Viaka Newsletter: An excellent first Viaka Demo Day!
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Hi everyone! This week, we’re highlighting Viaka’s first exclusive Demo Day event, which happened on December 1st. Enjoy!
On December 1st, Viaka held the first edition of the Viaka Network Demo Day. The Demo Day involved four separate startup pitches followed by individualized feedback and Q&A by the panel of expert investors.
The startup pitches came from a wide range of founders. Founders included Abed Kasaji of Anecdote; Laila Zemrani of Fitnescity; Tarik Agday of SportsAI; and Natalie Frangi and Chara Dela of NuiT App.
The expert jury featured Sujude Dalieh of JAZZ Venture Partners; Joseph Lissak of Olive Tree Capital; and Rosy Khalife, a Serial Entrepreneur, Investor & Advisor. Amr Abdelaziz of AZ Angels could not participate.
The audience included many of Viaka’s Networks from all different backgrounds. After each startup founder presented a short pitch, our experts and audience provided useful feedback and asked probing questions.
Natalie and Chara of NuiT App shared that they were “so excited to have participated to Viaka’s pitching event. Grateful for this opportunity to connect with influential people and receive insightful and valuable feedback!”
A shot of their successful pitch is included below:
The panel of expert investors similarly had a positive experience with the first edition of the Demo Day. Joseph Lissak found that "[he] really enjoyed the inaugural Viaka Demo Day – Hani did a great job organizing the event, and [he] was very pleased to have met some awesome entrepreneurs and investors.” Lissak even added that he’s “looking forward to being a part of the Viaka community as it continues to grow."
Sujude Dalieh also “loved seeing faces from [the] community start taking the leap to entrepreneurship and thriving!”, emphasizing the need for “more MENA entrepreneurs and investors in the space.”
Abed Kasaji felt that “as a startup founder, attending demo day was an incredibly valuable experience”. Abed had a great pitch for his company Anecdote, and felt that the Demo Day was an opportunity to network with investors and other founders. He “would highly recommend demo day to any startup founder looking to learn, grow, and connect with others in the industry”.
Abed’s pitch:
Similarily, Laila Zemrani of Fitnescity said that the “event was a unique opportunity to connect with founders and investors in the MENA community”. A picture of Laila’s pitch is below!
The first edition of Viaka’s Demo Day was a huge success and we look forward to future editions!
Promising Opportunities from Our MENA Partners
Click here to view list of opportunities curated from the Viaka’s MENA partners.
If you would like to get involved with any of the opportunities, please fill out the form below and indicate what opportunity you are interested in in the “Reason for Joining” section.
Exciting Announcements From Our Network
Below is a list of updates, wins, and asks emanating from members of the Viaka Network in the “West.”
While events are winding down for the year, Viaka is already planning for 2023! Join the Network to get involved with our monthly coffee chats, demo days, and upcoming in-person meetups.
If you’re a member of our Network and would like to share your own update next week, email info.viaka@gmail.com or submit an update via this form.
Read of the Week
Check out this section for weekly picks on MENA-relevant startup world readings!
Viaka is launching its new Network Reading List, where Network members are encouraged to submit media suggestions of their own. Check out the site here for more readings and information.
This week, take a peek at this piece by Rayan Dawud about rerouting commutes in MENA.
That’s it for this week. Thank you!
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