Having Announced Its 2020 Winners, KAUST and SABB Now Welcome Applications For Its 2021 TAQADAM Startup Accelerator Program TAQADAM, a Saudi Arabia-based startup accelerator program that aims to develop high-potential startups, has announced its 2020 winners and opened applications for its 2021 cohort.
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Saudi British Bank (SABB) have announced the 11 winners of the 2020 TAQADAM startup accelerator program, all of whom received a prize valued at SR375,000.
During a virtual event, the 2020 TAQADAM judges selected 10 winners out of 76 founders from 37 startups which competed for a prize pool of over SR4 million in zero-equity funding, while the audience of over 4,200 virtual attendees voted on a People's Choice award winner.
The door is now open for applicants to the 2021 TAQADAM startup accelerator cohort, with applications closing on April 10, 2021. Startups from around the world are encouraged to apply by clicking here.
The competition was fierce for the 2020 cohort, as only 59 of the 561 startups that applied were accepted. Selected teams received SR150,000 in zero-equity grant funding, while the following 11 were declared as winners:
- AlGooru, a mobile education platform that matches students with qualified tutors.
- Jaleesa, an app connecting parents with certified babysitters.
- Logexa, an on-demand warehousing service for small businesses.
- Polymeron, a biodegradable and sustainable materials manufacturer.
- Raed an educational storytelling app for primary school children.
- Themar, a peer-to-peer, Shariah compliant online financing marketplace.
- Udawi, a free online service connecting patients with health care providers.
- Uvera: Compact, a portable device to extend vegetable and produce shelf life
- Wethaq, a financial technology platform for securities management.
- White Helmet, a remote construction project management platform.
- People's Choice Award Winner - Tmyyoz, an online education platform for standardized test preparation.
In 2016, KAUST and SABB partnered to launch the first TAQADAM startup accelerator program as a way to support entrepreneurs in taking the first leap toward founding a startup.
The six-month-long accelerator, which is based at KAUST in Saudi Arabia, has now graduated 126 startups, and granted over SR16 million in zero-equity grant funding.
Applications for the 2021 cohort can be made through this link.
