Silicon Valley accelerator Plug and Play to launch in Mideast
Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based accelerator that is invested in more than 300 companies globally, has tied up with Jordan-based telco Umniah to launch a chapter in Amman, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The accelerator will invest a minimum of $25,000 in pre-seed funding in regional tech start-ups for 10 per cent of the business. If the entrepreneurs are any good, they will be taken to Silicon Valley after a three-month incubation programme to hustle investors for some further cash.
Plug and Play and Umniah plan to have the program up and running by the third quarter and will accelerate up to 15 companies in the first year. Plug and Play claims its seed companies have raised more than $750 million in follow-on funding and the accelerator has recently expanded through partnerships to Berlin and Sao Paulo. It already has additional chapters in Canada, Poland, Russia, Singapore and Spain, and plans to launch Mexico. Both Umniah and Plug and Play will invest the pre-seed cash.
“Unless you have skin in the game, it doesn’t mean you’re all in,” said Saeed Amidi, the founder and chief executive of Plug and Play in an interview. An Iranian, Mr. Amidi has spent more than 15 years investing in tech companies and has taken stakes in businesses such as PayPal, DropBox Inc. and dating site Zoosk, which recently filed to raise up to $100 million in an IPO.
Acceleration is becoming the new buzz word in the Arab world where it’s traditionally been difficult to find funding, particularly at an early stage. Two of the Arab world’s most well-known accelerators Jordan-based Oasis500 and Cairo-based Flat6labs both plan to expand across the region.
Oasis500 will open branches in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon and potentially Tunisia. Flat6labs opened in Jeddah last year, and has further plans.
Tie-ups between corporates and accelerators, meanwhile, are also becoming more common in the region after ports operator DP World and digital services company Intigral launched programmes.
Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based accelerator that is invested in more than 300 companies globally, has tied up with Jordan-based telco Umniah to launch a chapter in Amman, the Wall Street Journal reported. The accelerator will invest a minimum of $25,000 in pre-seed funding in regional tech start-ups for 10 per cent of the business. If the entrepreneurs are any good, they will be taken to Silicon Valley after a three-month incubation programme to hustle investors for some further cash. Plug and Play and Umniah plan to have the program up and running by the third quarter and will...
Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based accelerator that is invested in more than 300 companies globally, has tied up with Jordan-based telco Umniah to launch a chapter in Amman, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The accelerator will invest a minimum of $25,000 in pre-seed funding in regional tech start-ups for 10 per cent of the business. If the entrepreneurs are any good, they will be taken to Silicon Valley after a three-month incubation programme to hustle investors for some further cash.
Plug and Play and Umniah plan to have the program up and running by the third quarter and will accelerate up to 15 companies in the first year. Plug and Play claims its seed companies have raised more than $750 million in follow-on funding and the accelerator has recently expanded through partnerships to Berlin and Sao Paulo. It already has additional chapters in Canada, Poland, Russia, Singapore and Spain, and plans to launch Mexico. Both Umniah and Plug and Play will invest the pre-seed cash.
“Unless you have skin in the game, it doesn’t mean you’re all in,” said Saeed Amidi, the founder and chief executive of Plug and Play in an interview. An Iranian, Mr. Amidi has spent more than 15 years investing in tech companies and has taken stakes in businesses such as PayPal, DropBox Inc. and dating site Zoosk, which recently filed to raise up to $100 million in an IPO.
Acceleration is becoming the new buzz word in the Arab world where it’s traditionally been difficult to find funding, particularly at an early stage. Two of the Arab world’s most well-known accelerators Jordan-based Oasis500 and Cairo-based Flat6labs both plan to expand across the region.
Oasis500 will open branches in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Lebanon and potentially Tunisia. Flat6labs opened in Jeddah last year, and has further plans.
Tie-ups between corporates and accelerators, meanwhile, are also becoming more common in the region after ports operator DP World and digital services company Intigral launched programmes.
