Terms & Conditions

By registering for, accessing, or participating in any Startopia programme, event, or service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy. If you are registering on behalf of a participant under the age of 18, you additionally confirm that you are the parent or legal guardian of that participant, that you have the legal authority to register on their behalf, and that you accept these Terms on their behalf and your own. We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will endeavour to notify registered participants by email. Continued participation in any Startopia programme or use of any Startopia service after the effective date of amended Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. The date of the most recent revision is shown at the top of this page.

LAR Consultants Ltd offers the following programmes and services under the Startopia brand: GEMS Family First (Family Innovation Challenge) - A co-branded family entrepreneurship challenge run in partnership with GEMS Education. Families apply through a structured four-gate journey for the chance to win fully-funded scholarship places into the Unity Showcase. Unity Showcase - A five-week innovation programme in which selected students and young entrepreneurs develop ideas, work with mentors, and present on a staged platform alongside peers from across the UAE. Startopia Challengers - A hackathon and bootcamp track designed for secondary school and university students, delivered in partnership with educational institutions and corporate sponsors. Startopia Juniors - An introductory entrepreneurship programme designed for primary and lower secondary school students, introducing core concepts of problem-solving and idea development in an age-appropriate format. Startopia Skills - A structured skills development track designed to build specific competencies - including communication, financial literacy, and creative thinking - through short-form workshops and activities. ProofScaling - A proprietary venture-building methodology and platform offered to educational institutions, corporate innovation teams, and individual entrepreneurs as a structured startup validation framework. ProofScaling, ProofScore, ProofTags, and ProofVaults are trademarks of LAR Consultants Ltd. Second Chance / Overlooked Residency - A programme aimed at founders and entrepreneurs who have faced adversity or been overlooked by mainstream funding channels, providing structured support for business development and validation. Programme details, schedules, fees (where applicable), and eligibility criteria are set out on the relevant programme pages of the Startopia website and in supplementary programme documentation provided at registration. Some programmes listed above are in development and may not be available in all cohorts. Current programme availability is shown on the Startopia website.

Participation in each programme is subject to specific eligibility requirements as set out in the programme documentation. General eligibility conditions include: • Participants must meet the age requirements specified for each programme. Where participants are under 18, a parent or legal guardian must register on their behalf and accept these Terms. • GEMS Family First: Open to families currently enrolled in a GEMS Education school in the UAE. • Unity Showcase: Open to individuals selected from qualifying feeder programmes or by invitation. Paid enrolment is available to all eligible applicants subject to available places. • Challengers: Open to students enrolled in eligible institutions as specified in the relevant event brief. • Juniors and Skills: Open to students meeting the age and school criteria specified for each cohort. • ProofScaling: Open to institutions, corporate teams, and individual entrepreneurs who meet the enrolment criteria set by Startopia. • Second Chance / Overlooked Residency: Open to founders meeting the qualifying criteria published for each cohort. LAR Consultants Ltd reserves the right to refuse participation to any individual or organisation where there are reasonable grounds to do so.

All Startopia programme materials, methodology documentation, templates, presentations, platform technology, branding, and training content are the proprietary intellectual property of LAR Consultants Ltd. You may not reproduce, distribute, adapt, or commercially exploit any Startopia materials without prior written consent from LAR Consultants Ltd. Participant-created work - Work created by participants during programmes (including business plans, pitch decks, prototypes, video pitches, and other project materials) remains the intellectual property of the participant or participants who created it. By submitting materials through any Startopia programme, you grant LAR Consultants Ltd a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, display, reproduce, and publish that work for educational, promotional, and programme-delivery purposes, including on the Startopia website, social media channels, and in press materials. Where submitted materials contain the name, likeness, voice, or creative work of a participant under 18, this licence applies only to the extent that explicit separate consent has been provided by the parent or guardian at the point of submission. If consent is not given or is subsequently withdrawn, we will not use those materials for promotional purposes. This licence does not grant LAR Consultants Ltd ownership of participant work and does not prevent participants from using their own work in any other context.

