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February 12th, 2021, Open Startup Tunisia Pre-Incubation Program Demo Day was held online, and the pre recorded event was aired LIVE on Facebook. 9 startups pitched their ideas, aiming to secure the chance to pitch in the prestigious Columbia Venture Competition and one of 4 cash prizes of 35K TND in total.
Demo Day: The Last Milestone of an Exceptional Journey
Demo Day, an event that gathered more than 50 participants from across Tunisia, to be evaluated by 7 exceptional jury members in two (02) pitching panels: A Tunisian panel formed by experts of different fields – Yehia Houri (Flat6Labs), Salma Baghdadi (Smart Capital), Aymen Mtimet (Deloitte), Walid Bellagha (Endeavor) and supervised by Wahid Labidi (US Embassy), in addition to a panel from Columbia, formed by Ivy Schultz, Michel Amselem and Rishi Ratan.
A closed event started at 3 PM, where the 9 startups pitched their projects to the panelists. After the deliberation, the pre-recorded Demo Day went out to the large public and was aired LIVE on Facebook, announcing the 4 awarded startups:
- Trip to New York to pitch in Columbia Venture Competition | awarded to Skills 21
- Cash prize 15K TND | awarded to “Skills 21”
- Cash prize 10K TND | awarded to “Hwita”
- Cash Prize 5K TND | awarded to “Travaris”
- Cash Prize 5K TND | awarded to “Pedalo”
OST Pre-Incubator: OST Newborn
Co-designed with Columbia Engenireeing and Columbia Business School, the program kicked start 5 months ago, with the pre-selection of 50 startups. After the jury day, 25 startups joined the program, where they got matched with talented students and fresh graduates, from different disciplines and only 9 of them made it to this stage, after passing the crash test.
The immersive 12-week program happened FULLY ONLINE, as a response to the global pandemic circumstances, and throughout their journey, the participants benefited from high-quality training led by national and international experts, strong mentoring provided by Tunisian coaches and Columbia MBA students, support for prototyping as well as access to a global network.
All in partnership with Columbia Engineering and Columbia Business School, The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, The US Embassy in Tunisia, Africinvest, The Columbia Global Centers of Tunis and Amman, La Fondation Drosos, Deloitte, and Flat6Labs.
What is next?
STAY TUNED and keep an eye on Open Startup Official Facebook Page for exclusive announcements, because the startups’ journey is just starting!
Similar Reads:
- Open Start Up Tunisia (OST) Is Now Calling for Applications
- OST Pre-Incubation Program Jury Day – A Successful Event in the Corona Era
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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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