MMM – Page 8 – StartUpArabia

ITIDA And Vodafone Egypt Launch MobileAppsAcademy For Egyptian Mobile Developers

June 19, 2010June 19, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is partnering up with Vodafone Egypt to launch MobileAppsAcademy, a contest and a program for sponsoring developers of mobile programs and applications in Egypt.

The initiative aims at preparing a generation of talented developers and helping them generate innovative ideas conforming to the needs of the Egyptian and Middle Eastern market.

Another purpose of this initiative is to highlight Egypt as a regional hub for projects and ideas and to encourage the creation of high-quality mobile applications. It aims to work on raising the local production through encouraging and sponsoring the skills of local developers, offering opportunities for talented Egyptians and turning their ideas into real projects that can contribute to the development of the ICT sector.

Event: U.S. Delegation On Entrepreneurship – June 28th 2010 (Amman, Jordan)

June 18, 2010June 18, 2010 MMM 2 Comments

Barack Obama Later this month, the U.S. Department of State will be leading a delegation consisting of venture capital investors, entrepreneurs and pioneers in startup acceleration to Jordan, as part of the ongoing push to foster entrepreneurship in the region by the US Government.

The event will be held on Monday 28th of June, 2010; at the Friendship Auditorium of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology, from 6:00pm – 7:30pm.

It will offer a chance for attendees to hear from and engage with members of the delegation, as well as other entrepreneurs, investors, educators and government officials.

Mdinar, A Tunisian Mobile Payment & M-Wallet Service

June 17, 2010June 17, 2010 MMM

Mdinar is a new mobile payment and m-wallet service that was recently launched in beta in Tunisia through a partnership between the BIAT Bank (Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie), Tunisiana (Mobile phone operator), ENDA (a microfinance institution) and Viamobile (a service provider); powered by Creova’s mobile payment technology.

The Mdinar service offers P2P, top-up, and loan payment services directly from a user’s mobile phone. It also offers multiple features, including the ability to view account balances, history of transactions, and the possibility to save and use the list of people frequently receiving payments from the user. It also allows the user to send a request for money to another person.

Using the service requires a subscription that translates into the opening of a BIAT Light bank account. To open an Mdinar account, the user must have a Tunisian ID card and a Tunisiana mobile line, and they can either register online (option not launched yet) or at any of the affiliate branches that display the Mdinar sign. Registration should be quick and the user’s account is activated immediately. Once registered, the user receives a notification by sms with their PIN.

DemoCamp Dubai – June 23rd 2010 – DKV Auditorium

June 16, 2010June 16, 2010 MMM

Dubai Internet City has announced another edition of DemoCamp Dubai, the event enabling tech entrepreneurs, students, professionals and engineers to showcase and launch their new products in front of the tech community.

The event will be taking place June 23rd at the Dubai Knowledge Village Auditorium from 6:00PM to 9:00PM.

From web to mobile applications, English to Arabic content, reaching either the local or regional markets, DemoCamp Dubai offers individuals the opportunity to share their ideas and be ready to receive valuable feedback from a keen audience.

Middle East Venture Partners Closes US$10 Million Of New Fund

June 16, 2010June 16, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), a Middle East focused venture capital firm that was launched last year with the goal of covering the early and growth stage funding space in the region, just announced the first close of US$10 million of their new fund, Middle East Venture Fund L.P. (MEVF).

MEVP’s fundraising goal is to exceed US$20 Million in total funds under management, with their mission being to focus on funding and building world-class companies with innovative products and services.

They aim to accomplish this by working closely with entrepreneurs, adding value through their wide network of relationships, providing business strategy and corporate finance advice, adhering to corporate governance best-practices, and building synergies between their portfolio companies and professional services partners.

Welcome, Saleh Esmaeili

June 15, 2010June 15, 2010 MMM 5 Comments

I’m really glad to announce that over the coming days and weeks, you will start seeing another new byline on StartUpArabia.

Saleh Esmaeili, a fellow web aficionado and interactive/web producer based in the UAE, who has been in the business of building websites for about ten years now, will be joining in to write on StartUpArabia, to share his views and reviews of the Arab web industry.

Those of you who are based in the UAE and who have been to some of the web-oriented events in Dubai or Abu Dhabi (Twestival, DemoCamp, …etc.) will most probably have met and maybe even chatted with Saleh at at least one of them.

I’ve been a fan of Saleh’s own blog for a while now, and have enjoyed reading his opinions on that blog and even in the comments here, and I can’t wait to read more as he tackles stories and topics relating to Arab startups.

So please everyone join me in welcoming Saleh on StartUpArabia; and make sure you follow his writings here.

Tweet To Email, Share Your Tweets With Your Friends Via Email

June 14, 2010June 14, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Tweet to Email is a service that was recently launched from the UAE, that aims to make it easy for twitter users to share tweets of their choice directly with groups of their friends, who aren’t on twitter yet, through one of the oldest and most established sharing mediums online: email.

The concept is very simple and the tool is as simple and easy to use; the user signs up to Tweet to Email, inputting their twitter username while doing it, and then they get to create groups in which they can add their friends and contacts who they want to share with.

They get to choose a hash tag for each group they create (currently pre-defined and limited to five options), and when tweeting they can use that hash tag in their tweets if they want it sent to the people in that group, directly to their email inboxes.

Ras2Ras Social Rating Platform Acquired By Qatari Investor

June 13, 2010June 13, 2010 MMM 14 Comments

Ras2Ras, the Yemen-based online social rating and comparison platform, that was previously covered here, has been acquired by Qatari investor Ahmed Alaji.

Ras2Ras, which was founded by Amad Almsaodi in 2008, was built around a very simple yet really interesting idea: putting any two comparable things against each other, and letting people vote on which they like best.

Now, even though the tool’s idea is very simple in principle, it could be used for a number of research and user engagement purposes by businesses, with the potential to be a source of some really interesting and useful insights and information.

Quirkat Launches Fantasy Football Game On Facebook

June 12, 2010June 12, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Quirkat, the Middle Eastern game development studio has announced the launch of a new online ‘Fantasy Football’ game just in time for the South Africa 2010 World Cup. The game was developed exclusively for the Facebook platform and can be played in Arabic, English or French.

The game offers players the range of features they’d come to expect out of a fantasy football game. They’ve also featured all 736 players from the 32 teams participating in this summer’s World Cup in South Africa in a visual playing environment.

As users play on in the game, their teams are ranked against a number of real-world player events, such as scoring, successful defending, and bonus points for Man of the Match stature.

The game also allows users to create their own leagues in which they can compete head to head against selected friends.

Music Video Service Vevo Plans To Launch In The Middle East

June 10, 2010June 10, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Vevo, the music video service, that was founded by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), has plans to launch the service in the Middle East in the first quarter of 2011, according to The National.

Vevo was launched in the US in December 2009, and now ranks fourth in terms of the number of viewers watching videos, behind Google, Yahoo! and Fox Interactive Media, attracting 43.6 million viewers in April, according to comScore.

The version to be launched in the region, which is provisionally being called Vevo Arabia, will most probably have broader content than the US version, including Arabic, Bollywood, Filipino and Chinese music to appeal to the different tastes of consumers in the region.

Vevo is estimated to have 85% of all music videos on its platform, largely because of its position as a Web platform for music giants Sony, Universal and EMI, who provide the website with licensed videos of their artists.