AVIRAM Awards

Through a groundbreaking partnership between Forbes and the Aviram foundation, welcome to the Aviram awards—a competition built around startups and solutions.

We’re looking for both existing and conceptual products and services that will create positive impact through social and environmental breakthroughs.

This competition’s goal is to connect business and technology to help create a new era of well-being for the Middle East and North African region and the rest of the world.

Submit an entry to the 2023 Aviram Awards competition.

Entrants in the Aviram awards will compete to win:

• 1st Place prize: $500,000 USD
• 2nd Place prize: $100,000 USD
• 3rd Place prize: $50,000 USD

*The first place prize winner will also win a mentorship with Ziv Aviram and a profile in a story on Forbes.com

Who can participate

To qualify for the competition, you must meet all of the following requirements:

• Be a business owner or team leader of a tech startup—in the pre-seed or seed phase—with an established concept that positively impacts humanity.
• Live in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates.

All entries must be in English. Please read the Official Rules for essential entry guidance and competition details. Please refer to the FAQ if you have any additional questions about the competition. Email us only if you have any technical questions. All other questions or comments will be disregarded. Good luck! 

How does the competition work?

Round 1: Initial submissions & interview
We will collect entries via the form below from 6 December 2022 to 30 January 2023. A panel of judges will review entries as they are submitted and may contact qualified entrants for an online interview. Companies the judges consider to be potential semifinalists will be invited to complete and submit a more detailed entry form and initial video.

Round 2: Semifinalist judging
Judges will select 15 entries from the second round of submissions to advance to the semifinalist phase, based on the judging criteria in the Official Rules.

Round 3: Semifinalist virtual mentorship & final video submission
Semifinalists will receive coaching from mentors identified by Forbes to further improve their competition pitches during a virtual event in March 2023. Semifinalists will then have two weeks to prepare and submit a final video pitch that incorporates their mentors’ recommendations.

Round 4: Finalist live event
Five finalists will be invited to participate in a final, on-stage live pitch to a judging panel of world-acclaimed business leaders in Morocco in May 2023. During the event’s closing reception, the Aviram Foundation, together with Forbes, will announce the competition winners.