Business in 54 hours

Hosted by Bahrain FinTech Bay in partnership with the National Bank of Bahrain, a special FinTech focused Startup Weekend is scheduled to happen from November 21 to 24.

The intense 54-hour event, which kicks off at 6:30pm on November 21, bridges the gap between FinTech enthusiasts and corporates in Bahrain, tasking participants with building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. Participants, who don’t need to have any coding or computer science background, will be challenged to create a prototype of their minimum viable product (MVP) that should set out to solve, and address FinTech challenges within the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the GCC region. The three-day event will present the current FinTech landscape, and outline how customers’ expectations are changing, with the ever-increasing demand for services and goods to be provided through digital channels.

Khalid Saad, CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay, said: “We are delighted as Bahrain FinTech Bay to be hosting Start-up Weekend for the second year in a row. Building on last year’s successful event, this year’s focus will be on developing start-ups that address problem statements within the FinTech ecosystem. This is in line with our mission to further support the development of Bahrain’s FinTech ecosystem and the country’s ambitions in becoming an increasingly innovation and digitally-driven economy.”

Education and knowledge partners, including the University of Bahrain and Bahrain Polytechnic, will provide workshops and mentorship sessions to support the teams in all the stages of creating an idea from forming the team, building actual product, and pitching them. 

Since 2011, Startup Weekend has created a community of passionate entrepreneurs on a mission to provide experiential education for entrepreneurs. Participants get the chance to launch a business idea by connecting with the right people and actively working together within a local community of coaches, mentors and investors.

Yaser Alsharifi, chief strategy officer at National Bank of Bahrain, added: “This is the ultimate platform for new entrepreneurs to look for a team, create a prototype of an idea, validate their business idea, and receive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs, all in one weekend. Initiatives like this pursuing Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 have led to the creation of the ideal ecosystem for start-ups and smaller businesses.”