Press Releases – StartUpArabia

Partnership Agreement Signed between QRCE and Al-Ahli Holding Group

January 27, 2009January 27, 2009 MMM 1 Comment

Press Release: Partnership Agreement Signed between QRCE and Al-Ahli Holding Grp.
AMMAN, Jordan – (Jan. 2009)

Under the patronage of Dr. Adel Al-Twaysi – Chairman of the founding committee of El-Hassan Science City – the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE) held a press conference to announce partnership with Al-Ahli Holding Group-UAE through which it will provide technical support to the 2nd round of the “Global Economic Opportunities” program. Mr. Mohammad Khammas –the CEO of the Al-Ahli Holding Group was present, while QRCE was represented by Mr. Mohammad Khawaja –the Deputy Director.

QRCE - Al Ahli The “Global Economic Opportunities” program was launched last year aiming at expanding Arab youth capacity to work with peers from various countries and cultures in developing successful world-class ventures, as well as establishing newly-born companies that supply global markets with products and services of high economic value. A group of Arab youth and participants from Argentina took place in the program’s first trial, in which they underwent specialized courses in business development, which helped them acquire the entrepreneurial skills needed for venture success.

This year, the program is going to include participants from Jordan, South Africa, Brazil, UAE and Argentina. In addition to the specialized training courses, QRCE will provide seasoned mentors from leading companies around the world to support participating teams in enhancing their business plans and honing their abilities to seize global economic opportunities, as well as building successful global companies. The program will also include field visits to major companies and factories in hosting countries in order to expand the participants’ knowledge and increase their understanding of work environment in different countries, as well as understanding each country’s specificity, both culturally and socially.

Sahritna Unveils Site Redesign And Launches New Features

December 1, 2008December 1, 2008 MMM 2 Comments

Press Release: Sahritna.com Unveils Next Evolution of Site feature and Design
Amman, Dec. 1st, 2008

Sahritna.com today released a new, cleaner and simpler new design, along with the opportunity for users to preview the next-generation features and functionality. The company is inviting people to use the new design and try out the improved features and engage with the community. The new design is available to all of Sahritna’s more than 50,000 Arabic users and the new registered users over the coming days.

“Based on our vision to create a unique interactive Arabic community and the demand of our loyal users, we have launched a simpler and cleaner design in order to highlight the most recent and relevant information that users value” said Sahritna founder and CEO Bashar Shannak. “Sahritna’s new features make it a lot easier for users to share information and engage in the community.”

The company has been developing the new design since four months. Over the past two months, more than 3,000 Sahritna users offered constructive suggestions on the layout and features, many of which were included in the final version.

Public Profiles: Sahritna allowed its users to create their personal unique pages to deliver their information in a social context. The evolution of the public profiles focuses on user’s identity, their friends, post comments, mutual friends, rating and more. The profile now surfaces more current and pertinent information, about a user and their friends’ on Sahritna.

Profile Comments: Users have complete control over the comments published on their profile. Users are able to delete unwanted comments. And they can post comments on their profile and friend’s profiles.

User Rating: Located on the right hand of the user’s profile, the users are able to rate other users profiles in simple way. This feature enables users to know the popularity of their profile and how their friends think of them.

My Mood: It’s a mean for the user to express his/her current mood and tell his friends how he feels currently. Upon user login he will be able to express his/her mood.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation Signs MoU With Syrian Computer Society’s ICT Incubator

November 17, 2008November 17, 2008 MMM

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation of Dubai today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Computer Society’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Incubator.

Established to build the information society in Syria and nurture entrepreneurial ideas, the ICT Incubator currently provides a variety of services and training to projects that are commercially viable.

This announcement came during the fourteenth annual Information and Communication Technology exhibit which was held at Exhibition City in the Syrian capital Damascus. The MoU was signed by Sultan Lootah, Vice President of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, and Dr Rakan Razouk, Chairman of the ICT Incubator, Syrian Computer Society, in the presence of senior Foundation officials and key Syrian officials from the private sector, public sector and academia.

The agreement marks a new milestone in the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, which seeks to develop cooperative programmes to advance the creative talents of Arab entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities, as well as enhance research methodologies and information exchange.

