HITEC Dubai 2018, the Middle East’s largest hospitality technology exhibition and conference taking place on December 5 and 6 2018, opened an opportunity for startups to present their business concepts at the show by participating in HFTP’s expanding Entrepreneur20X (E20X) competition.

HITEC Dubai will be inaugurated by Dubai Tourism and will give Middle East buyers, currently worth over USD 75 billion, access to the world’s leading technology solution providers and experts in the hospitality sector. Co-produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and Naseba, the two-day trade show will be held at the Madinat Jumeirah Dubai.  

Competitors will receive exposure and validation from top companies by presenting their ideas to a room full of HITEC attendees as well as a panel of expert judges including hospitality CIOs, investors, and industry insiders. The winner, who will be determined by the judges’ panel, will be rewarded the opportunity to pitch at either the HITEC Europe or HITEC Minneapolis competitions in 2019 including an exhibition kiosk in the E20X Innovation Lab and two full conference registrations at the corresponding conferences, and extensive media coverage via HFTP’s BYTES and Pineapplesearch hospitality industry news distribution networks.

Frank Wolfe CAE, CEO of HFTP, said: “The E20X competition has been designed to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship while giving businesses the opportunity to become part of a global network at HITEC Dubai. We are eager to encourage and incentivize such experiments even if it is a work in progress and can be improved by others in the know. We believe it is critical to value innovation and disruption as we move towards the future driven by technology. And startups are at the forefront of this transformation.”

To qualify for E20X competition, the startup must be less than three years old, have at least a demo version of the product / service, should not have raised more than USD 100,000 of investments and have a hospitality solution

Nicola Bettio, Managing Director of Naseba Capital said: “Startups are today the main source of radical disruption in many sectors, including in hospitality. In the last few years we have seen new leaders emerge with radically new business model and novel ways to augment the consumer experience. We are very excited to make those ideas emerge at HITEC Dubai, help find investment, and support their journey to become the next big thing.”

HITEC Dubai’s Advisory Council Chairperson Laurent A. Voivenel, senior vice president, operations and development for the Middle East, Africa and India for Swiss-Belhotel International, said: “HITEC Dubai is a great platform and vehicle for startups to get the much-needed exposure and recognition by leading players in the industry. Large companies have the resources and the brand reputation, but it is the startups that are fostering major disruptions in our industry due to their innovative ideas and thinking. We believe disruption initiatives should be prioritized at every level and we are very happy to support and welcome any such change.”