IdeaLab: Pre-accelerator Entrepreneurship Program (Lebanon)

IdeaLab is a pre-accelerator entrepreneurship program to help turn your ideas or prototypes in these fields into viable businesses.

The program runs in repetitive cycles of two months throughout the year, allowing 10 selected startups each time to learn how to identify their problem, validate their solution in the market, and create a strong team that has the capacity to take on the challenge and scale their startup with seed-funding support of up to $1,500!

IdeaLab program is run in the North area by INJAZ Lebanon, in partnership with Berytech and co-funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub, a comprehensive initiative launched by Berytech to enable the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem and stimulate innovation and startup creation in the agriculture, food, and clean technology sectors.

The need for Agrifoodtech and Cleantech is more crucial than ever before and cannot be overstated. The growing population, climate change, scarce resources, wars, and natural disasters pose significant challenges to sustainable food production and a healthy environment. Innovative solutions in these sectors are vital to promoting a sustainable green future while ensuring food security for the global population.

What is Cleantech & Agrifoodtech?

• Cleantech, short for clean technology, encompasses a variety of products, services, and processes that aim to reduce or optimize the use of natural resources and mitigate the adverse impact of technology on the environment and ecosystems. CleanTech ideas include: Renewable Energy, Water & Waste Management, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Transportation Systems, Clean Air, Environmental control, and others.
• As for AgriFoodTech, short for Agriculture & Food technology, it comprises technological advancements and capabilities that revolutionize the way food and agricultural products are produced, harvested, packaged, transported, stored, processed, and sold. Examples of AgriFoodTech ideas include, but are not limited to, Smart Farming, Biotechnology, Vertical Farming, Hydroponics, Robotics & Automation, Innovative Food, Farm Robotics & Mechanization, and others.

Benefits of Joining Idealab

• Access technical and business support.
• Receive mentoring and coaching.
• Receive up to $1.5K in cash grants.
• Connect and collaborate with startups, partners, mentors, and investors.

Eligibility Criteria

The applying teams should:

• Have a solution addressing challenges in the agri-food or cleantech sectors.
• Consist of, at least, two co-founders.
• Consist of, at least, one representative who is Lebanese and residing in Lebanon.
• Be able to commit to the two-month program.
• Be idea-stage startups that did not receive advanced incubation support.
• Preferably work on an innovation that drives a positive social or environmental impact.
• Have multidisciplinary and complementary team members (recommended).

For more information, visit INJAZ Lebanon.