When you submit content through any Startopia programme or portal - including but not limited to business plans, problem statements, videos, photographs, logos, and presentations - you confirm that: • You are the creator of the content, or have all necessary rights and permissions to submit it. • Where the content features a person under 18 (including voice recordings or video), you are that child's parent or legal guardian and consent to the submission of that content. • The content does not infringe the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other rights of any third party. • The content is not defamatory, offensive, discriminatory, or otherwise unlawful. LAR Consultants Ltd reserves the right to remove or decline to publish any submitted content that it reasonably considers to be in breach of the above confirmations, without notice and without liability.

Some Startopia programmes are offered free of charge. Where a programme requires payment (for example, paid enrolment in the Unity Showcase or ProofScaling licences for institutions), the following applies: • Fees are stated in UAE Dirhams (AED) at the point of enrolment, reflecting the primary market in which programmes are delivered. Payment is processed in AED via our payment processor, Stripe. Settlement currency to LAR Consultants Ltd may differ. • Payment processing is handled by Stripe Inc. and Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. By making a payment, you also agree to Stripe's terms of service. • Payment is due in full at the time of enrolment unless a payment plan is expressly agreed in writing by Startopia. • LAR Consultants Ltd is not VAT registered. No VAT is charged on fees. Refund Policy If you are a consumer (an individual purchasing for personal or family use rather than for business purposes), you may have a statutory right to cancel your enrolment within 14 days of registration under the UK Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. However, by registering for a programme and accessing programme materials, you acknowledge that performance of the service begins immediately upon registration, and you expressly consent to this. If you exercise your right to cancel within 14 days having already accessed programme materials, a reasonable deduction may be made reflecting the value of services already provided. For all other cancellations: • More than 14 days before programme commencement: full refund minus any non-recoverable third-party costs. • 7-14 days before programme commencement: 50% refund. • Fewer than 7 days before commencement, or after commencement: no refund. Refund requests must be submitted in writing to help@startopia-edu.com. LAR Consultants Ltd reserves the right to cancel or postpone any programme. In the event of a cancellation by LAR Consultants Ltd, participants will receive a full refund of fees paid within 14 days.

Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude liability for: • Death or personal injury caused by LAR Consultants Ltd's negligence • Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation • Any liability that cannot be lawfully excluded under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or any other applicable UK law Subject to the above, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, LAR Consultants Ltd's total liability to you in connection with these Terms and any Startopia programme shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total fees actually paid by you to LAR Consultants Ltd in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (b) £100. LAR Consultants Ltd shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of data, loss of opportunity, or reputational damage, whether arising in contract, tort, negligence, or otherwise, and whether or not LAR Consultants Ltd has been advised of the possibility of such damages. LAR Consultants Ltd does not warrant that participation in any programme will result in any particular outcome, including but not limited to business success, scholarship awards, academic achievement, or career advancement. Programme schedules, mentors, judges, and content are subject to change. LAR Consultants Ltd will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of material changes.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless LAR Consultants Ltd, its officers, directors, employees, agents, partners, and licensors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgements, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to: • Your breach of these Terms & Conditions • Any submitted content that infringes the rights of any third party • Your participation in any Startopia programme, to the extent not caused by LAR Consultants Ltd's own negligence or breach

Some Startopia programmes are delivered in partnership with third-party organisations, including educational institutions and corporate partners. These partners are independent third parties and LAR Consultants Ltd is not responsible for their acts or omissions. Payment processing is handled by Stripe Inc. and Stripe Payments Europe Ltd. LAR Consultants Ltd does not store, process, or have access to your full card details at any time.

These Terms & Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms, including any question regarding their existence, validity, or termination, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except that: • Participants based in the UAE who are consumers may also have access to rights under UAE law and the jurisdiction of UAE courts in connection with consumer matters • Nothing in this clause prevents you from bringing a claim in the courts of any other jurisdiction where you are entitled to do so under applicable mandatory consumer protection law

If you have a complaint or concern about any Startopia programme or service, please contact us in the first instance at: LAR Consultants Ltd (operating as Startopia) 11 Turners Green, Britwell Salome, Watlington, England, OX49 5LF Company No. 15772276 Email: help@startopia-edu.com We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 28 days.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any programme-specific documentation provided at registration, constitute the entire agreement between you and LAR Consultants Ltd in relation to your participation in Startopia programmes.