News – Page 13 – StartUpArabia

Middle East & North Africa Internet Users To Account For Greater Percentage Of World Total

August 17, 2008August 17, 2008 MMM

According to an article on Zawya, Dr Walid Moneimne, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai-based Nuratel, told Emirates Business that the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) is expected to make up a significant chunk of the worldwide internet population by 2015.

According to InternetWorldStats.com, internet usage in the Middle East currently stands at nearly 42 million users or three per cent of the worldwide total of 1.4 billion. The website mentioned, however, that over a period of eight years (from 2000 to 2008), the Middle East’s internet penetration jumped by 1,176.8 per cent, as against a combined global performance of 281.8 per cent.

He thinks that with the advanced telecom infrastructure in place in most parts of the region, internet subscribers are likely to reach 1.3 billion in the next seven years, or 26 per cent of the targeted global penetration of five billion users.

Behind this forecasted growth he cites:

The region going directly to developing wireless technology with high bandwidth capability, instead of fixed network as developed countries did, immediately placing itself at an advantage.
The interdependency of four industries – Telecom, IT, Media and Electronics, which has been going on for two decades, unified by the internet
Mobile phone improvements and expectations for mobile phone subscriptions to double to 600 million by 2010 from the current figure of 300 million.
The proliferation of Web 2.0 and social media.

Read the full article here: Zawya

Javna Launches MobiAd Mobile Advertising Platform

August 10, 2008August 10, 2008 MMM

Javna, a leading Arab company in the field of mobile software solutions and wireless applications has launched MobiAd, the first mobile ad application that allows users to earn money.

The Amman-based company said the program needs only to be downloaded on users’ cell phones free of charge, to start immediately accumulating points and collecting money. In addition, subscribers will also be eligible for periodic drawings on prizes offered by advertisors .

Underlining the feasibility of MobiAd as an ad platform, Javna said companies can now resort to this state-of-the-art application to get their messages across to the targeted segments of consumers who, for the first time ever, will have the chance to earn money rather than just spend it.

Javna hopes MobiAd will meet the growing needs of companies for innovative and out-of-the-box marketing techniques that ensure the achievement of the ad campaign goals while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.

MobiAd allows advertising companies and ad agencies to reach out to the targeted segment of consumers in a modern and more interactive fashion, by defining the targeted age range, gender, and geographical location, among other data necessary to render the ad campaign a success and ensure its objectives are met in an optimal manner. In addition, the program provides technical reports to evaluate the campaign throughout its various phases.

All telecom companies’ subscribers, regardless of the type of their subscription, can download the software by visiting its official website: www.mobiadhome.com. Subscribers will have the choice to voluntarily join the marketing programs according to their interest and be rewarded for their choice; they will be also be able to invite their friends to Join the program and share the benefits with others.

Javna expect the mobile advertising platform to have a significant share of the Arab ad market, estimated at $7bn annually, especially since the new technology is based on interactive solutions through multiple delivery channels starting from SMS and MMS messaging, to flash interfaces that appear when a call is received or made by the user. These marketing tools can be programmed to appear regularly on set dates and times.

Info2cell Partners With Future TV To Provide Content To Mobile Phone Users In Saudi Arabia

August 8, 2008August 8, 2008 MMM 2 Comments

Info2cell.com, the leading mobile application service provider in the Middle East, has recently announced the signing of a content license and distribution agreement with Lebanon-based Future TV to provide video and MMS clips of hugely popular TV programmes, ‘Rossoom Mutaharirah’, ‘La Yomal’ and ‘Abou Riad’, to mobile phone users in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Through the subscription-based service, which will be launched today, users will receive the content three times per week. Each video clip – video IVR, WAP portal, video push and video streaming – will be up to two minutes long, while the MMS content will be 30 seconds in duration.

Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO of Info2cell.com, said,: ‘ We are pleased to sign this important agreement with Future TV which will enable us to provide select clippings from three highly popular TV programmes on the mobile phones of subscribers. Info2cell.com is committed to offering the most innovative and exciting content to its subscribers, in line with current market trends and consumer interests, and this partnership with Future TV perfectly complements our strategy.’