The agreement mandates the creation of an extensive online network for regional incubators to encourage interaction, share experiences, discuss best-practices and exchange information between entrepreneurs and incubators throughout the Arab world.

Info2cell Launches Wide Range Of Ramadan-themed Services

September 10, 2008September 10, 2008 MMM

Info2cell.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.

SouqElArab Launches Islamic Clothing Category With eJilbab

July 20, 2008July 20, 2008 MMM 1 Comment

Press Release: SouqElArab.com launches the Islamic Clothing Category with eJilbab.com
Amman, July 20, 2008

The Arab social Web shopping portal, SouqElArab.com has partnered with eJilbab.com, which offers a wide variety of Islamic and Middle Eastern Apparel, to launch the new category of Islamic Clothing on SouqElArab.com.

The new category comprises of modest clothing like Jilbab, Abaya, Dishdash, Thoub, tops, pants and skirts based on Islamic principles.

These product lines aim to fill the gap of fellow Muslims who are living in the Western societies, where there is substantial need to acquire good quality yet affordable modest clothing.

“Our partnership with eJilbab.com is about joining experiences and care in serving Muslim communities across the globe with much demanded ethnic and religious clothing not easily accessible in the West. We chose eJilbab.com as the optimum choice to launch our Islamic clothing category with, and do look forward on a further expansion in this product line, hand-in-hand with eJilbab.com.” SouqElArab.com CEO stressed on their launch.

eJilbab.com is powered by professional and talented Muslims who have the capabilities to offer good quality of modest clothing like Jilbab, Abaya, Dishdash, Thoub, tops, pants and skirts based on Islamic principles. That is the reason why ejilbab.com was established, to be committed to serve their customer to the fullest of their abilities and to guarantee their needs by producing a good quality Islamic clothing and friendly customer service.

SouqElArab.com, operated by SouqElArab Inc., is a growing Arab on-line marketplace. It offers visitors a social shopping experience whereby they can network with like-minded people and shop at the same time. The shopping experience is based on members’ recommendations and feedback, where visitors rate and review products and come together to form a community based on their hobbies, interests and traits.

SouqElArab & Nawaiya Launch Smallest PC With 3G Mobile & Premier Arabic TV Channels Online

June 9, 2008June 9, 2008 MMM

Press Release: SouqElArab.com partners with Nawaiya FZ, launching the Smallest PC with 3G mobile and Premier Arabic TV channels.
Amman, June 8, 2008

The Arab social Web shopping portal, SouqElArab.com, partners with Nawaiya FZ LLC. to launch exclusively On-line the Nawaiya’s convergence device the “Interactive Lifestyle Manager – ILM3G”.

The ILM 3G is state-of-the-art wide screen handheld convergence device designed to revolutionize content consumption on the go. ILM 3G offers full mobile phone functionality within the same device and enables users to access content, enjoy high-quality music and video playback and browse the full web while they are on the phone all using the same device – a first in the market place.

The ILM3G comes bundled with proprietary Nawaiya content portal designed to provide our customers seamless access to live TV, sports, movies and music downloads over Wi-Fi and 3G. Nawaiya has distribution rights to over 56 live premium Arabic channels such as Rotana Channels, MBC1, Alarabiya, Aljazeera, Dubai TV, Dubai Sports, Escape Music Channel, LBC, Future TV and many more.

With dimensions of 7.3 X 17 cm. and 2.5 cm. in slimness, it proves that the ILM3G is the smallest PC in the world with a 3G phone. It runs the full version of Microsoft® Windows® XP® and employs a proprietary touch-screen user interface.

The CEO of SouqElArab Inc. points; “This fantastic product is geared up for our Middle Eastern & North African clients whom benefit from such facilities and latest technology. Our partnership with Nawaiya is to reach out to the user with the state-of-the-art technology, vibrant in today’s world, and a great product offering for the businessman, the media lovers and people on the move. We are proud to offer the ILM 3G exclusively on-line to our valued community”

The ILM3G is sold in UAE stores and will be marketed and sold exclusively On-line on the SouqElArab.com Web site throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

SouqElArab.com, operated by SouqElArab Inc., is a growing Arab on-line marketplace in the making. It offers visitors a social shopping experience whereby they can network with like-minded people and shop at the same time. The shopping experience is based on members’ recommendations and feedback, where visitors rate and review products and come together to form a community based on their hobbies, interests and traits. www.souqelarab.com

Nawaiya was established in 2007 as an Original Equipment Manufacturer and Media Company (OEM-M) headquartered in Dubai Media City and focused exclusively on the ‘Interactive Lifestyle Manager’ (ILM) category, that emerging convergence handheld category packing full PC functionality with full mobile phone and 3G data functionality all bundled with geo-relevant and compelling content.

