Boot Camp startup in the making

Boot Camp SAL, a rapid startup development program will be launched on April 22. The program helps teams go from idea to investment in only one week. The first program cycle will be held between May 27 and June 10, 2015, with an application deadline of May 6, 2015.

The program will provide trainings and workshops that will help forge the idea and transform it into a viable, investable and scalable startup. It will also help startups reach the funding and pitching stages. Tara Nehme, Advisor to Boot Camp said: “The Boot Camp program will be ongoing, with approximately four rounds each year,” said Nehme. The first program cycle will take place at the premises of AltCity, Hamra.

The program is developed under the Central Bank’s (BDL) Circular 331. Marianne Hoayek, Executive Director at the Executive Office Unit of the Central Bank said that the BDL is now focusing on supporting incubators and accelerators, the ‘Entrepreneur Factory’. The BDL will then work on securing access to mentorship and training to entrepreneurs in the early stages. According to Nehme, the country still lacks enough incubators and accelerators and this program will give startups a chance to grow.

The initiative was announced in December 2013 by former Minister of Telecommunication Nicolas Sehnaoui. David Munir Nabti, co-founder and CEO of AltCity and Boot Camp Managing Director, said at the time, that unlike regular accelerator and incubator services, Boot Camp has a wider angle and promises to produce 100 viable startups per year. “We will give young entrepreneurs support from the beginning, way before they have a really defined angle to work on.”

The Boot Camp SAL board members include: Marwan Kheireddine, former Minister of State and CEO of Al-Mawarid Bank, Nicolas Sehnaoui, former Minister of Telecommunications, Samer Azar, CFO of AltCity and Deputy Director of the program, along with Nabti.