1 Billion Followers Summit Unveils Expert Jury For Its 1B Pitches Competition

The 1 Billion Followers Summit, a major event for the content creator economy, has revealed its jury for the 1 Billion Pitches competition. This panel consists of six experts, including investors and leaders from regional investment firms. They will assess submissions from startups and entrepreneurs seeking funding. The jury includes four permanent members and two guests of honour.

Leading the jury is Tarek Fouad, Chief Marketing Officer at Shorooq. He also heads the Gametech Fund, which invests in global gaming ventures. Previously, he played a key role in Abu Dhabi's digital transformation initiative, Ghadan21. Issa Aghabi, Founder and Managing Director of Access Bridge Ventures, also holds a permanent seat on the jury.

Sara Enan joins as a judge from VentureSouq and Salica Investments. She leads investments in Egypt and North Africa. Her background includes roles at Global Ventures and Jumia.com. Andy Gaies, Chief Operating Officer at LIT Videobooks, completes the permanent jury lineup with his extensive experience in consulting and content development.

The guest judges include His Excellency Faisal Belhoul, Vice President of Dubai Chambers, and Mahmoud Adi from Shorooq. Adi has led investments in successful regional startups like Pure Harvest and TruKKer. Representatives from major companies such as Shorooq and Beyond Capital will also attend the selection process.

In November, the summit partnered with Shorooq to support the competition with a AED50 million fund. This includes AED30 million from Shorooq and AED20 million from the Summit itself. Alia AlHammadi of New Media Academy stated that this ensures expert evaluation of innovative projects.

Competition Structure

The competition received 500 applications from 40 countries. From these, 60 top projects were initially selected before being narrowed down to 25 shortlisted entries. In the second round, 10 finalists will pitch their ideas to the jury for public voting. The winners will be announced during the summit's third edition in January 2025.

Among the shortlisted projects are ten from the UAE: Atlaseek, PenSell, Division, Halo AI, EPL World, Shooty, Ta Marboota, Voral Media, ReadCoin and Majarah. The UK has four entries: SoSquared, Lobster Money, Livelogue and Unreel Network; while three are from the USA: Bump, HelloCreator and Stashem.

Global Participation

South Korea contributed two projects: Ad-Shield and Eugenius. Other countries represented include Jordan with The Middle Frame; Egypt with Arabic Archive Project; Pakistan with Tubelator; Singapore with Trugetherness; Brazil with Hubee; and India with Verix.

The summit aims to reach over a billion people globally by bringing together top social media influencers across platforms. It explores how new media can drive positive societal change while promoting sustainable economic growth worldwide.

Alia AlHammadi highlighted that funding impactful projects empowers creators to leverage their talents for positive change globally. She noted that initial rounds saw intense competition among innovative submissions aiming for funding support.

The winners will be announced on January 13th during an event hosted by New Media Academy in Dubai under "Content for Good."

With inputs from WAM