Category: United Arab Emirates

H2O New Media Announces SODA CMS With Support For Location Based Services

MMM

H2O New MediaH2O New Media has just announced the availability of the SODA Content Management System which they describe as the first Web 2.0 Content Management system to support location based services.

These location based services should allow members of any social community built on the SODA content management system to send its users emails, SMS messages and alerts based on a users physical location.

Steve Vaile, CEO of H2O New Media, says that “The SODA CMS allows any community member to receive notifications either by SMS, MMS, Video or by email to their mobile phone based on their location. The development will enable our publishing and corporate customers to offer innovative new services and applications to their customers and internal based on location and vicinity on their mobile phone. Social communities should operate seamlessly between both web PC & mobile handsets, and with SODA taking advantage of location based services its really one of the first social media technology platforms to create a bridge between the online and the physical world.”

He continues to say that “with SODA a customer can deploy a social media platform that will allow its users not only to communicate with each other but to know where each other are, based on their preferences of course. For example if you are a member of a social community you can receive an SMS text when you are close to your friends, marketers can use it to message users are close to a store that has a promotional offer.”

H2O New Media provides social media applications based on software as a service (SaaS) model to corporate companies in the Middle East. H2O New Media clients include United Business Media, Sian Events, Channels Exhibitions, CSM, G2 Publishing and many other leading events and media companies.

Conservus International Wins Red Herring 100 Europe Award

MMM

ConservusRed Herring recently announced that Conservus International was named a winner of the Red Herring 100 Europe, an award given to the top 100 private technology companies based in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region each year.

Conservus International is responsible for the conceptualization, design and development of a digital targeted advertising medium known as the MyConservus Portal.

The MyConservus Portal is an e-concierge service which highlights services available at a single location and provides advertisers with direct access to potential consumers while generating revenue from these advertisements.

Conservus International has similar e-concierge portals that can be used in the Hospitality, Business and Community sectors, and seeks to expand the MyConservus portal’s reach internationally by entering into potential franchise discussions with technology companies.

Conservus was one of the three UAE based technology companies that got an investment from Intel Capital earlier this year, and are also an IV Holdings portfolio company.

Red Herring’s lists of top private companies are an important part of the publication’s tradition of identifying new and innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google, eBay, and Skype were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors, and touted as leaders that would change the way we live and work.

Vignette to Hold Middle East Web Convention 2009 In Dubai

MMM

Middle East Web Convention 2009Vignette, the web content management software company, will be holding the first edition of the Middle East Web Convention along with its main partners on the 27th of April at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai.

The event organizers say that it will be bringing together a multitude of senior executives from across the region and across various industries, to talk about how enterprises can maintain a competitive advantage by using innovative web technologies that provide dynamic web experiences.

According to Yahya H. Zeitouneh, General Manager of Vignette Middle East: “… The Middle East Web Convention 2009 has been shaped to bring into focus all the most modern web technologies available, whilst providing attendees networking opportunities with leading technology experts.”

Looking at the agenda though suggests that it will mainly be revolving around Vignette’s own solutions, and how those can be put to use in organisations to manage their online presence, engage their customers and more, making it a Vignette convention more than anything else.

On the other hand, results of an interesting report on web usage and trends in the Middle East across 12 countries as compared to Western Europe will be presented during the event by Chris Averill, Managing Director of we are:london.

Read More

Submit Conference 2009 – A Roundup Of The Event

MMM 9 Comments

Submit ConferenceSubmit Conference 2009, a gathering for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East, was held on April 8th and 9th in the Habtoor Grand Hotel in Dubai.

It grouped a number of speakers from around the world and the region to talk about internet and entrepreneurship related topics, share information and have an open discussion with everyone present.

Among the attendees were investors and entrepreneurs from the Arab region, which made for a great networking opportunity too.

Turnout was good but not as big as I had hoped, and judging from some of the feedback I got at the event and elsewhere, it’s mainly due to the ticket prices, that were still a bit steep even with the discount offered through StartUpArabia. Hopefully the next editions will be more affordable for people who wish to attend.

The following is a roundup of the two days of the event and the various topics the event’s speakers touched upon in their talks.

Read More

BarCamp UAE Un-Conference, Dubai Internet City, May 9th 2009

MMM 10 Comments

BarCampAfter the DemoCamps, Tweetups, and Twestival; Dubai will soon be witnessing another interesting event: BarCamp UAE.

BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering, born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. These events are quite intense with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.

The unconference will be taking place on May 9th 2009 in Dubai Internet City’s Building #3 (Thuraya Conference Hall.)

The concept lies on the basis that everyone is able to teach something and learn something in return, so it is open for all participants to talk, share, discuss, debate, enquire and learn.

Some of the topics that some of the participants will be talking about are: Why it’s the best time to build a great enterprise; Sustainability; Advertising, digital media, social media and more; Web standards; How to build a cohesive presentation; Media in the Middle East; Think tooling your life; and so much more, with people from different background, covering different topics and subjects.
For an idea about the different topics, you can check this link: BarCamp UAE 1 Topics.

People interested in participating can sign up through the following form: BarCamp UAE 1 Sign-up Form.

For more information and details about BarCamp UAE, you can check out the site: BarCamp UAE.

If you’re registered to the StartUpArabia Events iCal feed in your calendar software, the event should already be showing up in your calendar for that day.

Submit Conference Tickets Discount For StartUpArabia Readers

MMM 2 Comments

Submit ConferenceSubmit is a conference / gathering that will be taking place in Dubai’s Habtoor Grand Hotel next week, on the 8th & 9th of April 2009, for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East.

The goal of Submit is to kick-start a yearly gathering to get people with a common interest in the internet, building web applications, entrepreneurship, technology, marketing, and design together in one place, in an attempt to share the latest innovations and developments taking place in the Internet industry across the region and the globe.

Among the speakers at the event are: 

– Ray Milhem (Director and Chairman of the Board – AdvancedIO)
– Robert Hoekman, Jr. (Founder – Miskeeto)
– Ryan Carson (Founder – Carsonified)
– Simone Brunozzi (Web Services Evangelist, Europe – Amazon) 
– Tariq Al Asiri (General Manager – Argaam) 
– Alexander McNabb (Group Account Manager – Spot On PR) 
– Ashraf Khalil (Usability expert & University professor – Abu Dhabi University) 
– Cloves Carneiro Jr. (Co-Founder & CEO – SpinBits) 
– Rida Al Barazi (Co-Founder & Dev. Manager – SpinBits) 
– Mohamed Marwen Meddah (Founder – StartUpArabia) 

StartUpArabia has managed to get a limited offer to the next 10 readers interested in buying tickets to the event a 30% discount, if you buy through this link using the discount code ‘startuparabia’.

# Buy discounted tickets

Private Equities ME, A Private Equity Portal For The Region

MMM

PrivateEquities.meUAE-based RichWeb -a member of Tharaa Holding- just announced the launch of PrivateEquities.me, a portal dedicated to the private equity sector in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The portal lists private equity companies and consultancies, as well as a selection of available investment opportunities from around the region; aiming to actively contribute in the development of the private equity sector in light of the Global Financial Crisis, through providing information and updating investors on new investment opportunities, and forming a database for all private equity companies and other related companies.

Mr. Shabeer Mohamed, Managing Director of RichWeb, said “Private equity investments reached $500bn globally, out of which $13bn is based in the Middle East. In light of the new global economic challenges, private equities will be more willing to offer their portfolios and investments to the largest possible number of investors in order to continue to develop their investments. Hence, came the idea of launching a website that connects companies and investors, and offer many services and resources including listings of consultancies working in the field. PrivateEquities.me offers three confidentiality levels for those who wish to keep certain investments and information confidential and offer it to a handful of selected investors, which makes the services the website offers a qualitative shift in the regional private equity sector.”

PrivateEquities.me

The website offers listings of companies, portfolios, investment opportunities, in addition to updated information and the latest news about companies and the private equity sector in general.

RichWeb is offering a free of charge three months trial period for companies to list their information and portfolios, they can also search the available opportunities industry or by country. The visitors will receive the latest updates according to their saved search criteria.

Rich Web intends to continue developing the website, offer additional services and make available all relevant private equity information to visitors and members including researches, reports and interviews with industry leaders through cooperating with top regional media.

# PrivateEquities.me

H2O New Media Secures First Round of Funding From Equinox International

MMM

H2O New MediaH2O New Media, the technology company focused on Enterprise Social Media applications in Dubai, has confirmed its first round of funding from Equinox International. A deal between H2O New Media and Equinox International was signed following months of negotiations as the two companies weighed inflation and market stability.

