Month: September 2008

What Kind Of Name Do You Prefer For A Startup? [Poll]

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A new poll has gone live on StartUpArabia, you can find it on the first sidebar on the right or vote straight from this post.

This poll addresses the question of what names are best suited for startups, and it asks:
What kind of name do you prefer for a startup?

Do you like those cool, bordering on weird, names? Do you think the name should be meaningful and describe what the startup is about? Or do you prefer names that reference the local culture? Or maybe just some general name that might not even have to be all that relevant?

What do you think?

Feel free to further expand on your response in the comments section of this post.

Growth In Tunisian Mobile And Internet Users

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TunisiaFigures recently released by the Ministry of Communication Technologies reveal a significant growth of mobile phone and internet users in Tunisia. In June 2008 the two mobile phone operators (Tunisie Telecom and Tunisiana) had a combined 8.12 million mobile phone subscribers up from 7 million twelve months earlier.

At the same point, there were 2.68 million internet users compared to 1.68 million in June 2007. The number of ADSL connections has doubled from 76,000 in 2007 to 153,000 in 2008. 27% of users have 512KB connections, and 22,000 users have a connection equal or superior to 1Mbps.

The number of companies benefiting from WiMAX connections reached 700 at the end of June 2008, and the number of subscribers to data sending through VSAT had also increased to reach 420, notably among enterprises producing software and computer systems and call centres.

# Source: TeleGeography
# Via: Wireless Tunisia

ASTF And Intel Launch 4th Arab Technology Business Plan Competition

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ASTFThe Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), a regional and international non-profit NGO, in collaboration with Intel announced the launch of the 4th Arab Technology Business Plan Competition, and the start of the 2nd Made in the Arab World Competition, across more than ten Arab countries including the UAE, KSA, Jordan and Egypt.

ASTF was established in 2000 by Arab scientists and researchers in order to identify and support outstanding scientific achievement within the region. The Foundation also seeks to promote the advancement Arab entrepreneurship by acting as a mediator between up and coming companies and investors. 

Commenting on the announcement, Ferruh Gurtas, Corporate Affairs Group Director, Intel Middle East, Turkey and Africa said: ‘The Middle East is an exciting and dynamic region with a growing number of entrepreneurs – many of whom require initial funding to launch their projects. The 4th Arab Technology Business Plan Competition does just that. It is an opportunity for young, Arab entrepreneurs to map out and transform their ideas from a concept to a tangible working company. At Intel we believe entrepreneurship is a key driver for emerging Middle East economies. As the region begins to compete on an increasingly global scale, these skills, coupled with technological expertise will help local businesses to excel in an international marketplace.’

The Arab Technology Business Plan Competition strives to support and assist Arab entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into successful ventures by providing them with access to potential investors and venture capitalist that are willing to finance promising technology start-ups through the Arab Investment Forum, which is held annually in one of the participating Arab nations. 

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Google Brings Better Arabic Support To Gmail

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GmailIn another move from Google confirming their continuing push and commitment to the Arab world, the in-built Gmail Chat application now fully supports instant messaging in Arabic.

In addition to the introduction of chat, Arab users will see some other changes to Gmail. Google said in a statement it understands that Arabic language speakers may need to use Gmail in other language settings (such as English, French or Spanish) so it has made it easier for them to switch between languages. For example, if your email thread starts in English but you want to reply in Arabic, that’s now no problem. This was one of the top requested features from our Gmail users.

‘We’ve been working hard to increase the functionality of the Arabic version of Gmail so that people can get more out of their email,’ said Yasmina Brihi, marketing manager at Google EMEA.

‘We think chat is a feature people will really like as it provides another, more rapid, option for communication with others. On top of this, we’ve made some other changes to Gmail that means it will be quicker to open, read, label and archive messages,” Brihi added.

Watwet Launches New Version With New Cool Design

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WatwetWatwet, the Arab social networking and micro-blogging platform, launched in December 2007 by TootCorp, has just gone live with a really cool new design.

The new design reflects the maturing of the service, presenting the exisiting functionalities in a cleaner and more organized way, and rolling out a number of new features.

Among the base functionalities existing in other mini-blogging services that were added with this version of Watwet are replies, direct access to the public timeline, enabling and disabling SMS updates from certain friends and usage statistics.

Something really interesting Watwet has introduced with this version is the concept of ‘Channels’, which are micro-blogs with specialized content. The Watwet site says that they have signed up more than 18 radio stations, magazines and daily newspapers in Jordan to operate their own channels on Watwet; and that they have content from more than 10 international publishers and media companies around the world.

There are free and premium channels on Watwet. Premium Channels are clearly indicated as such, and thus are paid channels; otherwise the remaining channels are free. The amount to pay for subscribing to a channel varies from channel to channel. The paid channels obviously offer us some insight into one of the ways Watwet plans to monetize the service.

Watwet screenshot

Something they’ve also added with this design are badges that bloggers can use to display their watwets on their blogs, which is something that should get more bloggers on board the mini-blogging wave, and give Watwet more exposure.

Another nice little touch is the launch of ‘Waticons’, little badges that users can pin to their profiles and that something about them visually.

Subscribers with Mobily, the second Saudi mobile operator, can now use SMS to send and receive updates, just like the subscribers of Zain Jordan. All other users, on other networks and in other countries, can only send their updates to Watwet through an international UK number. 

