Doha: Scale7, the first fashion and design business incubator in Qatar- founded by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in partnership with M7 – has announced that applications are now open for the Acceleration Program Wave 2, catering to both local and global fashion and design entrepreneurs and startups who are looking for a launchpad and a hub in Qatar to accelerate their growth.
The 12-week long acceleration program will run from September 1, 2021 to November 24, 2021, giving participants a chance to interact face to face with each other. However, workshops and mentorship sessions will be held online.
The program intends to provide specialised mentorship and ensure business development activities in order to grow the global presence and increase sales of the selected fashion startups. The focus of the program will be on capital generation and international development.
As far as the interested startups are concerned, they should be in the scale-up stage, who are active in fashion and design. They need to have thorough insights on the market potential and the impact it will have on the sector. Startups will also be selected on the basis of their teams’ preliminary competences and innovation quotient of their existing businesses.
Aysha Khalifa Al Romaihi, Project Manager of Scale7 said: “We are looking forward to welcome the new innovative ideas that will reshape the future of fashion and design and therefore encourage our local fashion and design startups with innovative solutions to leverage this opportunity.
“The Program is dedicated to growing the fashion industry and support startups that are bold enough to make a difference. I have no doubt that the second wave of our Acceleration Program will leave its own mark with new innovative projects that will scale up to global levels, especially after the success of the first wave, which provided an ideal platform for entrepreneurs to compete and subsequently contribute to building and developing innovative and creative concepts.” she added.
Entrepreneurs interested in taking part in the Acceleration Program will be entitled for smart funding of QR100,000 and support of QR150,000 in kind. These entrepreneurs will be offered continuous mentoring from global experts alongside an opportunity to attend enlightening workshops.
The participants will also gain access to networking opportunities with industry experts in the fashion and technology innovation ecosystem. The program will encompass eight workshops, and several hours of coaching and mentoring sessions for each startup.
This supports their ambition to establish and produce Qatari brands specialised in the sector, as Scale7 will provide them with all the necessary tools and expertise to help them develop their ideas from initial concepts to final products in the local and regional markets.
Applications for the Acceleration Program Wave 2 will close on August 26, 2021.
