Startups Without Borders will launch a hybrid summit on 11-12 December in Rome and Cairo simultaneously. Under the theme "Reconnect the dots", the summit will bring together key players in the tech space, valiant founders, and international investors to rethink what 'back to normal' really means and reconnect the dots. With two main stages, the summit will take place in Rome, at LVenture Hub, and Cairo, at the American University in Cairo through their startup accelerator AUC V-Lab. The summit – hosted in partnership with Meta, UNDP Egypt, Edventures, ZOHO, and AUC V-Lab, – will offer entrepreneurs and startups the opportunity to connect, learn, and get insights from the powerhouses and global giants including Microsoft, Meta, SAP, Nokia, and IBM. From the future of crypto, to the road to 2030, the summit will discuss five main tracks featuring panels, workshops, and masterclasses from key players in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East. The event will have a high-profile speakers lineup including Roberto Croci, Managing Director for Microsoft for Startups MEA, Stephen Ibaraki, Founder of AI for good, Amal Dokhan, Partner at 500 Global MENA, Sheraz Ahmed, Head of Business at Crypto Valley and Riad Hartani, author of Tech Nomads of the Universe. "Steve Jobs once taught us to trust that the dots in our life will somehow connect. This year, as we move away from a pandemic that signaled the end of the world as we knew it, we want to invite the entrepreneurs, the misfits, and the changemakers to reconnect the dots and think differently. We will talk about cryptocurrencies breaking borders, the rise of NFTs, how teens in AI challenge education, and how diaspora artists are rising in the metaverse. That's why we decided to host it in Rome and Cairo, two cities that represent the birth of civilization and for us, the hope for a new, more diverse startup generation," says Valentina Primo, Founder and CEO of Startups Without Borders. Alongside talks and panels with all-star speakers, the event will host exciting activities, including a masterclass for Creative Economy Entrepreneurs in diaspora, in partnership with Meta, and the EdTech Demo Day where startups will pitch to international VC, in partnership with EdVentures. The summit will also be the launchpad for Startups Without Borders Chapters, which will offer young changemakers around the world the opportunity to launch their own chapter and build a diverse startup ecosystem in their community. Startups can also apply to the Investor Room, where entrepreneurs can get selected to have a 101 meeting with investors from leading Angel Investment Networks in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Entrepreneurs will be matched with an investor according to industry, geography, and ticket size, and gear up to pitch one-on-one in a private room at the summit. One of the most exciting features of the summit is the Startup World Cup Europe-MENA Connect, a global competition taking place across 60+ countries, where top entrepreneurs will pitch for a chance to get $1m at the finals, in Silicon Valley.
