Seedstars is the world's largest startup competition in emerging markets, where after scouting for the best early-stage startups in 65+ countries, one winner is selected to represent its country at the Seedstars Summit to compete for up to $1Mn in investment. TheBeirut Summit aimed at bridging the gap between ecosystems and connecting regional stakeholders in order to promote and foster entrepreneurship and technology in emerging markets as a way to impact people’s lives. An event with the purpose to shape the future of MENA which marked the end of a tour across 15 vibrant ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa, and welcomed winners from across the region in Beirut. An intensive program was tailored for the regional winners and for the attendees: two growth bootcamps, a banking hackathon, a healthtech workshop, a private investor forum, a 10,000 USD award for the Best Arabic Assistive Technology Startup, and mentorship sessions. The Summit ended with the conference including disruptive panels, networking sessions, engaging workshops, inspirational talks from top entrepreneurs, and pitches from Seedstars winners. IM Capital was a local supporter of the Summit, by participating as jury members in the Seedsars Beirut event on November 15, inviting a business angel investor from IM partners GoBeyond to the Healthtech workshop and conference panel, and taking part in the mentorship sessions as well as the one-on-ones during the investor forum.   IM Capital and USAID had a chance to say a welcome word during the opening session of the conference ending the summit: Nicolas Rouhana, GM of IM Capital, introduced IM Capital and described the support programs for the seed-stage startups, and then William Butterfield, Director of EG office at USAID, discussed USAID's support to IM Capital specifically and to the Lebanese ecosystem in general as well as share your thoughts about the investment and entrepreneurial space in general in Lebanon and in MENA.   The Summit brought together active investors, top corporates, digital government actors, tech and business media, as well as ambitious entrepreneurs from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and the US, to share insights and gain key learnings, foster collaboration and investment opportunities, enable valuable connections both regionally and globally, and inspire attendees to believe in the potential of innovation in MENA.     Here is a link providing more details about Seedstars' Regional Summits, and here is the Summit's agenda.