Event Description

The Netherlands Embassy of Beirut is opening their doors to local entrepreneurs, engineers, and technologists to help them develop innovative solutions to key development and humanitarian issues negatively impacting communities in Lebanon and beyond.

From March 3-5th, at the American University of Beirut, Netherlands diplomats and challenge area experts will be on hand to collaborate with participants and help drive high-impact solutions to these complex issues.

The top competing teams will receive cash prizes and additional in-kind support to help fuel the further development of their hackathon prototypes.

ourMENA Beirut is your opportunity to play a more active role in helping build a smarter, healthier, and more prosperous Lebanon and MENA for all of its inhabitants.

We look forward to welcoming you and seeing what new ideas and technologies you develop over this weekend innovation journey.

Challenge Areas

Additional challenges will be added to the below list as the Netherlands Embassy continues to engage with public and private sector partners. New challenge updates for your city will be broadcasted on our event page and via email to all registered attendees. Participants are also allowed to hack on challenges from other ourMENA competition locations (Amman)

1. Navigating through the pollution
   

   Pollution is a growing issue in Beirut and communities across Lebanon. Ocean shores, rivers, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe is becoming increasingly contaminated with pollutants. How can technology empower everyday citizens to be more aware of the occurrence and impact of these issues on their own health and that of their communities? And furthermore, how can technology be utilized to mitigate the short and long term effects of the pollution we are exposed to?

2. A smarter way to deal with waste
   

   The challenge here is very straightforward, what types of technologies and incentives can be paired together to encourage more forward thinking waste management systems on both a household and community level in Beirut and across Lebanon?

3. Improving mobility
   

   Traffic and congested roads are a daily occurrence in Beirut, a city that also lacks any alternative forms of transportation such as rail or subway systems. What types of technical innovations can help ease the congestion and improve mobility in Beirut and throughout Lebanon’s growing communities? Solutions here should either (A) help devise smarter traffic coordination systems or (B) introduce new mobility alternatives.

4. Agrytech Food Security Challenge
   

   Food security is a growing issue in the region. Poor production practices, less export opportunities, migration from rural areas, and lack of innovation are impacting our ability to produce our own food and improve the livelihoods of our farming communities. Farming practices need improvement, and promotion and marketing of product and agro-food need some disruption to break barriers. For this challenge, we would like to see solutions that can help farmers: Improve traceability of products, design more sustainable irrigation management systems, and build stronger links into existing and untapped consumers communities.

5. Wildcard
   

   This is your Lebanon, and you deal with a host of challenges living here everyday. The wildcard is your opportunity to build a solution to a challenge we have not identified that you believe, if solved, would have a positive impact on a large number of people in Lebanon and beyond. For the wildcard, it is important to clearly define what the challenge is, the scope of the challenge (how big is the problem), and then like all other solutions, why your idea solves the problem better than anything else currently in the marketplace.

Judging Criteria

Be creative, think big, and build something truly innovative.

All teams will need to present a demo of their prototype and a pitch deck that clearly demonstrates the applicability and vision of their product. You have less than two days to build your prototype, so make sure to focus on the most important features.

Judges will be scoring you based on the following categories:

• Impact
  • How big of an impact will your solution make on the challenge area you addressed?
  • Is it scalable?
• Product innovation
  • How innovative is your idea ?
  • If there are similar solutions in the market, did you convincingly differentiate your solution and demonstrate your product’s unique added value?
  • Did you do your homework?
• Sustainability
  • Did you spend some time thinking about the business model?
  • How does the idea finance itself and what’s the roadmap?
• Presentation
  • How well did you communicate your idea/product to the audience?
  • How well did you respond to questions from the judging panel?