Yes. The MIT Enterprise Forum Saudi is Chapter No. 28 of the global chapters monitored and associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Office.
Community Jameel is a proud sponsor for the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region for over 10 years. We now work closely together to support our Saudi entrepreneurs in entering the regional market. Therefore, winners of the MIT EF Saudi competition are automatically included as semi-finalists in the MIT EF Pan Arab region competition and expected to compete for larger prizes.
MIT EF Saudi is one of the leading entrepreneurship competitions in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the international recognition from the MIT Global Office, winners enjoy national and regional exposure of their ventures, cash and product/service prizes from our partners, and the opportunity to pitch in front of investors.
Please see the details for the three tracks under the “MITEF Saudi Competition” tab.
Yes. You can still compete under the “Ideas” track without a registered CR.
No. You must have at least two members in each team. Although, you may add team members after acceptance into the competition.
There are three rounds of judging. The first round takes place as soon as the application deadline is passed. The second round occurs after the bootcamp. The final third round takes place on the morning of the final event.
Judges and mentors are given the following criteria depending on the track you are applying for:
A) Team: The team composition takes an important share of the grade. Judges look for experience, value add, and relevance of each team member.
B) Innovation: Creativity and improvement of existing solutions and/or business processes with respect to current competitors. Within this definition, innovation does not necessarily mean technology. (applies for the Ideas, Startups & Social Entrepreneurship Tracks)
C) Scalability: A business idea or a startup should not be limited to a local market. At a minimum, a nationwide market should be targeted. Preferably, the business could easily be replicated regionally or globally as the company expands. (applies for the Ideas, Startups & Social Entrepreneurship Tracks)
E) Financial Sustainability: How the social enterprise, startups and ideas are maintaining their financial sustainability on the long term
D) Social Impact: The extent to which your project benefits the community (Only for the Social Enterprise Track)
Several. MIT EF Saudi recognizes that entrepreneurs need several areas of support to contribute to their success. Therefore, we offer an intensive bootcamp that will highlight the critical tools for startups. In addition, we offer mentoring sessions and to be paired with a mentor so that teams have the guidance they need along their journey, and finally we offer mock pitching sessions with immediate feedback to best prepare the teams for the round two and three judging.
Please see the below table that outlines the prize money in SAR. The MIT EF Saudi management team aim to deliver the prize money to teams within one month of the competition completion.
Idea Track-First Place (20k); Second Place (15k); Third Place (10k)
Startup Track-First Place (100k); Second Place (25k); Third Place (15k)
Social Enterprise Track- First Place (100k); Second Place (25k); Third Place (15k)
No. Only one idea/application per team.
Each member of the qualifying team will not be paying a participation fee. The MIT Enterprise Forum Saudi Arabia will be paying all other expenses for up to two members per team including Accommodation, Lunch & Coffee breaks, Ground Transportation from/to the event venue, Bootcamp and Conference tickets.
If you need to travel with a mihram then you need to either choose them as a second team member or pay all expenses for them to travel with you.
After the competition, winners will be directly contact by the MIT EF Pan Arab team for specific instructions and guidelines to participate in their regional competition. Also, you will continue to have access to your assigned mentors as needed.