Telecom company Dhiraagu along with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Ministry of Economic Development has announced a Startup Weekend by Techstars Global, powered by Google for Entrepreneurs. The Startup Weekend will be held next month and aims to inspire and develop young entrepreneurs.
The format includes networking, which involves team building and mentoring where participants group themselves with other participants who can potentially develop and fine tune a business idea and learning from mentors assigned to each team, pitching potential business ideas and prototyping the ideas into the product or service pitched. The Startup Weekend is a great opportunity for young people to develop their entrepreneurial skills, learn the basics of developing innovative ideas that may be transformed into workable business models and in 54 hours, participants would understand the rigors and discipline required to work within set timeframes and learn the value of teamwork.
This would also be the first time that an international initiative to support and nurture the growth of startups would be conducted in Maldives.
Startup Weekend is a model developed by Techstars Global powered by Google for Entrepreneurs, who have successfully run the model in over 140 countries.
Dhiraagu and UNDP have been closely collaborating on a number of initiatives over the course of the year including the Youth Leadership Program and the ongoing Film for Change project, aimed at empowering young people to explore social issues through this medium of film.