FAQ – MEDIA LOVES TECH

When does MLT take place this year?

The MLT competition is organized by DW Akademie and takes place from June to December 2023. It takes place in two different stages.

What does MLT look like?

The registration for the 2023 round is open from June 1st, 2023 to the July 15th, 2023 on medialovestech.com.

Information sessions will be announced on time. You can follow us on our Facebook page “MEDIA LOVES TECH” for the exact dates of these sessions.
At the date of submission, the projects that are submitted must be at least in the design phase and, or at most, in the pre-marketing phase.
From June 1st 2023 to July 15th, 2023, the teams will have to develop and work on their concept. No submission will be accepted after the deadline.
The winning teams that made it to the next stage will be announced in August 2023 on the Facebook pace of MEDIA LOVES TECH, and will be informed by e-mail.
During the incubation phase in October and November 2023, the teams develop their prototype and need to ask for specific skills and inputs from the experts who will then hold the needed workshops and trainings
The teams will continue to develop their projects after the incubation phase, until the final submission date in November 2023. Optional workshops will be offered with the support of technical experts and the media.
On December 7th, 2023, all prize winners will be announced by the organizers

Who is eligible?

The competition is open to all persons who are over 18 years old at the time of their registration (hereinafter “eligible participants”). Journalists, developers, designers, data scientists, creative minds, techies, individuals or representatives of organizations, are invited to submit their concepts or apply to become part of a team.

The following are not eligible as participants: the directors of DW Akademie, the members of the jury and the persons with whom they are domiciled, the mentors and the persons with whom they are domiciled.

At what stage must my projects be in order to participate?

MEDIA LOVES TECH is a pre-incubation competition: from the idea to the creation of a prototype solution. All projects that fall within this stage of the entrepreneurial project are accepted. The projects must also be in the pre-marketing phase, which means that they have not recorded any sales or have no registered customers.

How to participate?

To participate between June 1st, 2023 and July 15th, 2023, eligible persons must:

Join medialovestech.com and click on the registration button
Fill in the form and select a date for an interview
Form a team of at least 2 participants and at most 5 participants
Develop a concept (pitch deck) related to one of the proposed themes. The team can carry out a first level of design, mock-up or prototyping
Propose a project that will work, in part or fully, in one or more of the targeted countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria).

What is there to gain?

MEDIA LOVES TECH gives you access to a quality ecosystem:

flexibility with different knowledge inputs such as online trainings and masterclasses
experts on demand
networking opportunities, even after the end of the program
a community of entrepreneurs and experts

The winner receives an award of 10 000 Euro

How is the selection made? What are the criteria?

Stage 1:

Submission until the deadline on the 15th July 2023 and announcement of selected projects in August 2023. Selected teams will have the opportunity to continue the development of their project during the incubation phase in October and November 2023.

What is the problem you are solving, is the project tackling a specific problem that needs solving?

Innovation: What is the level of innovation of the concept in solving the problem?
Market-fit: Why is the concept interesting and relevant, have you identified a target audience that would like to use your product?
How does it work? What features are at the heart of your product? What roadmap is there for the implementation?
Business model: Which business model secures the sustainability of the project?
Project team: Is the team able to test and implement the innovation as suggested?
Feasibility: Is the proposed concept feasible and can be implemented in the available time considering the available resources?

Stage 2:

The teams participating in the incubation phase will continue to work on their product to submit the prototypes before the deadline in November 2023. The team which wins € 10,000 is to be announced on December, 7th, 2023. The price will be awarded in stages according to the progress of the realization of the project.

Innovation: What is the level of innovation of the concept in solving the problem?
User experience: Is the interface user-friendly and easy to use (depending on the target audience of the product)?
Functionality: Are the prototype and level of technological innovation operating and functional?
Implementation: What is the plan for the implementation and promotion of the product in the future (roadmap)?
Project team: What is the level of collaboration within the team, their capacity and what is their motivation to ensure the sustainability of the project (during open-innovation challenges that may come along. Developing a concept is not only a question of creating new ideas, and in fact collaboration and co -creation are also crucial)

What documents are to be submitted?

First of all, we would like to know the problem you wish to solve and the solution you propose. To do this, simply :

Go to Medialovestech.com
Fill in the application form
Book an interview slot

Who owns the product and its intellectual property?

All of the work done by the teams belongs to the teams. No company, organization or entity apart from the registered members of the team can claim any prerogative on the intellectual property developed in MEDIA LOVES TECH. All previous intellectual property that MEDIA LOVES TECH participants bring with them or which might be a product of or linked to their employment status must be declared to the other team members and to the organizers of MEDIA LOVES TECH.