Savour Ventures selects five startups to participate in 10-week accelerator program for food startups across MENA
Savour Ventures (Savour) has selected five startups to participate in their rigorous 10 - week accelerator program for food value chain startups across the Middle East and North Africa.
Savour will host all five startups in their hub based in Kuwait for an intensive 12 – module curriculum, powered by Creative Startups.
This year, Savour has created a new feature during the program called “Investor Mock Meetings”, allowing the founders to experience what it’s like to meet with an investor in order to raise money for their startup. The sessions will be treated as a real scenario as if real interest for investment is there.
“After graduating two cohorts and receiving insightful feedback, Savour is excited to be back this year with another batch of unique startups ready to accelerate their growth!” says Amira AlZayed, Savour program manager.
“Our cohort represents key areas across the food value chain, including: Agriculture, Distribution, Consumer Packaged Goods, & Food Technology”, she adds.
Savour received over 300 applications from across the MENA region, along with applicants from the United States, Europe & Africa. Once the application closed, startups were then shortlisted through several rounds of discussion. The final seven, were chosen by the Savour’s team along with an expert panel of judges.
Startups will receive $100,000 investment ($50K In Cash & $50K In Kind) upon acceptance into the program. Top performing startups will have the opportunity for following on funding from Savour based on performance.
The startups selected for the 2019 cohort are:
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Sprouting Journey: (Bahrain) Provides wholesome and nutritious meals made using the best of what mother nature has to offer. Sprouting Journey is the first licensed company authorized in Bahrain to sell food for children 6 months & above.
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THAWAAQ: (Kuwait) A B2B food and beverage market place connecting food suppliers with restaurants and cafes to make food and beverage shopping, and ordering prices more convenient.
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Cup: (Egypt) The first startup in the Middle East to collect and add value to the spent coffee grounds as a way to grow mushrooms.
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Blink Ultimate Delivery: (Jordan) An on-demand delivery company that delivers goods by connecting businesses with nearby freelance drivers by using advanced technologies.
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Sprout: (UAE) Healthy food for children. The food is 100% plant-based, 100% based on the latest nutrition science and endorsed by medical professionals as nutritious and appropriate for the various stages of child growth.
Startup founders will receive in-depth guidance through Savours lead educator Dr. Lena Ramfelt, Creative Startups lead faculty, who taught entrepreneurship for 12 years at Stanford University, School of Engineering. Today Lena develops curriculum and texts used for entrepreneurs worldwide.
The final week of the accelerator program culminates in Deep Dive week, where Savour hosts a large-scale Mentor Day & Demo Day. Demo Day, is designed to bring together key players in the regional startup ecosystem along with foodies across the Middle East to network with the startup founders for media exposure, partnership opportunities, investment & more! This event is open to the public on December 10, 2019, and will be held at Niu Business District One.
The partnership Savour has with Creative Startups is pivotal to the success of the program. The Creative Startups curriculum serves as a foundation for Savour’s longstanding commitment to catalyzing innovation and excellence across the food value chain.
“We’ve enhanced this year’s program to focus on key learning outcomes such as successful fundraising, and customer traction. This cohort will be more extensive than ever, offering new curriculum content, new mentors, along with the opportunity to engage regularly with experienced investors” says Amira.