What audience should Arab startups target? [Poll Results]

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In the latest poll on StartUpArabia, the question to the readers was: 

What audience should Arab startups target?

The result of reader voting came out as follows:

Target audience poll

Out of 79 readers who responded to the poll:

– 35% of them think that it depends on the service
– 32% think they should go for a global audience
– 22% responded that they should go for a wide Arab audience grouping both locals and expats
– and the remaining 11% voted for them to stick to a local Arab audience

Personally I share the opinion that it depends on the service; some services have a very local nature while others can be extended to the whole Arab region or even globally. But a number of other factors come into play as well in the decision, like for example whether they have the necessary time and budget to invest in scaling it and opening it up to more people; including technical, marketing, support costs and all the other costs that come with it.

Etisalat Ties Up With MBC To Launch Internet TV From The UAE

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EtisalatEtisalat just announced the launch of ‘Internet TV’ in association with MBC Group, to provide television content over the Internet. The company tied up with MBC to enable online viewing of the top nine programmes being aired by MBC during the month of Ramadan through the satellite and mobile TV. MBC began using the Etisalat ‘Internet TV’ beginning Wednesday 10 September 2008 on their mbc.net portal.

A first such initiative in the region, the Internet TV will change the way broadcasters showcase content and customers view content. Internet TV will enable hundreds of millions of MBC viewers around the world to view their favorite programmes online, in case they missed them when they were aired or simply want to watch them again. The customers can select the videos from the website and watch the programme online, at no charge.

Commenting on the launch, Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat said: “Etisalat has always endeavored to leverage technology and convergence to provide a unique experience and unlimited reach to its customers. We believe that Internet TV will not only create a paradigm shift in the way broadcasters showcase content and customers view content, it will also create a new customer segments of the future: the online customer, the mobile customer and the interactive customer. I do foresee new business avenues opening up for broadcasters and content providers to create unique content catering to these diverse customer segments and providing them the best of what they require.”

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OpenCoffee Club Cairo Inaugural Meetup (08/11/2008)

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OpenCoffee Club CairoThe first OpenCoffee Club meetup to be held in Cairo is being organized for November 8th 2008, between 10AM and 12PM, at Starbucks Heliopolis.

OpenCoffee Club (OCC) meetups are organized all over the world, and they aim to bring entrepreneurs, investors, startups, journalists, and other web and technology enthusiasts together in a totally informal setting and free format to share ideas and thoughts, to obtain new contacts, talk about/create future opportunities, …etc.

As with other meetup events of this kind, the key aspect of OCC is having a regular place and a regular time. OCC Cairo meetups are planned for the second and last Saturdays of every month at Starbucks Heliopolis from 10am to 12pm.

Anyone interested in entrepreneurship, startups, innovative ideas and business connections can drop in, hang out and connect with other like-minded people around a cup of coffee.

For more details about the event, you can check out the event page on Upcoming: OpenCoffee Club Cairo Inaugural Meetup.

Broadband Subscribers Increase By 48% In The Middle East

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The number of broadband subscribers in the Middle East increased by 48 per cent in 2007 compared to 2006, according to a new report published by industry research company RNCOS.

The report, titled ‘Middle East Broadband Forecast to 2010‘, said that ‘the region’s soaring broadband demand has been propelled by the inadequacy of existing broadband infrastructure, and government policies promoting rapid broadband adoption as a tool for economic development’.

Among the report’s other key findings:

– In 2007, Israel dominated the Middle East broadband market having major chunk of the broadband subscribers, followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

– Egypt is anticipated to report highest growth in its broadband subscriber base among the Middle Eastern countries at a CAGR of over 83% from 2008 to 2010.

– The total number of 3G subscribers in the Middle East is expected to surpass four million by 2010 end, growing at a CAGR of around 60%.

– Throughout the Middle East region, incumbent and alternative fixed-line operators are rolling out IPTV, helping the operators better maintain their main-line base and gradually increase spend per customer in the face of falling ADSL prices.

Info2cell Launches Wide Range Of Ramadan-themed Services

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Info2cellInfo2cell.com, the leading mobile application service provider in the Middle East, has announced that it has launched a comprehensive range of new services for its subscribers to commemorate the holy month of Ramadan.

The new services have been active since September 1, 2008, and are part of info2cell.com’s strategy to constantly deliver fresh and innovative services in the Middle East and Africa, a multi-billion dollar market that is expected to touch $107bn by 2013 on the strength of growing demand for various mobile content services.

The new services provide info2cell.com clients a select line of Islamic services appropriate for the Ramadan celebration utilising different platforms such as SMS, MMS, IVR, J2ME application, interactive channel and WAP.

There will also be a special SMS competition that offers attractive daily prizes as well as a grand prize during the culmination of Ramadan.

The new services are now available in several countries, including Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Palestine, Bahrain and Syria.

‘Info2cell.com is pleased to unveil another unique line of services specially developed to commemorate the observance of the holy month of Ramadan. It is our mission to constantly provide clients with value-added and appropriate services that cater to various requirements of the society. We hope that our clients will have a more meaningful celebration of the holy season through a wide selection of Ramadan-themed services,’ said Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO of info2cell.com.

Info2cell.com’s Ramadaniat service allows customers to download weekly Islamic packages, Islamic themes, wallpapers and Islamic ring tones.

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