Inochi Care from TiE Kolkata wins Global pitch competition in Dubai
Inochi Care, a medtech start-up from TiE Kolkata that developed a device for multi-therapeutic wound healing, won the first prize of $100,000. TiE Dubai hosted the global pitch finals last week for TiE Women last week which saw 26 global chapter finalists pitch to win the top prize of $100,000. The second prize of $25,000 was won by Ahammune Biosciences and WeavAir, a start-up from New York, won third prize of $10,000. The three start-ups will also receive training, mentoring and access to funding to develop their entrepreneurial initiatives further.
Ahammune Biosciences is a start up from TiE Pune focused on the dermatological therapeutics market by carrying out discovery oriented innovative research to provide new therapies for skin diseases. WeavAir offers proactive end-to-end software & hardware solution for air distribution systems that prevent the spread of air contamination and infection while saving energy and reducing operational and maintenance costs. All three are also looking to Dubai and the Middle East as part of their expansion plans according to their pitches.
Ashish Panjabi, President of the Dubai Chapter of TiE said, “The core objective of TiE is to help expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem by working within our local community. It is great to see women entrepreneurs making incredible strides in the field of business. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the winners of TiE Women Global competition and even to the shortlisted entries for the badge of honour and being an inspiration to those women interested in starting a business. I would like to thank esteemed judges for their support and contribution with their time and knowledge.”
The final eight start-ups pitched their business idea to a specialized judging committee from different professional backgrounds comprising of Ingie Chalhoub, President and Managing Director, Etoile Group; Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City; Vivek Oberoi, Entrepreneur, investor, women empowerment ambassador and philanthropist; and Zanubia Shams, Co-Chairperson, Zulekha Healthcare Group. Best practices were provided by KPMG for pitch evaluation and scoring processes.
According to Panjabi, the global start-up economy remains large, creating nearly $3 trillion in value, a figure on par with the GDP of a G7 economy and the ratio of men entrepreneurs to women entrepreneurs in 2019 was 10:7.
The second edition of TiE Women initiative will open for registration in February 2021 with the finals also being hosted by TiE Dubai during the TiE Global Summit scheduled for 6 - 7 December 2021 at Expo 2020’s new event venue.