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Seedstars World is all set to make its debut in Beirut this month, bringing one of the world’s most prestigious startup-focused summits to Lebanon. The Beirut chapter of the summit is being organized in collaboration with telecom giant, touch, with strategic support from Bank Audi.

The Seedstars MENA Summit, scheduled on Nov 27 to 29, will start with a two-day private Seedstars Bootcamp participated by the regional winners from across the region. They will be provided with lessons and training sessions on a range of theoretical, as well as practical topics.

There will be another private boot camp sponsored by touch where 12 startups incubated at the company’s TOP program, along with the three runner-ups from Seedstars Beirut local competition will participate. Bank Audi is hosting a hackathon dubbed “Beyond Banking” where 40 participants will brainstorm, conceptualize, develop, and present various innovative solutions to challenges regularly faced by the banking and FinTech sectors.

On the third and final day of the Summit, there will be a private investor forum where the finalists from the MENA competition will get to have one-on-one interactions with more than 25 local and regional investors. As for the Main Stage, touch CEO Mr. Emre Gurkan has been confirmed as the first keynote speaker.

Omar Barakat, Seedstars MENA Associate, said on an optimistic note about the expected turnout at the event: “In 2017, we managed to bring together more than 300 attendees, between entrepreneurs, corporates, investors, mentors, government authorities, and startup enthusiasts. We organized around 80 meetings between startups, investors, and mentors and we felt overwhelmed by the positive feedback we had from all participants. This year, we aim to grow and offer a unique, disruptive hands-on experience to 400 attendees!”

Some of the most eminent business leaders to have confirmed their participation at the event include littleBits founder Ayah Bdeir and Walid Hanna, CEO at Middle East Venture Partners.