Meet the MENA startups joining ‘Google for Startups Accelerator’

Today, we’re very excited to announce the list of selected startups for the first cohort of ‘Google for Startups Accelerator Middle East and North Africa’. The ten technology startups come from six Arab countries across health, travel, education, fintech and e-commerce. They were selected based on criteria like the problem they are trying to solve and how it creates value for users, in addition to their willingness to use Machine Learning technology to solve business challenges and successfully scale in the long run. 

Here are the technology startups that have been selected for the first cohort - four of which are women-led businesses: 

Abwaab (Jordan): Online video learning platform that allows secondary school students to learn and monitor their academic performance.

Carers (Jordan): Family care marketplace that connects the households with the right and vetted caregivers (home nurses, physiotherapists & child care specialists). 

Chefaa (Egypt): GPS-enabled platform to allow chronic patients to order, schedule and refill recurring prescriptions and manage all their pharmacy needs.

Dabchy (Tunisia): Peer-to-peer fashion marketplace where women can buy and sell new and used clothing items.

Designhubz (UAE): Service that enables e-commerce retailers to sell their products in 3D & Augmented Reality (AR) on their websites and mobile apps.

Lamsa (UAE): MENA's Edtech brand and platform rich in quality educational and entertainment content for children aged 2-8.

Lendo (Saudi Arabia): Peer-to-peer lending marketplace that helps to digitally pre-finance outstanding invoices for SMEs in Saudi Arabia.  

Nafas Meditation (Oman): An Arabic mobile app to reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia through instilling the practice of mindfulness.

Viavii (Jordan): An AI powered “people-to-people” travel experience platform, offering hyper-personalization for travellers.

360VUZ (UAE): Immersive mobile app that allows people to attend events, sports, and experiences through its 360-degree live streaming technology.

Starting this week, the startups will receive mentorship in digital marketing, product design / UX, Machine Learning, customer acquisition, and leadership development. More than 500 applications were submitted, and in response to the large interest, we’ll launch the second cohort of the three-months online program later this year and offer free workshops to all the startups.

Congratulations to all the outstanding startups and their teams! 

For more details about the program, please visit the official website: g.co/AcceleratorMENA