Samir S. Hammoud, Chairman and General Manager of Future TV, said, ‘The viewership for our programmes has been growing steadily in recent years and we are glad that this alliance with Info2cell.com has created another vital channel for subscribers in KSA to view clippings of some of our most watched programmes.’

Last year, Info2cell.com teamed up with MBC channel in Saudi Arabia to offer subscribers, video clips, ring tones, wallpapers and Java games of hugely popular television programmes including ‘Tash Ma Tash’, ‘Beiny o Bainak’, ‘Meznah’ and ‘Stories of the Prophet’.

Al Jazeera Labs Launched To Showcase New Media Group’s Innovative Developments

July 26, 2008July 26, 2008 MMM 5 Comments

Al Jazeera recently launched Al Jazeera Labs, a website that showcases some of the most innovative developments coming out of Al Jazeera’s New Media group; including new ways of interaction, and the possibility to get the news anytime, anywhere, anyhow.

From the Al Jazeera iPhone and facebook applications, to their podcasts and YouTube channel, to the twitter accounts they’ve set up for easier reception of news and interaction with presenters; Al Jazeera Labs will be the central point to follow and keep up with all these interesting projects and ideas.

Some of the published projects will be fully functional, while others might still be in Beta; Al Jazeera plans to build on user feedback to improve the different tools and applications offered through Al Jazeera Labs.

# Al Jazeera Labs

Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition Nominated Teams Announced

July 18, 2008July 18, 2008 MMM

The nominated teams have been announced for the third iteration of the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition (QRNEC), which aims to be a driving force for entrepreneurship and innovation in Jordan.

The following are the names of the nominated teams, who have successfully passed the first stage and will compete for the QRNEC awards for this year.

Academia Entrepreneurs:
– VStock Exchange
– Friends
– Genesis JO
– ELSIRAJ
– SAFEtech
– YAMAMA
– Mis
– biotechnology
– JUST team
– GREEN LIGHT POWER
– Jeeks
– ecgteam
– Innovational Team
– Human Heater

Mature Entrepreneurs:
– Grooshat
– Populace Ads
– Talasim.com Team
– ProcHub
– TrueI
– Monitoring Systems
– F1 “Help at the Click of a Button”
– National Center for Electronic Care (NCEC)
– Royal Scientific Society & Dr.Farqad F.M.Saeed
– Energy & Environmental Technologies
– MIDA Technologies
– HubbleDesk
– Saba Fawzi Mohammad Al Nsairat
– Biomedical Engineer
– KEENWASH

These nominated teams will be receiving advanced training courses and mentorship.

# QRNEC Results

Synergos Middle East & North Africa Social Innovators Program

July 16, 2008July 16, 2008 MMM 2 Comments

In October 2007 Synergos launched the Middle East and North Africa Social Innovators Program, with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other donors. The three-year initiative seeks to identify and support twenty individuals from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine who are implementing successful social projects.

In order to be considered for selection, a candidate must be implementing an idea that has demonstrated positive social change and impact at a local level with the potential for replication in other communities and expansion to a national level. Social innovations will be considered which have as a focus one or more of the following fields; economic, social, or sustainable development; health; education; and culture.

The Program will invest in these Social Innovators through professional development and financial support to better enable participants to transform their small-scale projects into sustainable programs and organizations.

The selected Social Innovators will have access to training, mentoring and peer learning through a network of professionals and social entrepreneurs to help build financial and organizational sustainability for your innovation; as well as facilitation of connections to business, government, philanthropic and other civil society leaders in the area and across the world to leverage their innovation and make a greater impact. Financial awards of up to $17,000 per year, for two years, are also offered to help develop the winner’s social ventures.

The application period for the Social Innovators program began in early May 2008 and goes on until mid-September.

For more details about the program and project submission, check out the official program website: Synergos Social Innovators Program.

