24 May 2015
● Over SAR 8 Million have been invested in 22 Saudi Technology-Enabled Start-ups since Flat6Labs Jeddah, founded by Qotuf, was launched

● Supported and by IKEA and the Arabian Cement's Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility Program

Jeddah - The Startup Accelerator Flat6Labs Jeddah, founded by Qotuf AlRiyadah, introduced an exciting line-up of 10 Saudi technology-enabled startups at its 3rd Demo Day event last night. The Demo Day was held under the patronage of HE. Eng. Abdullatif Al-Othman, the Governor of SAGIA, and attended by His Royal Highness Prince Saud Bin Khalid Al Faisal Al Saud, SAGIA Deputy Governor for investment affairs.
 
Supported by IKEA and the Arabian Cement's Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility CER Program, Flat6Labs Jeddah's Business Accelerator was able to invest and mentor the participating Saudi teams, through a comprehensive 90-day entrepreneurship program for startups.
 
The start-up businesses participating in Demo Day included a diverse group of Saudi entrepreneurs, whose projects and services included the delivery of educational and career guidance programs, recruitment platforms, recycling and advertising solutions, localized gaming platforms, online cultural platforms and finally, cloud-based software solutions.
 
Highlighting on the success of Flat6Labs Jeddah, Tuba Terekli, CEO and Co-founder of Qotuf and the General Manager of Flat6Labs Jeddah, stated "entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia is steadily growing and the Flat6Labs Jeddah program success shows the potential of Saudi youth and what they can achieve with the right mixture of mentoring, nurturing, and resources. The building blocks that will support Saudi entrepreneurs to successfully launch their businesses and which will lead to the creation of skilled and high quality job opportunities in the Saudi market, requires that all the stakeholders are aligned and committed to supporting our young entrepreneurs".
 
As Saudi Arabia's first private-sector non-profit entrepreneurship foundation, Qotuf aims to foster the sustainable development of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia through the business accelerator program, which is the first of its kind in the kingdom. Flat6Labs Jeddah has thus far graduated 22 Saudi technology-enabled start-ups, which were founded by 65 Saudi entrepreneurs, with investments totalling over SAR 8 million. In addition, the startups received in-kind services, which includes; office space, company formation, legal advice, professional and technical advisory services and perks through its Global Accelerator Network, GAN partnership, whose membership includes the top 50 accelerators in the world. Flat6Labs Jeddah has also provided these startups with more than 120 hours of training in various business disciplines through more than 20 mentors, all of which are accomplished Saudi businessmen and senior executives.
 
The teams that successfully bid to establish their enterprises with promising market potential during Demo Day will graduate from Flat6Labs Jeddah and receive additional funding from investors to grow their businesses.
 
Ten Technology Start-ups from Saudi Arabia
● Allemni is an Educational Technology (EdTech) web and mobile start-up that targets pre-school children  with a focus on building value-driven, entertaining, and informative interactive applications that nurtures their cognitive abilities.

● Estickery is an online store that sell customized wall stickers that are produced through design input from graphic designers, calligraphers, painters and photographers. In addition customers can submit their designs and pictures, which are then created as wallpaper stickers.

● Polisher is a web and mobile-based mobile car wash service that not only brings convenience to car cleaning, it also looks after the wellbeing of the vehicle's owner and his family. Through its use of steam, which is unbeatable as an effective cleaning and sterilizing agent cars become squeaky-clean.

● Sandooq is an e-commerce website that bundles and sells complementary products, in order to bring greater convenience to the shopping experience.

● OFFWAYS, a B2B corporate retention services provider platform, helps motivate and reward employees in order to increase performance and retention.

● Vanoman is an online booking platform for household transportation service providers in Saudi Arabia. Through Vanoman, customers are able to receive quotes from registered providers (verified) and are able to  check the profile of each bidder and see previous customers feedback before accepting the sent quotes.

● iRehab is a platform that helps parents and therapists to support children who suffer from deficient motor skills. Combining different tools to assist parents in home exercise programs through the online display of audio-visual exercises, online consultation and 3D visual exercises. In addition to offering email consultation with experienced therapists, parents and support groups.

● Mahara is an online and mobile platform that enables individuals to find and hire skilled Blue Collar Labor for various home maintenance services. Mahara provides convenience and well-priced quality service.

● TeamReem is gaming studio that provides Arabic content games created to be culturally relevant to the Saudi market. The focus is on game genres that have language and cultural context, in order to deliver meaningful experience to the Arabic gamer.

● Selsal is the wedding planner at your fingertips. It removes the stress, time-consuming and tiring efforts associated with organizing a wedding. Selsal is an e-wedding service provider that seamlessly integrates wedding services by connecting the groom and bride with the different vendors.

Flat6Labs Jeddah has previously conducted two successful Demo Day events on February 8th, 2014, and May 31st, 2014, both of which were attended by over 200 high profile government officials, partnering sponsors, corporate executives, as well as local, regional and global angel investors, investment bankers, and media representatives. On it's 3rd Demo Day, Flat6Labs Jeddah witnesses a lineup of youth that are driven by the belief that they can solve local problems by providing simple solutions.

-Ends-

About Flat6Labs
Flat6Labs is a startup accelerator program that fosters and invests in bright and passionate entrepreneurs with cutting-edge ideas. The program provides seed funding, strategic mentorship, a creative workspace, a multitude of perks and entrepreneurship-focused business training. In addition, the program directly supports startups through an expansive network of partner entities, mentors and investors. Flat6Labs has created an environment where entrepreneurs can advance their company an incredible pace and in a short period of time. Flat6Labs Jeddah, launched in May 2013 in collaboration with Qotuf AlRiyadah, is one of four Flat6Labs accelerator programs in the MENA region following the success of its original program in Cairo, Egypt, which was launched in 2011. The establishment of the Jeddah program was followed by its launch in Abu Dhabi in 2014, followed by Beirut in 2015.
 
About Qotuf AlRiyadah
Qotuf AlRiyadah is the first Saudi private-sector non-profit entrepreneurship foundation. It was established in 2012, aiming to foster the sustainable development of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, and to both support and fulfill the needs of aspiring Saudi entrepreneurs through the launch of initiatives with private and public sectors. Flat6Labs Jeddah, founded by Qotuf, is the first and only private sector accelerator in Saudi Arabia. The joint-program provides free space, legal set up, capacity building, mentoring, consulting, in addition to pre-seed funding for entrepreneurial startups that are tech-enabled. Since its launch in May 2013, Flat6Labs Jeddah, has developed 22 Saudi technology-enabled startups, of which several have received strong private sector investments.
 
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© Press Release 2015