The entrepreneurial landscape of the Mashreq region marked a significant milestone in Amman, where ecosystem leaders gathered to celebrate the conclusion of the StartMashreq program. [suspicious link removed], the region’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, hosted the StartMashreq Forum to wrap up three years of intensive support for startups across Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The event highlighted the program’s success in strengthening local economies and creating opportunities, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Government of the Netherlands.
Driving Revenue And Investment Growth
Over its three-year duration, StartMashreq has acted as a catalyst for economic resilience in the region. The program’s impact report revealed that participating companies successfully raised $28 million in funding, a crucial injection of capital for markets often facing macroeconomic headwinds. Furthermore, these ventures generated an impressive $51 million in aggregate revenue, demonstrating the transition of these startups from early-stage concepts to sustainable, revenue-generating businesses. The forum served as a platform to showcase these metrics, validating the potential of the Mashreq region as a viable investment destination.
Empowering Diverse Founders Across Borders
A core pillar of the StartMashreq initiative was inclusivity and the democratization of opportunity across Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The program supported a total of 165 startups, selected from a pool of over 2,500 applications and 13,000 platform registrations. notably, the initiative placed a strong emphasis on underrepresented founders, with 80 of the supported startups being women-led or falling under the Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDP) category. This focus has helped diversify the regional talent pipeline, ensuring that innovation remains accessible to a broader demographic of entrepreneurs.
Uniting Stakeholders In Amman
The closing forum in Amman brought together a high-profile roster of dignitaries, investors, and founders for a day of pitch sessions and strategic dialogue. The event featured a “reverse-pitch” session and showcase presentations from 12 startups graduating from the program’s Incubation and Growth tracks. Key speakers included H.E. Stella Kloth, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jordan, Marcel Rached of the IFC Jordan Office, and Hany Al-Sonbaty, Chairman of Flat6Labs. Their presence underscored the importance of cross-sector collaboration between governments, international development agencies, and private capital in nurturing the region’s digital economy.
About Flat6Labs
Flat6Labs is the MENA region’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, currently managing the most renowned startup programs in the region. Annually, Flat6Labs invests in more than 100 innovative and technology-driven startups enabling thousands of passionate entrepreneurs to achieve their daring ambitions and ultimately becoming their institutional co-founders. The firm manages a number of seed funds with a total AUM in excess of $85M and provides a wide range of investment ticket sizes ranging from $50K to $500k.
Source: Flat6Labs
