Category: Events

DemoCamp Dubai – A Quick Review Of The Event

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DemoCamp DubaiThe second DemoCamp Dubai event to be organised by Dubai Internet City took place at the Dubai Knowledge Village Auditorium a few hours ago, and I have to say the reaction I had and the one I saw and felt from the people in the auditorium was a lot better than it was at the previous one; the presenting startups were interesting, and the setup felt a bit less formal, which was a good thing.

If there’s one thing I still think needs to be addressed in future editions it’s that the presenters should spend more of their time on stage showing us how their projects work instead of taking us through powerpoint slides.

The event kicked off with a non-startup presentation by Marwan bin Haider, the CIO of DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority), who talked about DEWA’s iPhone, BlackBerry and iPad apps as well as the process of building such mobile apps and how developers could go about creating apps themselves.

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MENA ICT Forum – October 10-11, 2010 – Amman (Jordan)

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MENA ICT ForumThe MENA ICT Forum is an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information and Communications Technology Enabled Services (ICTES) industry event for the MENA region, that is held in Jordan on a bi-annual basis. The event was previously known as Jordan ICT Forum in it’s previous incarnations.

This year’s event is scheduled for October 10-11, 2010; and expands to focus on the whole region’s ICT and ICTES success stories, trends, opportunities, and future outlook and plans.

The MENA ICT Forum 2010 will be held at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman, a modern and high-tech business park dedicated to the ICT and ICTES industry.

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

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Barack ObamaLater 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.

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DemoCamp Dubai – June 23rd 2010 – DKV Auditorium

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DemoCamp DubaiDubai 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.

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Global Entrepreneurship Forum – Lebanon – June 23rd 2010

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Following TechWadi‘s entrepreneurship conferences in Silicon Valley in March and Washington DC in April, they’re organizing their first Global Entrepreneurship Forum in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23 2010 at the AUB Olayan School of Business.

The goal of the conference is to build the necessary bridges between business leaders in the US and the MENA region, acting as a platform for cross-border partnerships to accelerate the development of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Forum will bring together regional investors, executives, entrepreneurs and policymakers who all have interest in creating a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Arab world, as well as a delegation led by the US State Department including prominent investors and entrepreneurs seeking to expand cross-border ties with the MENA region.

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Winners Of The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition 09-10

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The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is a competition designed to encourage all entrepreneurs in the Arab world to start their own company and, ultimately, create a nest of leading firms in the Arab world.

The current version of the competition was officially launched on October 12th 2009 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The competition went through a number of rounds, including different teams covering the following sectors: Energy, Engineering, Healthcare, Internet, Software and Telecom.

The final round just took place at a ceremony in Cairo, Egypt, and the awards for this year were handed out. The winners of this edition of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition are as follows:

First place: The Little Engineer (Lebanon) – Prize: $US 50,000
An after-school edutainment center which introduces kids and teens [age 4-16+] to pre-engineering courses such as robotics, physics, electricity, electronics, renewable energy and more.
Team: Rana El Chemaitelly, Albert Shamieh, Nadia Alamah, Marwa Harb.

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Amman Tech Tuesdays 1st Event, May 4th 2010 (Amman, Jordan)

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Amman Tech TuesdaysIn just a couple of days time, a new series of tech oriented events is kicking off in Amman (Jordan), in the form of Amman Tech Tuesdays, which is an initiative to bring engineers, business people, experts, investors, marketers, entrepreneurs, students and regular enthusiasts from the technology community together on the first Tuesday of every month in an unconference style setting, with the main goal being to organically strengthen the ties between the tech community in Amman, open up doors for collaboration and encourage the sharing of ideas.

The first event will be taking place at 7PM this coming Tuesday, May 4th 2010, at the Friendship Hall of the Princess Sumaya University For Technology in Amman, Jordan.

The idea is for Amman Tech Tuesdays to be a flexible platform, with the possibility for a different group to manage and host the event each month, in order to cover more specialized areas and get to know about innovations from across all tech fronts.

