Egyptian startups Taskty and Shezlong have been selected to take part in the MiSK Growth Accelerator, gaining access to US$100,000 in funding and a developmental programme.
Launched by the Saudi Arabia-based MiSK Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, the MiSK Growth Accelerator is a three-month, post-acceleration programme for MENA startups with product-market fit and seeking a scalable growth model.
It offers selected startups the opportunity to attend three on-site bootcamps and a demo day in Riyadh, with the hybrid programme combining virtual and on-site acceleration to allow startups to stay close to their customers while benefiting from coaching from in-house growth and external growth experts.
Taskty, an online marketplace for home services, and Shezlong, an online psychotherapy platform that allows people to connect with licenced and qualified therapists, are among the 11 startups to take part.
All 11 startups will also receive US$100,000 in funding, co-invested by the initiatives founding partners Seedstars and Vision Ventures, who will also consider follow-on investments of up to US$1 million once the programme concludes in December.
“We’re delighted to have kicked off the first ever MENA batch of the Growth Accelerator. The programme is filling a void in the ecosystem by working with slightly later stage startups and focusing on growth. I’m confident the knowledge and support delivered by Seedstars, Vision Ventures and all the mentors will give a real boost to the teams,” said Osama AlRaee, entrepreneurship director at MiSK Foundation.
Seedstars chief investment officer Charlie Graham-Brown said over 450 applications had been received for the programme, which was then filtered down to the 11 selected startups based on criteria such as team, product-market fit, and growth prospects.
“We aim to have all the teams adopt a growth process and a data-driven culture of experimentation. Growth doesn’t come easily and the programme will equip the teams with techniques and knowledge to crack this challenge,” he said.
The other eight selected companies, which hail from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan, were Caramella, Geeks, Mntrni, Munjz, MyU, Nakheel, POSRocket, Qidz, and Shroo7.
