This
year's competition was organized in partnership with Community Jameel, a
social enterprise organization that operates a wide range of
initiatives which promote and contribute towards positive societal
change and economic sustainability; Zain Group, a leading
telecommunications innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa; and Tamkeen, an organization tasked with developing Bahrain's private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development.
Prior
to the final award ceremony, the 74 semi-finalists from 11 Arab
countries underwent a round of training and presented their work over a
three-day period from April 25th to the 27th to a jury that brought together some of the Arab world's key investors and business people.
The winners selected by the jury from three tracks: Startups, Social Entrepreneurship and Ideas are:
Ideas Track:
Winner: Blink App (Egypt) - $15,000
1st Runner up: SpicaTech Academy (Lebanon) - $10,000
2nd Runner up: Nano Green Hub (Egypt) - $5,000
Social Entrepreneurship Track:
Winner: Kiliim (Egypt) - $50,000
1st Runner Up: Mind Rockets (Jordan) - $10,000
2nd Runner up: Carpolo (Lebanon) - $5,000
Startups Track:
Winner: Money Fellows (Egypt) - $50,000
1st Runner up: Trukker (UAE) - $10,000
2nd Runner up: Riego (Lebanon) - $5,000
Aside
from the monetary rewards, the talented winners will also benefit from
advanced training sessions, personal mentorship and guidance, as well as
receiving a great deal of media coverage and excellent networking
opportunities.
During the ceremony, Hala Fadel, Chair of the board of MITEF Pan Arab
said, "It is time to invest more in the infrastructure that helps young
people to hone and develop their entrepreneurial ideas, stressing the
importance of utilizing technological innovation towards the
modernization and development of tools that enable entrepreneurs to
create technological solutions. This will in turn contribute to the
revitalization of the economy and encourage the inauguration of
partnerships that can eventually transform into large institutions that
will house impeccable talent and capacities with opportunities to grow
and develop."
Fady Jameel, President of Community Jameel International,
said: "We believe that investing in entrepreneurs and promoting the
development of a strong ecosystem, alongside our partners, contributes
to developing a stronger economy and providing opportunity through
access of resources. Our collaborations allow us to provide critical
support that entrepreneurs need to overcome challenges and succeed in
today's market. Our involvement with MITEF Pan Arab has been an honour,
and we remain committed to helping the next generation of young
entrepreneurs achieve their aspirations."
Zain Group CEO-Operations, Scott Gegenheimer
said, "As a leading innovative technology company, we are acutely aware
of the positive impact innovation can have on improving the quality of
life of people everywhere. Identifying and advancing entrepreneurship
and the generation of new ideas as early as possible is key to bringing
new concepts to commercial reality and is a big part of the reason we
support the MITEF Arab Startup Competition."
Gegenheimer added,
"We believe the difference between companies and countries that will
succeed into the long term, and those that underperform will be their
access to and use of technology. Nurturing a culture of innovation is a
fundamental requirement for sustainable growth and we extend
whole-hearted congratulations to the semi-finalists and winners of this
year's Competition. I'm confident that many of these teams will succeed
in translating their ideas into successful projects."
Dr. Nasser Qaedi, Planning and Business Development Executive Director in Tamkeen
said, "Our support for the competition stems from our belief in its
ability to inspire entrepreneurs to challenge themselves and present
their ideas in a healthy competitive environment, leading them to
further development and expansion. We are also so proud to gather the
best entrepreneurs from the Arab region, for them to learn from each
other and from the global ecosystem. We insist on technology and
innovation as one of the main drivers going forward for entrepreneurship
in the Arab region."
This year's edition, which is of special
importance as it celebrated the competition's 10th anniversary,
registered years of success and excellence while serving generations of
young Arabs and their creative entrepreneurial ideas. The competition
has become a highly anticipated event that is associated with success.
The Arab youth who have taken part over the years have been encouraged
to innovate and take charge of their entrepreneurial ideas, receiving
significant support and guidance throughout. The result, ten years
later, is a renaissance of entrepreneurial initiatives, the
proliferation of creative ideas and the adoption of those ideas by the
public and private sectors in support of these exceptional young men and
women in the Arab world. -Ends-
About MITEF Pan Arab: Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region (http://www.mitefarab.org)
is one of the 28 worldwide chapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global,
an avid promoter of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. The MIT
Enterprise Forum- Pan Arab has a proven record in promoting MIT-style
entrepreneurship by organizing each year the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab
Startup Competition targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and
attracting over 12,000 entrepreneurs a year.
About Zain Group: Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 46.1 million active customers as of 31 March, 2017. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages 'touch' on behalf of the government. In Morocco,
Zain has a 15.5% stake in 'INWI', through a joint venture. Zain is
listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN).For more,
please email info@zain.com or visit: http://www.zain.com; http://www.facebook.com/zain; http://www.twitter.com/zain; http://www.youtube.com/zain; http://www.instagram.com/zaingroup; http://www.linkedin.com/company/zain
About Community Jameel:
Established in 2003, Community Jameel is a social enterprise
organisation that operates a wide range of initiatives to promote a
positive society and economic sustainability. From individual, community
and Arab life as a whole, in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Community Jameel promotes Arab arts and culture in the Middle East
and around the world, works against unemployment, enables research for
poverty alleviation and food and water security, and provides education
and training opportunities.
Community Jameel supports and
partners with global institutions, which employ hundreds of people, all
aiming to provide people with opportunities and training in the
following areas:
- Job Creation - Bab Rizq Jameel
- Arts and Culture - Art Jameel
- Global Poverty Alleviation
- Food and Water Security
- Education and Training
- Health and Social
About Tamkeen: Tamkeen is tasked with developing Bahrain's private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development. Established in August 2006, Tamkeen is one of the cornerstones of Bahrain's national reform initiatives and Bahrain's
Economic Vision. Tamkeen has two primary objectives: Firstly, fostering
the creation and development of enterprises, and secondly, providing
support to enhance the productivity and growth of enterprises and
individuals.
To achieve these objectives, Tamkeen's strategy
focuses on quality enhancement, customer care and having a
results-oriented approach. Through this strategy, a number of innovative
programmes are provided to Bahrainis and businesses in Bahrain,
which include training, consulting, financing, entrepreneurship support
and others. These programmes help develop the capabilities of Bahrainis
and enterprises and integrate new critical concepts for a vibrant
sustainable private sector. To date, Tamkeen's programmes have benefited
more than 130,000 Bahrainis and businesses.
CONTACT: Nicolas Haddad T: +961 1 973030