The size of the investment hasn’t been made public, but it has been described as a significant one, and H2O New Media is looking at the investment as an opportunity for growth and expansion of its operation within the MENA and APAC regions.

H2O New Media was established in 2007, as one of the leading social media software companies in the Middle East which focuses on developing niche communities within vertical industry sectors.

The company plans to further advance into key markets across the MENA region, with immediate plans to open new offices in Oman, and then an APAC office based in the Philippines.

“We have been following H2O New Media for a while and I am pleased that we have managed to come to agreeable terms and have secured a stake in the future of the company. The team has very strong background of building companies to 100M dollar plus valuations and H2O New Media has the credibility and potential to achieve this position in the market. They have been working continuously over the past 2 years to develop a number of niche portal applications that will really shake up the MEA online market whilst still providing value for businesses and consumers alike. We prefer to keep the details of our capital investment confidential but I would say it is a sizable commitment on our part and we are determined to assist H2O New Media in its positioning as a leading MENA player within the online & mobile data sectors” said Osama Qadan – Principal Partner, Equinox International.

“Although market conditions have been deteriorating and discouraging our company seems to have bucked the trend by focusing on innovation. We are fortunate to secure funding from a partner who is set to become an integral part in our expansion plans across the MENA region. Having representation in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as a significant telecommunications footprint made Equinox International our preferred investor and an ideal business partner who will work with us to rapidly scale our operations and translate our products into Arabic for the larger markets. As we deliver product and develop partnerships with the regions mobile telecommunications providers our intention is to be aggressive in the market and compete with key players such as Yahoo and Google. H2O New Media has created a significant wave in a short period of time and we are committed to maintaining a strong regional presence and market share in this sector” said Mr. Steve Vaile, CEO, H2O New Media.

Submit, The Conference For Middle Eastern Internet Entrepreneurs & Professionals (April 8-9th, 2009)

MMM

Submit Conference

Among all the different conferences and events happening in the Middle East, there are rarely any at all that are dedicated to internet entrepreneurs and professionals; Submit is here to change that.

Submit is a gathering taking place in Dubai’s Habtoor Grand Hotel, on the 8th & 9th of April 2009, for entrepreneurs and professionals involved in the Internet industry in the Middle East.

If you’re involved in running an internet startup, web site, web application or are a professional in the Internet space, this event caters to you. 

The goal of Submit is to kick-start a yearly gathering to get people with a common interest in the internet, building web applications, entrepreneurship, technology, marketing, and design together in one place, in an attempt to share the latest innovations and developments taking place in the Internet industry across the region and the globe.

A number of experts from the International & Middle-East Internet scene will be speaking at the event.

The event is being organized by SpinBits and Argaam; with StartUpArabia as a media partner.

For more information about the event, the speakers and the topics that will be covered; you can check out the official event website here: Submit Conference.

Intel To Invest In Three UAE Based Technology Companies

MMM 2 Comments

IntelIntel, the world’s largest maker of computer chips, announced it will be investing in three UAE-based technology companies.

The funding will come from the $50 million Intel Capital Middle East and Turkey Fund, and is aimed to assist the companies in pursuing regional growth and development plans in addition to extending their product offerings. 

The three companies that will be benefiting from Intel Capital’s investment are as follows:

  • Conservus International FZ-LLC: An IT/Media marketing company that is responsible for the conceptualization, design and development of a revolutionary digital targeted advertising medium known as MyConservus Portal. (Conservus is also an IV Holdings portfolio company)
  • Pulse Technologies FZ-LLC: A leading manufacturer of building automation systems, specifically catering to property and hotel developers across the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe.
  • Vertex Animation Studio FZ-LLC: A cutting edge technology firm focused on providing world-class services in the field of animation, virtual reality applications and 3D multiplatform games via a multitude of technological platforms.

The size of the investments was not disclosed.

Under the Intel Capital program, Intel plans to continue supporting local entrepreneurship in the Middle East through its investments in education, digital accessibility and specialized technical competencies.

“We have a strong pipeline for future investments in the region,” Feroz Sanaulla, director of Intel Capital’s Middle East, Turkey and Africa division, said during a press conference. “Several hundred million dollars have been deployed in the region, and you will see more in the next few months.”