Gitex Day 5 – It’s a wrap

10X Technology

Mita Srinivasan
10X Technology
Published:

Gitex Day 5 – It’s a wrap

Gitex kept its promise with the way the event was set up and how it handled the crowds, balancing the need for health and safety with the need for businesses to network face-to-face. As the event closes the 40th edition of the show, here is our take and what we thought of the show with a few last bits of updates and news.

Personally, I was happy living in my bubble with remote meetings and phone calls till I hit Gitex this week. The organisers did a great job of delivering on a well-organised event that balanced the needs of health and safety with the need to give the economy the push it required to get back on its feet.

And while there were fewer exhibitors and visitors, it still attracted a fair few from all over the globe that travelled to the show to explore new partnerships and new markets. A fair few of the exhibitors had hybrid presence, like Etisalat, sharing a lot of content to ensure that those that were unable to travel for whatever reasons, did not miss out on the experience.

The conferences had a lot of traction too especially the free-to-attend Gitex Tech Talks that were hosted around some of the key emerging technologies in Halls 4 and 7 as well as the other series of talks hosted around the various Gitex Future Stars stages. John Cleese, the 81-year-old British legend may be an unconventional choice among the tech ecosystem, but he was a highlight on the 10x stage at Gitex Future Stars where he drew on his own personal experiences to share the methodology he uses to channel his creativity.

For now, we will leave you with this uplifting story from the Supernova awards at Gitex Future Stars.

Jade Autism, a startup app that stimulates and develops child cognitive function, has been announced as the winner of the 2020 GITEX Future Stars’ Supernova Challenge, bagging the top prize of USD$50,000. After a highly competitive round of pitching which took place on-site on 6th and 7th December, the Jade Autism team from Brazil was declared the winner and named Supernova Champion as well as the winner of a new vertical category, Best Social and Environmental Impact.

One Moto from the UAE, specialising in electric vehicle last-mile solutions, and Radix Technologies from Israel, focusing on classroom management solutions, won the runner-up prizes of US$10,000 each. BeeFree Agro from Israel, a drone-based autonomous herding system capable of moving large herds over extensive pastures, was the bonus runner-up and was awarded USD $10,000 too. One Moto was also acknowledged as the winner in the Best Scaleup category.

This year’s edition of the Challenge introduced four new vertical prizes, including Best Innovative COVID-19 solution (won by Radix Technologies), Best Martech Startup (won by French startup, Switchy), Best Social and Environmental Impact (won by Jade Autism) and Best Fintech Startup (won by BC Labs from South Korea) – alongside returning categories, Emirati Startup, Ai Startup, International Startup, Youth, and Female-led Startup that were won by Gallant Pump, iERP, BeeFree Agro, Dreemzrock Ventures and Jaaem, respectively.

See you at the next live event.