1. Brand activations

One of the must sees at every STEP Conference is what brands have in store for us. If you weren’t at STEP 2018, you missed the first of its kind, autonomous Pepsi Smart Cart, (you can check it in this Forbes article) roaming around the venue, interacting with attendees, and delivering refreshments and snacks around the hour. The brain guiding the cart was Pepsi’s very own “intelligence” center which collected data from all over DIC and AUD.

2. Pitch Competition, Investor Meetings & Mentor’s Corner

Like every year, STEP will hold its flagship Pitch Competition and Mentor’s Corner. But for the first time ever, STEP will roll out Investor Meetings which will have exclusive 10 minutes one-on-ones between only selected top investors in the region and attending startups and entrepreneurs.

3. STEP Start stage

The most buzzing hotspot without a doubt, is STEP Start! This year, it will host Jenny Zeng from MSA Capital, one of the leading funds in China backing the best startups in future tech with $1 Billion in funding and 29 investments so far. 300 global startups will also be showcasing and other leading experts will take the stage to share insights on acquisition, IPOs and fundraising.

4. STEP Digital topics

VP of Snacks Category, Pepsico, Mustafa Shamseldin and VaynerMedia Executive Director, Eric Fulwiler, amongst many, will be discussing brand adaptation to digital transformation and content evolution.

5. STEP X Talks

Will robots be able to make moral and ethical decisions in the future? Are Smart Cities really going to benefit all people? Decision making in the age of AI, amongst many hot topics, are just what we’ll be discussing with Cloudera CTO & Co Founder, Amr Awadallah, IBM Watson IoT Marketing Leader, Asma Shabab, Microsoft AI Tech Lead, Rima Semaan and more!

6. FinTech at STEP Money

In case you haven’t heard, Zac Cheah, CEO & Co-Founder of Pundi X, the hottest Indonesian-based global developer of blockchain-powered devices, aiming to make cryptocurrencies as accessible as bottled water, will be on the STEP Money stage! What will be the fate of crypto, security and regulations, and all that ponder the brains of FinTech fans will be discussed by more leading experts.

7. Satellite Events

If you are planning to expand internationally and you are considering Dubai, this dinner is a perfect opportunity to discover Astrolabs, see their new space, know more about the benefits they offer and explore market entry firsthand by engaging with their team and some of their member startups from around the world. Happening at Jumeirah Lakes Towers on February 13, 2019 at 7 PM. More Satellite events will be announced.

8. Entertainment

At STEP 2018, we shot hoops with ESPN and released hundreds of iconic yellow rubber ducks in the DIC lake talkless of the food trucks, music and drinks at the evening parties.

What’s in store for STEP 2019? Well, you’d have to attend ‘cos we’re not going to spoil the surprise!

Between February 13-14, more than 6,000 techies will gather at Dubai Internet City for the latest in entrepreneurship, digital, fintech, and future tech.

Don’t miss this year’s STEP Conference, the most experiential tech festival in 2019. Get your tickets here before prices go up.