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Winners of ‘Get in the Ring’ Abu Dhabi to Represent UAE at the Singapore Global Final
ADGM FSRA: 15 March 2017
Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi organized the 2017 global ‘Get in The Ring’ competition in partnership with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, on 28 February in Abu Dhabi at ADGM’s premise. The competition saw a multitude of start-ups including FinTech players coming together to showcase their innovation and battle for the right to represent the UAE in the global finals to be held in Singapore in May 2017.
After an exciting evening of competition, three winning teams from different “weight” categories emerged. The winners are:
▪ Lightweight Championship Winner: Dinodropsan e-commerce platform for personalised greetings cards, party invitations, wedding stationery.
▪ Middleweight Championship Winner: Point Checkout, is the "Paypal for Reward Points" and allows user to combine and spend their reward points from participating reward providers online and in real-time
▪ Heavyweight Championship Winner (FinTech Category)NowMoney provides a convenient, intuitive and cost effective financial management and remittance solution for people who are excluded from the benefits afforded to those with traditional bank accounts.
Victor Kiriakos, Managing Director at Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi said: “As a key player in the Abu Dhabi start-up ecosystem Flat6Labs AD is constantly inspiring and engaging the local community of entrepreneurs, investors and corporates to help grow the ecosystem and create the next generation of Abu Dhabi home grown companies. Bringing Get In The Ring for the first time in Abu Dhabi is a testimony to those efforts”.
Wai Lum Kwok. Executive Director (Capital Markets), Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, said, “ADGM congratulates the three winners and all the contestants of this very exciting and novel competition. We are inspired to see such an active and innovative startup community in Abu Dhabi and the region. As an international financial centre and financial regulator, ADGM can play an important and meaningful role in promoting innovation. We will continue to work with key partners such as Flat6Labs to nurture local entrepreneurship and to fortify the start-up ecosystem. This competition is but one of a series of events leading up to ADGM FinTech Abu Dhabi Week.”
Get in The Ring is known for its innovative format where startups face off in a boxing ring. A battle between two startups consists of five 30-second rounds about the team, achievements, and business model. The competition attracted more than 100 applications with 20 FinTech and cross-industry startups that were ultimately selected to take part in the innovative competition.
The competition works by bringing two startups within the same weight class based on startup valuation that battle head-to-head in the ring with their respective pitches. One battle between two teams consists of several rounds that include information about the team, the business model and its finances and more.
The panel of judges that helped select the winners consisted of top business professionals from across a wide range of industries:
▪ Amjad Ahmad, Managing Partner at Precinct Partners, former CEO of NBK Capital.
▪ Issa Aghabi, Venture Capital Investment Officer at the IFC, former Head of Investment at twofour54
▪ Wai Lum Kwok, Executive Director (Capital Markets) at Abu Dhabi Global Market
▪ Victor Kiriakos, Managing Director, Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi
Aside from competing globally against winners from 100+ countries, the three winners of “Get In The Ring” Abu Dhabi will also receive the opportunity to showcase their startup at the Step Conference Startup Bootcamp and will have access to mentorship and guidance from the Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi Team.
It was overall a great introduction to “Get In The Ring” Abu Dhabi, an event that showcased innovative startups that have what it takes to compete locally and globally!
About Get In The Ring
The Get in the Ring Foundation is an organization that gives startups a fun and global podium to make valuable connections to start, grow and scale up their business. The Foundation is active in 80+ countries and works together with leaders of entrepreneurship ecosystems around the world. Get in the Ring is known for its innovative format where startups literally face off in a boxing ring. A battle between 2 startups consists of 5 30-second rounds about the team, achievements, and business model.
About Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi
Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi is a global hub for digital innovation that supports a generation of entrepreneurs to launch in Abu Dhabi and scale globally.
Supported by twofour54, the renowned UAE media and entertainment hub, Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi is now accepting for its next accelerator cycle commencing September 2015, startups with a focus on media and digital content, in diverse digital sectors including media and film production, e-commerce, social media, online education, gaming, mobile apps, and big data and analytics. Through this cooperation, Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi and twofour54 aim to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs in the UAE.
In its competitive core program, Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi provides entrepreneurs with seed funding, strategic mentorship, office space, a multitude of perks and services from partners, support with company registration and visa acquisition, and a focused business training curriculum, all engineered to prepare companies to be investment-ready within four months. Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi is also the only member of the Global Accelerator Network in the Arab world.
Core to the business model at Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi is a commitment to local capacity building, with an emphasis on offering mentoring and training sessions to students and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the UAE
About Abu Dhabi Global Market
Abu Dhabi Global Market is a broad-based international financial centre for local, regional and international institutions, established in accordance with the Federal Law No (8) of 2004, Federal Decree No (15) of 2013, Cabinet Resolution No (4) of 2013, and Abu Dhabi Law No (4) of 2013.
ADGM’s three independent authorities – the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and ADGM Courts – ensure that our business-friendly environment operates in line with international best practice that are recognised by major financial centres across the world.
In collaboration with other International Financial Centres, global institutions and regulators, Abu Dhabi Global Market develops and supports member institutions with the regulatory framework, legal jurisdiction and attractive business environment they need for sustainable business growth.
Amjad Ahmad, Managing Partner at Precinct Partners, former CEO of NBK Capital.