Startup graduating class reflects the ecosystem’s fast growth during Turn8’s Investor Demo Day

Speaking at the first Investor Demo
Day of Dubai-based accelerator Turn8, Brent Traidman, a
general partner at Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital, was
very impressed. “At first, Turn8 the
accelerator was new and entrepreneurs weren’t used to how things
went,” he said. “But today, rounds keep getting better. The third
really surprised me because it showed how fast the ecosystem is
growing in the region.”

At the
January event, where the 11 startups of the autumn 2014 round were
presented, Mohammed Hamady, general director of Turn8, gave an
explainer of how Turn8 operates. 

Usually
investing in 10 to 12 startups in every round of its program, most
of whom are in the telecommunications and IT sectors, joining the
program is done in several stages. The accelerator first scouts
startups during pitching events organized in different countries,
and connects with co-working spaces, particularly  those in
emerging countries, “where there are many talents and very little
financial resources”. Startups can also apply on Turn8’s website to pitch their ideas.

When it
comes to the selection process Hamady said that Turn8 relies on two
key factors: first, the team in itself and its experience,
secondly, the idea, it should be viable. 

During the four-month program, Turn8
offers startups a working space in Dubai’s The Cribb, seed
funding, mentoring, and financial and legal advice. Then the
program consists of three stages: design, development, and
marketing. 

Demo Days themselves are
opportunities for the ecosystem’s key actors to gather:
entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitals, in an effort
to introduce graduating startups to investors, and allow them to
network.  

Although graduating startups are
still in their early stages and usually draw angel investors, a
large number of venture capital owners attended the event to take
the pulse of the ecosystem. 

Many of them believe that startups
who participate in acceleration programs are able to learn a lot,
and have greater chances at continuing their work and developing.
Traidman, who represented the only venture capital company from
Silicon Valley at the event, emphasized that attending was very
important to them because “the ecosystem will change here just like
it did in India and China, and we must be ready for that when it
happens.” 

The organizers said that the event
drew a record number of investors from Eastern Europe, including
Russia, and for the first time from Korea.

As for the entrepreneurs who
presented their startups, they described their experience with
Turn8 as “amazing” and all agreed that it helped them become more
organized, and taught them the basics of doing business such as
developing and implementing their ideas and drafting an action
plan. In addition, they were able, thanks to this program, to
connect with the best mentors specialized in their field of
activities, and learned a lot about the marketing and technical
aspects of their businesses.

As already mentioned, eleven
entrepreneurs each presented their idea in ten minutes, displaying
various ideas ranging from social networking to virtual reality
devices, passing through logistic and financial
services.

The entrepreneurs nationalities
varied from Indonesian, Moroccan, UAE, Georgian, and Italian. Below
is an overview of their companies:

Plex: An
innovative communication tool that allows anyone looking to attend
events to build fruitful relationships with other
attendees. 

Kashmi: An app
that offers a mobile payment solution between friends through a
free simple process, integrating the functions of social
networking. 

Junkbot: A
do-it-yourself hardware kit from unwanted junk aimed at unleashing
the imagination of children from the comfort of their
home.

InGlove: Gloves that allow users to control the movement of their
fingers in video games, as well as to sense the temperature and
form of any object in virtual reality. 

FHAB: A social app
that allows users to share their feelings by shooting videos of
themselves.

Vidium: This app combines the features of Whatsapp and Skype, and
allows users to send video messages and get their receivers’ first
impression. 

Loadme: This
company aims to be the Uber of cargo transportation with trucks
across the Middle East. 

iMote: An elegant
and smart key chain linked to your smartphone allowing one to find
lost keys or phone, and to change music or even take
selfies. 

eYamakan: An
advanced web and mobile app that relies on mapping technology to
offer location-, marketing-, and data-related services.

NiteKite: An
app that combines the features of yelp.com for
finding the best dining places, and Tinder for
meeting people who share the same interests. 

S-mart: A
touch-screen retail program that aims to change the way you shop.
 

Every entrepreneur presented their
idea in their own style; however, one thing was common throughout:
all startups were looking for investment ranging between $300,000
and $800,000 to sustain and develop their products.