Silicon Valley-based early-stage Venture Capital firm, 500 Startups, has announced the 12 pre-Series A startups that will be participating in the prestigious MENA Dojo Series A Program.
The 12 firms were shortlisted following a very extensive and rigorous selection process. The startups in the second edition of this year’s Dojo Series A program include:
Eyewa: A retail startup dealing in online glasses and contact lenses.
Keno: An increasingly popular on-demand car washing app.
GymNadz: A fitness app targeted at the region’s millennial population.
Mr. Draper: A fashion startup focused on men’s clothing.
MediHealth: A startup that provides at-home doctor services.
Melltoo: An app where you can find all kinds of second-hand goods.
MyU: An all-encompassing education platform targeted at students, parents, and teachers.
Nawah: A new platform that makes it possible to outsource scientific/laboratory services.
La Reina: One of MENA’s first platforms for renting dresses.
Plantshop: Nursery e-commerce platform.
VBOUT: A startup dedicated to marketing technology.
SocialDice: An increasingly popular HR service among recruiters.
“At 500 Startups, the Series A Program is focused on building a base growth mindset and structure in each startup, in addition to providing one-on-one active growth mentorship and support. Our focus in the program is on growth metrics to set the startups up to raise stronger funding rounds at the next stage,” Hasan Haider, Partner, 500 Startups MENA, explained how the Dojo Series A program would help the shortlisted startups in both the short and long run.
He added that the growth techniques taught in the program are all designed to help startups polish and nurture their products and services so they can seamlessly go about product positioning, while simultaneously prioritizing the next-stage of growth.
