Startup weekend (SW), a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate and empower individuals, teams and communities, will be holding their first ever event in Malta at SmartCity Malta in June 2013. This event brings together Maltese and foreign entrepreneurs, designers, developers and startup enthusiasts to participate in 54 hours of taking innovative business ideas from concept to launch.
To date, over 700 Startup Weekends have been held in all major cities of the world spread over five continents including London, New York, Moscow, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and many others.
SmartCity Malta will be playing a crucial role in the organisation of this event by providing a state-of-the-art infrastructure and business contacts matching international companies and investment capital. “We expect SmartCity Malta to be the next hot area on the map of European technological ventures, playing the bridge role between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East,” said the SW Malta organisers Jaroslaw Bialek and Martin Leonard. “It is definitely a place to be.”
Mr Bialek and Mr Leonard added that participants of SW Malta will get a fantastic opportunity to network and work together with not only their peers but also the specialists and star-entrepreneurs from several countries from the region. “SW Malta is going to be a truly international event and cross-cultural experience.”
Startup weekend is a not-for-profit event. During this weekend-long event entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if their startup ideas are viable and get the full startup experience themselves. During this event budding entrepreneurs will have the opportunity of networking with other attendees that have technical and business backgrounds and who will help them formulate their business model.
On Friday night, attendees will address the audience to pitch their ideas in 60 seconds or less. After the groups form, the rest of the weekend will be spent formulating the most popular ideas, with the help of mentors and seasoned startup entrepreneurs. By Sunday, teams will be ready to present their ideas to a panel of judges who will award prizes, including co-working office space and memberships in mentorship programmes, all of which are targeted to help teams build their startups after the weekend.
“Our mission for this weekend isn’t limited to just creating local startups. We want to support local business as well,” said the organizers of the Startup Weekend Malta. “Part of the learning experience at Startup Weekend is demonstrating practices that encourage growth and innovation right here at home.”
Commenting about the Startup Weekend, SmartCity Malta Chief Executive Officer, Fareed Abdulrahman said: “We are collaborating with Startup Weekend because we share a common vision − that of creating a network of opportunities. In creating SmartCity Malta we always wanted to create a platform where local and foreign organisations can cooperate and work together to help each other’s business grow. Similar to SmartCity Malta, Startup Weekends will create a platform where budding entrepreneurs will meet established businessmen with the aim of developing a business model that can be executed.”