The event will end tomorrow with the announcement of the winners
Selected participants from the Techstars Startup Weekend conducted in six colleges to select 25 best ideas from each college and 30 from out of college youths are participating in the Bhutan National Techstar Startup Weekend 2019 that officially began in Thimphu Thursday.
Organized by the Department of Information Technology and Telecom (DITT), Ministry of Information and Communication, and Techstars with the support from global partners Google for Startups and dot CO, the event, according to the DITT, is a culmination of various Techstars Startup Weekends that had happened in various colleges across Bhutan.
Further, both the college level and national level event have specified Technology themes (IoT, FinTech, HealthTech, AR/ VR, EduTech) on which the participants will have to work on.
According to DITT, the key objectives of the Bhutan National Techstar Startup Weekend are to create startup culture in the country through promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation among youths, provide a platform for youths to explore the possibilities of technology offers to enhance any ideas (blend technology to any idea) which also increases ICT adoption, develop an environment for innovation and growth of startups, and offer an alternative source of employment and opportunities to be self-employed
DITT reckons that a total of 180 business ideas will be pitched during the National Startup weekend and the top ideas will be selected through voting by the participants.
A team will be formed to work on their idea and materialize into Minimal Viable Product (MVP) for a final presentation to the panel of judges tomorrow evening. The event will follow with a series of workshops covering topics such as customer/market validation, lean model canvas and design thinking which are critical for any startups to success. The winner will be awarded with the seed funds and also provide access to mentorship to start their business.
This event will be facilitated by a team of Techstars Asia-Pacific regional team members and Startup Weekend global facilitators – Anurag Maloo, Lalitha Wemel, Farah Fauzi and Arun Philips.
Meanwhile, Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed and its founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporations to grow their companies.
Techstars Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical aspiring entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekend culminates on Sunday night with demos and presentations.
Tshering from Thimphu
