Start-up weekend (SW), a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate and empower individuals, teams and communities will be hosting their first ever event in Malta at SmartCity Malta in June 2013. This event brings together Maltese and foreign entrepreneurs, designers, developers and start-up enthusiasts to participate in 54 hours of taking innovative business ideas from concept to launch.
To date over 700 Start-up Weekends have been held in all major cities of the world spreading 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 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 the participants of SW Malta will get a fantastic opportunity to network and work together with not only their peers but also specialists and star-entrepreneurs from several countries from the region. “SW Malta is going to be a truly international event and cross-cultural experience”.
Start-up weekend is a not for profit event. During this weekend-long event entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out whether their start-up ideas are viable, while getting the full start-up experience themselves. During this event, budding entrepreneurs will have the opportunity of networking with other attendees of various technical and business backgrounds, who will in turn help them to 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 start-up entrepreneurs. By Sunday, teams will be ready to present their ideas in front of a panel of judges who will award prizes, including co-working office space and memberships in mentorship programs, all of which are targeted to help teams build their start-ups after the weekend.
“Our mission this weekend isn’t limited to just creating local start-ups. We want to support local business as well,” said the organisers of the Start-up Weekend Malta. “Part of the learning experience at Start-up Weekend is demonstrating practices that encourage growth and innovation right here at home.”
Commenting about the Start-up Weekend, SmartCity Malta Chief Executive Officer, Fareed Abdulrahman said that “we are collaborating with Start-up 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, Start-up Weekends will create a platform where budding entrepreneurs will meet established businessmen with the aim of developing a business model that can be executed.”
More information about the Malta Start-up Weekend can be obtained on www.malta.startupweekend.org or else by following it on Twitter https://twitter.com/swmalta