Overcoming Boundaries: From Gaza to Santiago, Chile
Gaza, Palestine – In coordination with the Chilean Representative Office in Ramallah, MENACatalyst is thrilled to announce that the Gaza winners of the Santiago Pitch Challenge have successfully received their visas to travel to Santiago, Chile.
MENACatalyst was overjoyed with the strong interest received for the Santiago Pitch Challenge, Gaza event. With over 100 applications received from startups across Gaza, only 10 of the most competitive startups where selected to Pitch in front of a panel of business experts and impact investors. Entrepreneurs brought out their best but only two entrepreneurs earned a coveted spot amongst 10 startups to travel to Santiago Chile to connect with diaspora business leaders.
Living under siege has never been a deterrent for Gazan entrepreneurs. Despite living under restrictive conditions, Gazan entrepreneurs remain motivated and persevere to find innovative solutions for the most pressing issues facing their society. It is under these circumstances that the Gazan winners of the Santiago Pitch Challenge emerge.
Winner of the Santiago Pitch Challenge, Ahmad Shalabi is founder and CEO of Gymatto, a service which utilizes a multi-pass system to offer health conscious individuals complete access to a network of participating gyms and spas. Ahmad speaks about his experience participating in the Santiago Pitch Challenge, “I thank MENACatalyst for creating new opportunities for Palestinian entrepreneurs and giving us this opportunity to reinforce our presence as entrepreneurs locally, regionally and internationally.” Upon receiving his travel visa to Chile, Ahmad had this to say, “Relief. I just felt this overwhelming sense of relief, I thought the Visa wouldn’t come through but at the last minute everything worked out.” He continues, “Being from Gaza, this means even more to me because I now have a great opportunity to meet with the some of the best innovators and investors of the Palestinian diaspora.”
Our second winner, Saleem Summour, cofounder and CEO of Lavender, an exclusively Arabic online marketplace where users can access a variety of tools and features to create dynamic websites that are unique, personalized and tailored for individual or corporate needs. Regarding his experience competing in the Santiago Pitch Challenge, Saleem had this to say, “I am grateful for this chance to travel to Santiago and meet with the Palestinian diaspora and take Lavender to the next level!” Despite a series of delays and a rising fear that the Gaza winners might not be able to make the trip, travel visas were finally issued. Saleem expresses how he felt prior to receiving his travel visa, “It is almost impossible to leave Gaza. It is like we are stuck, there aren’t many opportunities for us to reach beyond the restrictions and borders forced on us.” However, at the last moment and with the tireless efforts of the MENACatalyst team and support from the Chilean Representative Office, travel visas were finally issued to the Gaza participants. Saleem relates his initial reaction after receiving his travel visa, “I just took a deep breath and took the moment in.” He continues, “This is an important opportunity, meeting with the diaspora in Chile will help me become a better entrepreneur and overcome borders to reach international markets.”