Month: October 2008

Microsoft Innovation Center To Support Another Ten Tunisian Startups Through IMPRESS Initiative

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Microsoft Innovation CenterThe Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in Tunisia has launched the second edition of their IMPRESS initiative to finance the 10 best startups in the country. The initiative is aimed at helping young businessmen develop their business by providing technological support and substantial added value.

MIC is the first centre of its kind in North Africa and was established as part of a strategic partnership agreement signed between Tunisia’s government and US software giant Microsoft in 2006; it seeks to support development of Tunisia ’s software industry through innovation and entrepreneurship by developing intellectual capital and strengthening industrial partnership.

MIC also seeks to boost the competitiveness of IT companies while also helping to build a knowledge-based economy and enhance Tunisia ’s role as a leader in new ICT in the region.  HP is an exclusive partner for MIC in Tunisia. 

The IMPRESS initiative offers the top 10 submitted startups some high level technical support, in the form of:

  • Free 1 year subscription to Empower 
  • 5 software products for internal usage
  • 1 software licence and 5 client access licences
  • MSDN Premium subscription kit + User licences
  • MSDN online services 

These startups also get managerial and technical training:

  • Software Business Management course: A two day course on analysis of the business environment, innovation, the value chain, and preparing business plans.
  • Microsoft Solution Framework: A technical training by Microsoft consultants.
  • Best practices: A technical workshop on the best practices for optimizing the development cycle and enhancing the quality of developed solutions.
  • Skills Accelerators: Technical workshops revolving around Microsoft products and technologies (Web Expression, Visual Studio, Sharepoint and SQL Server).
  • Microsoft will certify 2 persons per company, and will enroll them in MSPP (Microsoft Partner Program) to help them fully benefit from their skills building program and extend their market coverage.

The winners also get access to advanced labs to work on specfic developments, proofs of concept, demo and test their solutions in a high performance environment.

To promote the 10 winning startups and give them more visibility, Microsoft will associate them to their marketing events, and support their development locally and internationally.

Financial partners like BFPME (Small & Medium Enterprises Financing Bank), Tuninvest Finance Group and Alternative Capital Partners will complement the support, not only by eventually financing these startups, but also by coaching them and helping them develop their business plans.

To apply to the IMPRESS program, send your project details to the Microsoft Innovation Center before October 25th 2008, by email to mictn@microsoft.com, or by Fax to + 216 71 858 420.

DemoCamp Dubai 3 – Radisson SAS, Dubai Media City (Oct. 28th)

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DemoCamp DubaiThe third DemoCamp Dubai; the Dubai-based launch event for new products, technologies and companies; will be taking place at the Radisson SAS in Dubai Media City on October 28th at 7:30PM.

After a little break during the slower summer months and Ramadan, the third DemoCamp Dubai is set to be held at the same venue and in the same room as the last time, the Al Nada Ballroom, 2nd floor in Radisson SAS hotel, Dubai Media City. Attendance is free, and everyone is welcome to join in.

There are already two confirmed demos scheduled for the event, but there are still openings for a couple more; So, if you’re going to be in Dubai around that date, and you are working on an interesting new web application that you would like to present, then just send an email to: contact@spinbits.com or leave a comment on the blog post announcing the event.

Startups and web applications presented at DemoCamp Dubai will also be reviewed here on StartUpArabia as usual.

Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 17 – 23, 2008

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Global Entrepreneurship WeekThe approaching week of November 17 – 23, 2008, is Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide initiative aimed at young entrepreneurs everywhere who seek to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things. 

During this week, governments and partner organizations from all over the world will host events ranging from invention competitions to local entrepreneurship summits – designed to inspire, connect, inform, mentor and engage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The Week is a global initiative that is linking all those willing to embrace it. Host organizations in each participating country are recruiting partners and coordinating related activities. The exact type of these activities, whether online or face-to-face, is limited only by the imaginations of the partners and the participants. And while a list of suggested activities such as invention competitions, entrepreneurship film festivals, networking events, school-based activities, and local entrepreneurship summits – are available on the website, the actual activities conducted by partners will vary greatly.

And while it may be global in scope, at its heart, the Week is a local initiative that reflects the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community. After all, what works in one corner of the world might be quite different from what works in another.

