Demo day held for Omani tech start-ups

Muscat: Techween, one of Oman Technology Fund’s (OTF) investment programmes, on Wednesday, held a demo day in Knowledge Oasis, Muscat (KOM), for 10 start-ups who have joined a three-month training programme.
The participant companies joined intensive training programmes in Oman and abroad in cooperation with National Digital Research Centre (NDRC). They received support and guidance in both tech and commercial fields dealing with aspects such as developing products, approaching customers and pitching to investors.
Such events are remarkably great for investors since the main goal is introducing investors to these trained companies that are ready to grow and attract investments. Therefore, growth prospects and new markets will open up for the start-ups.
Techween held a training course in Ireland with NDRC, which helped the start-ups in developing and expanding their businesses and gaining relevant experience and knowledge in order to enable them to enter the market and support the national economy.
Techween has, so far, already invested in 10 Omani and regional tech start-ups in their seed stages. The first group of start-ups in which Techween has invested includes the following:
Peekaboo Guru: Peekaboo Guru specialises in building data for standardised and enriched places, with the technology to enable contextual location intelligence.
Mosamemat: Mosamemat is a marketplace for emerging, independent fashion designers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and GCC regions. Mosamemat will help professionals streamline their operations and save on business overheads.
Nihna: Nihna is a fintech application that actively helps users with financial goals find and structure social saving groups (ROSCA/Jamiyah).
Adeeb: Adeeb is an app targeting Arab kids between the ages of three and six, where kids get interactive content to have fun with and to develop their skills.
Envago: Envago is a travel platform for people interested in adventure activities. Users create profiles to engage with others interested in adventure, with the marketplace bringing the social and booking worlds under one roof.
TelyPay: TelyPay provides e-payment for cash-based economies. Customers enjoy the benefits of cash, while companies gain more customers via a new e-payment wallet, rechargeable with telecom top-up cards.
DataBlock 75: DataBlock 75 is a marketing automation company for salons. The platform gathers and processes data to allow owners to position themselves to market and optimally grow their client base.
TBD: TBD is a marketplace providing meaningful, relevant work opportunities for students, and allowing companies in the MENA region to secure short-term employees as and when they need them.
SilkFlow: The first workflow platform specifically designed for consumers’ purchasing journey with supporting tools and social interactions. Consumers can design their own purchasing workflows and share them with the SilkFlow community.
eShara: eShara is the first plug & play Wi-Fi range extender device for smartphones.
Techween aims at supporting the stage of adequating the product with the market and ascertaining the economic feasibility.
OTF was launched in November 2016 as a specialist fund investing in start-ups and innovative and creative ideas in the IT sector in Oman and the MENA region. It runs three investment programs: Techween PreSeed Program, Wadi Accelerator and Jasoor Ventures.