Deadline: June 28, 2024
Applications are open for the UN Tourism Women in Tech Startup Competition Middle East 2024. This year’s theme will be directly linked with the UN Tourism Investment Framework: Investing in People, Planet and Prosperity.
Presented during World Tourism Day 2023, it reflects a growing consensus among sector stakeholders about the need to diversify away from the traditional investment framework to a new one where people (education), planet (green transformation), and prosperity (innovation) are at the center to guarantee the development of a sustainable tourism sector.
This framework is at the same time anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), part of the Agenda 2030. As we have already passed the halfway point to 2030, every sector must increase efforts in the path towards sustainability. The tourism sector is not different – the tourism sector has to be at the forefront of this sustainable transformation due to its multiplier impact across all economic industries, and also by offering high-quality jobs, and supporting countries in bringing prosperity to rural areas and less favored communities.
Hence, the categories of the competition will be based on the mentioned key elements, which are economic, social, and environmental factors.
Categories
The competition will be divided into 3 categories: Tech categories relevant to Sustainable Tourism and connected directly to the UN Tourism Investment Framework: Investing in People, Planet and Prosperity.
- Category 1: People & Skills | Investing in People – This category calls for start-ups that use environmentally friendly and sustainable approaches in education tech, tourism & travel tech, social & messaging, wellness, health, with cross-cutting benefits with tourism.
- Category 2: Green Tourism & Travel Solutions | Investing in Planet – This category calls for start-ups that use environmentally friendly and sustainable approaches in green tech, green infrastructure, sustainable travel & logistics, urban development, rural development, with cross-cutting benefits with tourism.
- Category 3: Market Innovators | Investing in Prosperity – This category calls for startups working in the areas of fintech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), cryptocurrency, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and web3 technology, digital twining and the metaverse.
Benefits
- Pitch at the UN Tourism Tech Adventure in AlUla taking place in November (TBC)
- Mentorships by UN Tourism and top partners. (TBC)
- Invited to participate in any relevant new activities related to tourism, sustainability and business.
- Invited to participate in the annual Gala WITH Female Leaders to be held in Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao in 2025.
- Invited to participate in online training events and networking meetings.
- Tailored support for the startup.
- Membership in the UN Tourism Innovation Network.
- Scholarship opportunities for the Tourism Online Academy.
- Media, PR and communications benefits.
- Opportunities to speak as panelists and keynote in UN Tourism events.
Eligibility
- Startups must be led, owned or managed by women in the Middle East, residing in any of the following countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
- Be an Idea Stage, Early Stage, or Series A startups with a minimum viable product or idea that is ready to be developed and funded.
- Have a full-time team, a tested pilot, and a business plan.
- Be scalable with potential for international growth.
Application
For more information, visit Women in Tech Startup Competition.
