startAd has announced the 8th startAD Corporate Sprint Accelerator (CSA) program, in partnership with Ripple's University Blockchain Research Institute (UBRI), ALEC, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Hub71, AlBrza and Arabs in Blockchain.

The CSA program is a 4-week virtual accelerator for seed-stage fintech startups looking to enter the UAE market.

The accelerator immerses startups in robust local customer discovery and validation activities through a combination of training, mentorship, 1-1 meetings with corporate partners, and investor pitches. Within 4 weeks, the startups are equipped to pilot solutions with industry leaders, while corporates are enabled to innovate with startups disrupting their core businesses.

The fast-paced program will include two key phases:

- Pre-program phase (10 weeks): Startup recruitment, interviews and assessment.
- On-program phase (4 weeks): Training, coaching, expert panel sessions, corporate-startup meetings and mentoring.

Focus areas:

Who should apply

Fintech startups that:

• Have a suitable team size (minimum 4) with the capability to dedicate resources to the program
• Are raising pre-seed or seed rounds  
• Are generating revenue or have conducted at least one pilot initial market traction
• Have ambitions to enter the UAE/MENA market

Why apply?

• Get trained by leading global technical and industry experts on ‘Scaling in the UAE through pilots and partnerships’, and ‘Investment readiness and pitching’
• Secure opportunities to explore pilots with ALEC and other leading corporations and have the opportunity to meet with investors during a high-calibre market access and investor event on Nov 25th, 2021
• Become part of ADGM’s Digital Lab, the top platform in the UAE for financial institutions and FinTech innovators
• Get the opportunity to be accepted into the ADGM’s RegLab one of the world’s most active regulatory sandboxes based on relevant eligibility criteria
• Get the opportunity to connect with ADGM experts, investors and mentors
• Get inducted into startAD's Alumni program and receive multiple benefits

The program will culminate in a high-calibre market access day and an investor demo day on November 25th, 2021 in which the participating startups will have the opportunity to pitch to regional industry leaders and investors for business and investment opportunities.

You can find more information, as well as apply, here.