Some hosts and partners have signed up from a number of Arab countries to take part in this week, by conducting activities and organizing events. To check the hosts and partners in your country, apply to be a host, sign up as a partner or member, or add an activity; you can visit the official website: Global Entrepreneurship Week

First Online Nokia Music Store In Middle East To launch In UAE

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Nokia music storeNokia, the worldwide leader in mobility, recently announced that the first Nokia Music Store in the Middle East will be opening its virtual doors in the United Arab Emirates in December 2008.

The new online music store, to be accessible at music.nokia.ae, will feature a large array of tracks from major regional and international artists, independent labels, and up-and-coming acts.  The site will include a host of interactive features such as music browsing, personal track recommendations and streaming service. Other highlights include the ability to listen to a 30 second clip from any track on the store. Part of the Ovi by Nokia offering, the Nokia Music Store offers a compelling combination of download and streaming services, empowering users to connect to the music they want, in the way they want.

“This is a first of its kind offering in the region in terms of the scope and diversity of the content, as well as user experience. The Nokia Music Store is a fantastic way to build a music collection that is truly mobile, where users can be confident that they are legally downloading music that is high quality and risk free.  It brings a new kind of experience where people can preview, try and discover new music on their PC or on their mobile device like never before,” said Chris Braam, Vice President, Sales, Nokia Middle East and Africa. 

This is the 12th music store that Nokia is rolling out globally. Music will be provided by all major international and regional labels including Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI, Rotana and leading content aggregator Qanawat, as well as thousands of independent labels.

“The UAE is a melting pot, and people here literally come from all parts of the world.  This is why we have ensured that we are offering a diverse collection of music that suits people’s different tastes covering Arabic, Bollywood and international music.  Music, by nature, is ever-evolving, and as new music comes out, we will be continuously adding and updating our catalogue,” said Ayman Chalhoub, Business Manager, Music, Nokia Middle East and Africa.

Users will be able to purchase music as individual tracks, as albums, or through a monthly subscription for PC streaming.   With a single account, music lovers will access the Nokia Music Store via their desktop computer or directly from a range of optimized Nokia devices to browse for new music, get recommendations or search for their favorite artists, songs or albums all from the palm of their hand. Once a track captures their attention, users will be able to add it to their wishlist to buy later or purchase it immediately for download to a mobile device without having to download the same song again on their computer. They will also be able to transfer purchased songs via a PC to compatible Nokia devices.

To celebrate the announcement of the Nokia Music Store in the UAE, Nokia will be presenting Kylie Minogue’s exclusive concert to take place in Dubai Festival City on 21st November 2008, as part of Kylie’s X2008 Tour. The event will be the Australian Pop singer’s first ever show in the Middle East.
As part of this sponsorship, Nokia will be conducting an online competition offering tickets and a host of other prizes.

# music.nokia.ae

Berberus, The Semantic Maghreb Blog Aggregator

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BerberusBerberus is a new blog aggregator that was recently launched to cover blogs from the Maghreb region. The name is an obvious reference to the region and its roots. The site also says it references the existence of a form of berberism (free man) in every blogger who aspires to express themselves freely.

Over the past years, a number of blog aggregators have sprung up in the Maghreb region, mainly covering each country on its own, and there even was a blog called Maghreblog which grouped authors from all Maghreb states who blogged and re-blogged stories from the region, but none of the previous efforts have grouped as many Maghreb blogs in one place.

Berberus currently indexes 1255 blogs from the five Arab Maghreb states (Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania), and aggregates posts and comments from all these blogs. It also provides an analysis of the activity going through these blogs, giving information about the posts and comments activity throughout the region, which the most active blogs and most commented blogs are, and even which posts are the ones getting the most commenting action.

Berberus screenshot

An advanced search engine is provided to search for blogs, posts or comments on certain topics, or by certain people, throughout the region or in a specific country, and in a certain period of time.

Another plus for Berberus is the semantic side of it all, as the tags in the aggregated posts are extracted, and their content analyzed to provide users an easy way to find posts that talk about topics of interest to them; by surfing through the latest tags and checking out the hottest and most talked about issues and topics.

A podcast directory is also included, indexing podcasts from around the region, and offering a central interface to watch or listen to them.

The interface tries to pack all the mentioned functionalities in a way that keeps it pretty easy to use and uncluttered, and it’s rather successful at it. The site is in English only for the time being.

# Berberus