The first event’s sessions are as follows:

  • Open Tech Session
    Usama Fayyad, Phd.     (CEO – Open Insights, LLC.; Exec. Chairman – d1g.com; Ex. Senior VP & Chief Data officer – Yahoo! Inc.)
    In hopes of weaving ties between industry experts, inspirational and renowned figures in technology, Dr. Fayyad will be delivering an open tech session, throughout which he’ll also be accepting attendants’ tech & business questions.
  • Get Inc.’d!
    Omar Al-Taweel, Lawyer     (Al-Taweel Law)
    Having trouble with registering your business or idea? Afraid of making mistakes? Omar will be taking everyone through the process of incorporating your companies and ideas in Jordan;  he’ll also be addressing the new Cyber Crime Laws in Jordan.
  • What’s Up With E-Commerce?
    Ibrahim Manaa’     (Wheels-express.com)
    In this interactive session, Ibrahim will be presenting his experience and findings on E-commerce in Jordan, and the discussion will be opened on what difficulties exist in this space in the region, and what can be done by the community to push things forward and open up doors for e-commerce startups.

These events are also a great networking opportunity to meet the different players from the Jordanian tech scene, and get to share experiences as well as exchange thoughts and ideas.

The Amman Tech Tuesdays events are free and open for everyone to attend; all you have to do is show up at the event’s venue on the right time.

DemoCamp Dubai 5 – March 8th 2010 – The Agenda

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DemoCamp Dubai 5As previously announced, the fifth DemoCamp Dubai will be taking place today at the Dubai Knowledge Village Auditorium on March 8th 2010 at 6:30PM.

The following six demos will be taking place at the event:

  • Hyzonia.com: a web platform for creating, customizing, publishing games and sending dynamic ads within games, to be played by target audiences.
  • FURNISHMarketplace.com: a web2.0 social B2B network, serving the needs of interior designers, hospitality industry professionals and real estate developers.
  • ShopMidEast: an upcoming online retailer with a big vision to become a comprehensive online retailer.
  • InTheLoop.me: a professional social network focused on the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Mysalbum.com: a service allowing users to create urls for their images and specifying number of views, geo-targeting and timing.
  • Yebab.com: an Arab online wedding services directory catering to the whole wedding industry.

The format will be the same as the previous events, with the presenters giving 10 minute presentations of their work, with 5 minutes for Q&A.

The presenters will also be available to answer any further questions, receive feedback and share some thoughts after the event.

Startups and web applications presented at DemoCamp Dubai, and that haven’t already been covered, will be reviewed here on StartUpArabia over the coming days.

DemoCamp Dubai 5 – March 8th 2010 – DKV Auditorium

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After over a year since its last edition, DemoCamp Dubai is back for its fifth edition, and hoping to be even bigger than its previous editions.

The Dubai-based launch event for new products, technologies and companies will be taking place at the Dubai Knowledge Village Auditorium on March 8th 2010 at 6:30PM.

DemoCamp Dubai 5

As usual attendance is open for free for everyone, offering up an opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors, consultants, students, and professionals to get together, see what the latest projects that have been cooking in the region are, meet and network.
To confirm your attendance, just fill in this simple form: Attendance form.

Entrepreneurs and developers can join and demo a web application, a piece of software, a tool or anything that is innovative, new and can be demonstrated.
To submit your project to be demonstrated at the event, please fill in this simple form: Demo Submission.
The last date for submissions is February 24th, 2010.

This edition of DemoCamp Dubai was made possible through the cooperation and support of Dubai Internet City, Argaam and StartUpArabia.

And finally, as usual, startups and web applications presented at DemoCamp Dubai, will be covered here on StartUpArabia.

Global Technology Forum 2010 – March 18th 2010

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TechWadi, the leading networking association for Arab American professionals in the Technology industry, has announced a new conference under the title ‘Global Technology Forum 2010‘, which is a conference on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and a new initiative to accelerate the growth of both – in the Middle East as well as other emerging markets.

The event’s tagline is ‘Silicon Valley and the Middle East: Building a Successful Entrepreneurial Ecosystem,’ and will be held on Thursday March 18th 2010, at PlugandPlayTechCenter (440 N. Wolfe Rd. – Sunnyvale, CA 94085).

During his 2009 speech at Cairo University, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries. As the next step in bringing that vision to reality, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) announced the creation of the Global Technology and Innovation Fund (GTIF).
TechWadi’s Global Technology Forum will focus on when and how GTIF will benefit the MENA countries, as well as highlight the rich business prospects the region offers investors.

A series of prominent panelists will provide insight into the current VC and entrepreneurial landscape while leading Arab American executives will share success stories showcasing the region’s talent. Other speakers will include successful local entrepreneurs who will address the region’s dire need for venture capital as well as prominent local investors who will speak to current initiatives and opportunities for expansion.

The Forum will be followed by a networking reception where participants may develop their own contacts and find new opportunities for advancement both in the United States and in the Middle East.

If you’re interested in attending the event, you can register here. Registration is $100 for TechWadi members and $150 for non-members.