New accelerator

Joint venture between Bader, Berytech, and LFE

A new accelerator called Speed@BDD will be launched in the third week of January. It is a joint venture between the Bader Young Entrepreneurs Program, Lebanon for Entrepreneurs (LFE), an initiative launched in 2013 joining the Lebanese diaspora working in the technology sector, and Berytech. It will be located at the Beirut Digital District, at Berytech’s premises, DigiHive.

“We wanted to build a new independent accelerator for this growing ecosystem,” said Fadi Bizri, Managing Director at the Bader Young Entrepreneurs Program. A team will be hired to handle the management of the accelerator while the founders will be board members. According to Bizri, it took them one year to finalize and build the program.

The program has a $5 million fund provided under the Central Bank’s Circular 331. According to Bizri, half of the amount is already secured, and the remaining sum is underway.

Entrepreneurs and startups may start applying for funding, in March. The company’s management will select eligible startups to join the program.

Speed@BDD will have two cycles per year; each cycle will accelerate ten startups. The program will extend over the next five years, totaling 100. Each cycle stretches over three months approximately. Each startup will be funded with sums ranging from $30,000 to $45,000.

“Our previous experience with Seeqnce allows us to do better with Speed@BDD, especially because our team is very solid”, said Bizri.