Beirut, Lebanon – 2018: Under the patronage of the President of the Council of Ministers H.E. Mr. Saad Hariri, and with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Berytech – the Ecosystem for Lebanese Entrepreneurs, will launch the second edition of the Hackathon, part of the Agrytech Accelerator Program, on Friday, April 20th. The Agrytech Program aims to source the top startups with disruptive innovations in the Agri-Food sector and provide them with the adequate technical and business resources as well as community support to scale their ideas into successful businesses with global impact.
The Hackathon, whose winners will be given access to the Agrytech program, will allow developers, engineers, data scientists, designers, innovators, business people, professionals and university students to come up with ideas to create new solutions in the agri-food industry. It also aims to highlight and support startups and entrepreneurs by introducing the Lebanese society to them and bringing them together with key stakeholders in the agriculture and food sectors.
By launching this kind of initiative, Berytech’s primary goal remains to discover the hidden capabilities of the Lebanese society in order to enable Lebanon to benefit from its amazing potential in the entrepreneurship sector. It also aims to highlight talents by targeting startups and companies that use technology to support the agriculture and food sectors and ultimately play a role in building the Lebanese economy.
The participants will compete for three consecutive days at Berytech Mkalles, where they will be able to translate innovative ideas and provide prototypes of their proposed agribusiness solutions under the supervision of international consultants and experts from FARMHACK.NLthe industry leader and innovator based in the Netherlands. The competition will include workshops and trainings as well as presentations, empowerment sessions and capacity building.
The challenges will encompass several environmental, economic, commercial and marketing areas in the agri-food industry in order to find innovative solutions. Participants will also be able to use the Berytech Fabrication Lab to create a prototype of their creations. The laboratory has the latest digital manufacturing technology and a wide range of machinery and equipment for the development of hardware, electronics and other elements.
Whether an individual with an idea under development, or a small to medium-sized innovative company in its early stage; whether a technical developer, an agricultural engineer, a food expert, a designer, or an innovator in solving solutions to business problems; anyone can apply. The names of the winners will be announced at the end of the third day to be qualified to participate in the Agrytech program and receive a prize of $6500.
The opportunity is open for those who wish to participate until the deadline for submission of applications set by April 8. To learn more about applying and how to participate please visit the following link: http://agrytech.org/hackathon/