What started as a series of workshops and small meetings has grown to an extent that it attracted 6000+ attendees and 250+ startups in the Dubai Internet City. The STEP 2019 Conference concluded yesterday after the successful launch of the new STEP Show, Porsche’s Concept Study Mission E and lots of other thrilling activities.
Porsche showcased the all-electric Porsche Concept Study Mission E sports car to demonstrate the future of electric mobility. Additionally, the conference hosted the Volkswagen Mobility Challenge for budding entrepreneurs, who had to provide solutions to people’s everyday mobility issues. The winners will now take a three-day trip to the Volkswagen Innovation Workshop center in Berlin, Germany.
A first to the Conference was live STEP Show arranged on February 13th on the STEP Start stage. We saw the host Sinan Khatib talking with Emirati skater, Zahra Lari and Wamda Capital Executive Chairman Fadi Ghandour who lately started Wamda X. It is a grant-based program to aid founders in developing their startups.
Additionally, the STEP 2019 Conference presented the Visa Fintech Village for specific Fintech startups to showcase their offerings and connect with other like-minded organizations and investors.
The VC-Startup debate was hot. Managed by Mohamed Hamdy, Head of Future Platforms at Dubai Future Foundation, discussions were held on appraisals, funding, responsibilities and board roles.
The STEP 2019 does not only attracted members from the Middle East, but we also saw companies and investors from Singapore, Russia, USA, Hong Kong, Slovenia, India, and Belgium.