The company is focused on the vision of providing the Middle East market with a revolutionary mobility experience firmly rooted in and designed for the region. www.nawaiya.net

Yamli Wins “Best Web Technology Award”

May 15, 2008May 15, 2008 MMM 9 Comments

Press Release: Online tool that enables the transliteration of Arabic using English characters wins prestigious web award

Yamli.com wins “best Web technology award” within year of launch

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – May 14th, 2008 — Language Analytics, LLC, a software startup, has won “Best Web Technology Award” during the 4th Year Pan Arab Web Awards 2008 (http://www.panarabwebawards.org) for its flagship website, Yamli.com. Yamli allows users to convert transliterated text back into Arabic characters, facilitating access to and the development of Arabic content.

The Pan Arab Web Awards aim to promote the innovative spirit of the web while recognizing the accomplishments of its community members. The competition received an unprecedented number of registrants from the Middle East region, including new entrants from Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The awards ceremony was held on 26 April 2008 at Burj Al Arab, Dubai.

According to co-founder Imad Jureidini, “We are very honored to receive this year’s Best Web Technology Award. This is a recognition, not only of the technological breakthrough that Yamli represents, but also of the Arabic web’s need for such technology.”

Yamli’s patent-pending solution converts the user’s input into Arabic as the user types. To maximize usability, Yamli accepts a variety of phonetic spellings and generates a list of suggested matches. Over time, Yamli will recognize popular patterns of spelling and word selection, increasing its accuracy.

Co-founder Habib Haddad says: “Today, the Arabic language represents less than 0.5% of the content on the Internet. Our mission at Yamli is to empower the Arabic language on the web. We are going to continue to increase that percentage to a much higher number.”

You can view Yamli at www.yamli.com.

About Language Analytics LLC

Language Analytics LLC, a software startup based in Cambridge, MA, specializes in smart transliteration technologies for Arabic and other languages. For more information, visit our website, at www.yamli.com/about/.

SouqElArab Partners With Yamli For Better User Experience

May 6, 2008May 6, 2008 MMM 3 Comments

Press Release: SouqElArab.com partners with Yamli.com to offer a unique user experience for Arabs
Amman, May 6, 2008

The Arab social Web shopping portal, SouqElArab.com has partnered with Yamli.com, which offers tools that allows easy access and expand the Arabic Web, to offer Arabs the facility that allows Arabic speakers to write Arabic using English alphabet.

Embedded within the SouqElArab.com Web site is Yamli’s API technology that allows the user to easily access the vast product lines without the need of an Arabic keyboard. The technology has been implemented in the search engine, as well as the use of User Names for the Networking facility offered, and for placing reviews, messages and text fields. The technology is simply “Write in Arabic – Type it the way you say it” as Yamli creators put it.

“I am really excited for this partnership and looking forward for more collaboration with SouqElArab.com. Our mission at Yamli is to empower the Arabic language on the Web and we firmly believe that in unity and collaboration we can and will achieve our goal” says Yamli.com Co-Founder, Habib Haddad.

Further to this facility, numerous co-operations and partnerships are in process of implementation to better serve both companies in terms of exposure, accessibility and branding.

Fadi F. Dababneh, Founder & CEO of SouqElArab Inc. added: “This new technology has started to revolutionise the Arabic language’s use on the Internet. More and more Web services are offering this technology from Yamli.com to better serve and understand the needs of its user-base. I believe nothing like this has come along since the first Arabic e-mail service was offered in the late 1990’s.”

Language Analytics LLC, which created and operates Yamli.com is an Internet startup based in Cambridge, MA, (USA) specializes in smart transliteration technologies for Arabic and other languages.

# SouqElArab, Yamli