MBR Foundation Center For Entrepreneurship and Innovation In American University Of Beirut

July 10, 2008July 10, 2008 MMM

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation today announced plans to establish a new center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon, as part of its continuous efforts to instill the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Arab world.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, aiming to serve as a regional nucleus for entrepreneurship research and knowledge dissemination in the Arab world, will be established in collaboration with AUB with an endowment of AED18.3 million (nearly US$5 million).

Under the agreement, the Foundation and AUB’s Olayan School of Business will combine forces to support and develop entrepreneurship-related research, training material and expertise in the Arab world. Through the new centre, the Foundation and AUB will also work towards enhancing regional business capabilities, leading to a better understanding of current and future entrepreneurial activity and challenges in the region.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will develop and provide research and training materials fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the Arab World, thereby contributing to creating conditions conducive to furthering employment and supporting economic activity across the region. Additionally, it will conduct regional entrepreneurship studies to identify barriers to entrepreneurship that individuals, business leaders, corporations and governments can help alleviate.

The center will also serve as a knowledge center for e-students, entrepreneurs and policy-makers by providing entrepreneurship sector analysis, country analysis, profiling and policy recommendations, regular data surveys, as well as relevant business case studies.

Operating as an open source institution for its published output, the centre will offer access to its resources to eligible entrepreneurs, researchers and relevant stakeholders as determined through mutually agreed criteria set by the Foundation and the AUB.

Aimed at promoting job growth and business creation in the region, the Foundation seeks to develop entrepreneurship programmes that facilitate business mentorship, expertise and services among successful and aspiring entrepreneurs. In developing a series of related programmes that support young businesses, the Foundation aims to assist emerging entrepreneurs to explore, identify and seize potential business opportunities across the Arab world.

As part of its efforts to support regional centres dedicated to advancing business education and supporting young enterprises, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation recently signed key partnership agreements with a number of leading organisations and educational bodies across the Arab world including the Dubai-based Young Arab Leaders (YAL), Al Akhawayan University in Morocco, and the Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) in Palestine.

# More: Zawya

MBC Group & CDC Games Partner On Arabic Online Gaming Portal

June 29, 2008June 29, 2008 MMM 5 Comments

MBC Group recently partnered with CDC Games, a global market leader in online gaming and distribution based in China, to develop and launch an Arabic online gaming web portal which will include a portfolio of massive multi-player online games (MMPOG/MMPORG), in both English and Arabic.

MBC Group aims to reproduce the success of the online multi-player game genre in the Arab world, through launching games that are customized for the region’s audience and that appeal to the numbers of Arab gamers that have been pretty limited in their choices up to now.

Online gaming has become a huge global industry with an estimated value expected to reach $13 – $15 billion by 2012. This progressive trend is clearly what incited MBC Group to develop this venture for the Arab market.

This is yet another online project by MBC Group, that is part of their strong online strategy push recently, which has produced projects such as MBC iMatter, a social networking site for Arab women, and MBC2 Movies In Motion, a video sharing and social networking service; and which Sam Barnett, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of MBC Group, describes as their “overall strategy of leading the region towards digital and media convergence.”

# More: Zawya

ICANN Approves Big Changes To Internet Addressing System

June 28, 2008June 28, 2008 MMM 4 Comments

A couple of days ago, the Board of ICANN approved a recommendation that could see a whole range of new names introduced to the Internet’s addressing system.

Presently, users have a limited range of 21 top level domains to choose from — names that we’ve all come to know well like .com, .org, .info; in addition to the country-specific TLDs (.uk, .tn, .ae, …etc).

The approved proposal allows applicants for new names to self-select their domain name so that choices are most appropriate for their customers or potentially the most marketable. It is expected that applicants will apply for targeted community strings such as (the existing) .travel for the travel industry and .cat for the Catalan community (as well as generic strings like .brandname or .yournamehere). There are already interested consortiums wanting to establish city-based top level domains, like .nyc (for New York City), .berlin and .paris.

The expanding system is also being planned to support extensions in the languages of the world, enabling web addresses to be typed in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts. The present system only supports 37 Roman characters.

Upon approval of the implementation plan, it is planned that applications for new names will be available in the second quarter of 2009.

# Source: ICANN