Gulfood 2019 taps startup ecosystem

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Gulfood 2019 taps startup ecosystem

Published: Sun 17 Feb 2019, 8:38 PM

Last updated: Sun 17 Feb 2019, 10:50 PM

The UAE's startup sector has disrupted every sector and food & beverage is no exception and this is evident from Gulfood 2019 including the Gulfood startup programme which will address key questions facing those seeking entry into the industry.
Manish Agrawal, CFA, an investor in start-ups, will address some of those questions and explore solutions in a panel discussion titled 'What are the investors looking for in a startup?'.
"Investors are hungry for disruptive ideas and start-ups are a great source of innovation and ideas," said Agrawal.
"Robotics and automation have already entered the kitchen and affordable solutions are the key to roll-out for mass markets. Gulfood is a premier platform for the F&B industry and the addition of startup programme is great. The programme will boost entrepreneurship in the F&B sector in this region," he added.
The first-ever Gulfood startup programme will welcome some 50-plus startups from around the world who will benefit from a pitch platform, during which they can demonstrate their game-changing ideas to potential investors, and a dedicated conference series where industry mentors and success stories will examine the major topics concerning FB startups and SMEs.
Rabih Brair, founder and managing director, Tandem Partners, which offers consultancy to entrepreneurs, will take to the start-up stage where he will present a session on the fundamentals for launching a start-up.
"Everything essentially boils down to mitigating as much of the inherent risk as possible i.e. leaving as little to chance as possible," said Brair.
"This means defining the problem and solution, target market, conducting extensive market research on local competitors and global success stories, breaking down the financials to the lowest possible level of detail and formulating a winning strategy. More often than not, this is simply too much for one person and historically, start-ups with co-founders are more likely to get funding and scale.
"The Gulfood Start-up Programme will essentially bring together various stakeholders of the ecosystem - Innovators, SMEs, Investors, Advisors and large corporations. The F&B sector will benefit from this platform / forum the same way the tech sector has benefited from similar platforms," he added. - sandhya@khaleejtimes.com

by

Sandhya D'Mello

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