GITEX Technology Week hosted its 37th annual electronics and technology conference and trade show this week, connecting the MENA region to global markets.

The show took place in 14 halls at the Dubai’s World Trade Center, and covered wide industries from the Internet of Things, to augmented reality, virtual reality, cloudtech, fintech, cyber security, smart cities, 3D printing, and more.

For the second year in a raw, GITEX hosted a startups track, GITEX Future Stars, to allow entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and all stakeholders to meet, connect and discuss potential collaboration.

The track welcomed more than 4,400 exhibitors and 147,000 attendees from 97 countries, including entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate buyers to network and discuss ideas and products giving startups an opportunity to raise funding.

This year, GITEX Future Stars selected Wamda as its knowledge partner to trigger and facilitate collaboration between startups and large institutions.

This partnership builds on GITEX Future Stars’ existing efforts to consolidate the startup ecosystem in the MENA region by giving it access to best international practices and exposure to a global investment and business network.

At the Unbox Lounge, Wamda held two main activities: A Collaborative Entrepreneurship (CE) workshop and CE pitches.

Both activities focused on facilitating the first contact between large corporations and startups by creating a space where they can talk to one another, understand their respective needs and initiate potential collaborations.

The CE pitches’ main goal was to introduce selected startups to the vast potential of partnership and collaboration with corporations. At the end of the session, each corporation picked one startup and awarded it an introductory business meeting to discuss the pitch further.

Selection of startups who exhibited at #GITEXFS

ZEOPI: (Social Startup) Luxury boutique naturally filtered, ionized and mineralized water solutions. Pricing the 500 ml bottle at 1.3$. They are planning to donate part of the money to charities like the UAE water AID. It won the Accenture’s competition.

Mind Rockets: An internationally recognized startup offering assistive technologies for the deaf. They created an avatar which translates websites for hearing impaired people. They also have an application which translates audio. Their mission is to improve communications and make interactions easier with the deaf community.

Qlikcash: (Fintech) It offers banking to the unbanked, helping drivers and nannies receive salaries and manage payments online. Their mission is to make financial services more inclusive.

Nester: (IoT) An Airbnb for parking. It is a marketplace that connects users looking for parking and privately owned parking space, making parking more accessible in Dubai.

Sadeem Wireless Sensing Systems: A KAUST IP-based startup and graduate of the KAUST Hikma startup accelerator, won the Best Global Startup Award at GITEX Future Stars in Dubai. Sadeem won the top prize of $100,0000 for their wireless sensor network, which is the world’s first solar-powered urban flood and traffic monitoring system.

Istorage: It uses IoT to allow you to check in your luggage while you are in the taxi through WiFi so you only have to drop it off at the airport. Currently, it is in its BETA phase and testing with Emirates Airlines.

Smart Palm: Offers shade, wifi and charging  through solar power which can also be used as advertisement spot. It is currently available in public spaces in Dubai including beaches.  

SmartCrowd: (Fintech) Winner at GITEX’s Accenture competition, they are a simple Sharia-compliant real estate investment platform allowing middle to low income households to invest in property.

More from #GITEXTechWeek

Mercedes showcased its autonomous future city car which can self park or project a virtual crosswalk. It has four seats and no steering as shown in the picture. It is likely to start production by 2023.

Flying Taxi

The German Volocopter’s flying taxi was exhibited at GITEX. It is a giant drone (dronecopeter) that fits two people flying at a height of 120 meters.

Sophia the robot

This smart robot was one of the machines that stole the show at GITEX. Placed at the Etisalat stand, it was equipped with sensors and cameras allowing Shopia to identify and respond to people in an intelligent almost human manner.