One week left to buy spectator tickets to Startup Battlefield MENA 2018

It’s just one short week until we bring our premier startup competition to the Middle East and North Africa for the first time, and we are stoked! TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place October 3 in Beirut, Lebanon. We’ve chosen 15 of the region’s best early-stage startups to compete head-to-head and — in the process — launch their companies to the world.

We have an exciting day lined up, and the only thing missing at this point is you. Don’t miss your chance to witness the future of technology unfold before your eyes. Spectator passes cost $29 (including VAT), and you can score your tickets right here.

This day-long conference features the thrill-ride that is Startup Battlefield, and it also includes presentations from top tech leaders, movers and shakers to discuss the advances, challenges and opportunities in the region — more on that in a moment, so keep reading.

Never had the pleasure of watching Startup Battlefield? We’ll break it down for you. The 15 participating teams compete in three preliminary rounds — five startups per round. They have just six minutes to present a live product demo and pitch to the judges — a panel composed of distinguished technologists, entrepreneurs and investors. The judges follow each pitch with a probing, six-minute Q&A.

Just five teams will make it into the final round where they will pitch again to a new set of judges, who follow up with another round of tough questions for each team. Finally, the judges will choose one stand-out startup to lay claim to the Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 crown, a US$25,000 no-equity cash prize and a trip for two to Disrupt San Francisco in 2019 — where they get to compete in that Startup Battlefield (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

Now that’s a lot of action packed into one day, but fasten your seat belts folks, because we also have a great roster of speakers and presentations on tap. You’ll hear from the likes of Imad Kreidieh of Ogero Telecom and Facebook’s Ari Kesisoglu as they sit down for a fireside chat.

Don’t miss Omar Gabr of Instabug, Tarjama’s Nour Al Hassan and Ameer Sherif of Wuzzuf as they discuss the huge changes in the Middle East and North Africa’s tech ecosystem over the past 10 years and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

And that, startup fans, is merely a taste of the informative presentations taking place at Startup Battlefield MENA 2018. You can check out the full agenda right here.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place in the Beirut Digital District in Lebanon on October 3 — just one week away. If you’re a startup founder, fan, entrepreneur or investor, you do not want to miss this action-packed day of competition, education and networking opportunities. Buy your ticket today.