Opportunity for founders

Saudi Arabia attracts Salzburg start-ups

Romy Sigl, Salzburg's "Startup Lady", is entering her second year with her program for founders and is flying to Saudi Arabia with the best from the first year(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Three Salzburg start-ups want to meet investors in Riyadh at the end of April. The trip is being made possible by Salzburg's "Startup Lady" Romy Sigl and Abdelhameed Sharara, the founder of the RiseUp Summit and an investor in Salzburg's startup entrepreneurs.

The registration deadline ends on April 9, and Romy Sigl will start her second year with DWYL on the 10th. DWYL stands for "Do what you love" and translates as: Do what you love. With this program, Salzburg's "Startup Lady" gathered 100 people from the region last year. People who want to develop ideas and take off as entrepreneurs. Sigl supports the budding young entrepreneurs in Puch with know-how and a network.

Nothing works without artificial intelligence
But that's not all: the best start-ups in the first year of the support program receive an additional motivational boost. Sigl is giving three entrepreneurs the chance to accompany her to the "RiseUp Summit" in Saudi Arabia at the end of April. "The Middle East is up-and-coming, Saudi Arabia is the next hotspot for innovation. It could be an attractive environment with investors and international partnerships, especially for young companies," says Sigl and advises talking and negotiating directly with investors.

Young entrepreneur Daniel Pühra is on board(Bild: dwyl.at)

What the desert city of Riyadh is particularly interested in is, unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence. "Saudi Arabia is planning to set up a fund worth 37 billion euros in this area alone," says Sigl, aware of the importance of AI.

And some of the start-ups she supports are also working with it and are on board the plane: for example, Patrick Lengdorfer from Lungau with his digital ski cellar, which helps customers to find the right skis and boots for their second and third winter vacation. Daniel Pühra, who is developing a video call center for the deaf with ComCom, is also getting a taste of the desert. Bergheim's Annabell Eder with the horse hoof therapy sock Pegasox will also be making the journey.