exceptional program that will kick-off with its first edition in October 2020.
OST Newborn: the Pre-incubation Program
A unique 12 weeks pre-incubator program, co-designed with Columbia Engineering and Business Schools, that mainly targets students and fresh graduates.
The program provides an enriching learning experience, offers access to a strong network of national and international experts, and introduces you to an incredible community.
All, in partnership with Columbia Engineering and Columbia Business School, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and its 4C’s network of, the US Embassy, La Fondation BIAT pour la Jeunesse, Africinvest, Columbia Global Centers Tunis and Amman, , Drosos foundation, Flat6Labs and TunisianStartups.
Jury Day: The Time to Choose the Best of the Best
51 startups were pre-selected and invited to pitch their ideas in the Jury Day. With a huge potential, and many great ideas, students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs took one more step towards joining OST pre-incubator.
Jury Day, an event that gathered around 120 participants from across Tunisia, to be evaluated by 15 amazing jury members that included OST board members, experts of different fields and OST alumni (YES! They started as participants and that is how far they made it).
After meeting incredible talents during the event, Mrs. Houda Ghozzi, CEO of Open Tunisia – the non-profit managing OST and OSTX – and a jury member, said “ I can already tell that this is going to be a very promising first edition”
The standards are high, and the selection is more competitive than ever!
OST Breaking the Covid-19 Barrier
For the Jury Day Event to be the success it was, a lot was happening on the backstage and many strategic preparations were made to ensure everybody’s safety.
The process starts with measuring the attendees’ temperature at the entrance, where they are also provided with both, a face mask, and a shield that they must wear all the time. Then, once at the registration table, people are asked to apply hand sanitizer on, while disinfectants were spread in the air and used on all equipment repeatedly, after each contact. There was also an emphasis on keeping social distance and participants were asked to arrive exactly on time and to leave once they are done, to avoid contact as much as possible.
Without forgetting to mention that all our international participants got the chance to meet the judges and pitch ONLINE, to avoid the risks of traveling all the way to Tunisia.
It was so challenging to manage the situation, yet, thanks to the efforts of OST team as well as the attendees’ awareness and attention, things went so well, as planned.
What is next?
The next step will be the bootcamp where all selected solo talents will be matched with 20 selected startups to start an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey together.
So, STAY TUNED, because a lot of surprises are waiting for you!
Related Read: Open Start Up Tunisia (OST) Is Now Calling for Applications
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Nermine Nejima- 23 years old, an energetic and ambitious student at Tunis Business School and a former exchange student at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, United States. Majoring in Marketing and minoring in Business Analytics, organizer of more than 10 national and international events, with an experience in communication, Translation, and Coordination.
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