Tag: initiative

Microsoft BizSpark Offers Startups Free Software And Services

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Microsoft BizSparkMicrosoft launched a new program called BizSpark to help Internet companies by giving them free access to software, tech support and introductions to its business partners around the world.

BizSpark is intended to “accelerate the success of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups” using, of course, Microsoft technology, according to the Redmond, Washington-based software colossus.

To be eligible for the program, companies must be privately owned; less than three years old, and have annual revenues of no more than a million dollars.

Startups must be “nominated” by BizSpark Network Partners including economic development agencies, venture capitalists, business incubators, and groups such as global nonprofit The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).

There is no cap on the number of startups that can get into the BizSpark program and they can come from any of 82 countries.

Startups will be profiled in an online BizSparkDB directory and also get discounted access to Microsoft “cloud computing” resources.

Startups pay nothing to be involved with BizSpark but there is a 100 dollar “exit fee” at the end of the three-year program or if companies leave for other reasons, such as being acquired or going bust.

More information about BizSpark can be found online at Microsoft Startup Zone and Microsoft BizSpark.

Microsoft Innovation Center To Support Another Ten Tunisian Startups Through IMPRESS Initiative

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Microsoft Innovation CenterThe Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in Tunisia has launched the second edition of their IMPRESS initiative to finance the 10 best startups in the country. The initiative is aimed at helping young businessmen develop their business by providing technological support and substantial added value.

MIC is the first centre of its kind in North Africa and was established as part of a strategic partnership agreement signed between Tunisia’s government and US software giant Microsoft in 2006; it seeks to support development of Tunisia ’s software industry through innovation and entrepreneurship by developing intellectual capital and strengthening industrial partnership.

MIC also seeks to boost the competitiveness of IT companies while also helping to build a knowledge-based economy and enhance Tunisia ’s role as a leader in new ICT in the region.  HP is an exclusive partner for MIC in Tunisia. 

The IMPRESS initiative offers the top 10 submitted startups some high level technical support, in the form of:

  • Free 1 year subscription to Empower 
  • 5 software products for internal usage
  • 1 software licence and 5 client access licences
  • MSDN Premium subscription kit + User licences
  • MSDN online services 

These startups also get managerial and technical training:

  • Software Business Management course: A two day course on analysis of the business environment, innovation, the value chain, and preparing business plans.
  • Microsoft Solution Framework: A technical training by Microsoft consultants.
  • Best practices: A technical workshop on the best practices for optimizing the development cycle and enhancing the quality of developed solutions.
  • Skills Accelerators: Technical workshops revolving around Microsoft products and technologies (Web Expression, Visual Studio, Sharepoint and SQL Server).
  • Microsoft will certify 2 persons per company, and will enroll them in MSPP (Microsoft Partner Program) to help them fully benefit from their skills building program and extend their market coverage.

The winners also get access to advanced labs to work on specfic developments, proofs of concept, demo and test their solutions in a high performance environment.

To promote the 10 winning startups and give them more visibility, Microsoft will associate them to their marketing events, and support their development locally and internationally.

Financial partners like BFPME (Small & Medium Enterprises Financing Bank), Tuninvest Finance Group and Alternative Capital Partners will complement the support, not only by eventually financing these startups, but also by coaching them and helping them develop their business plans.

To apply to the IMPRESS program, send your project details to the Microsoft Innovation Center before October 25th 2008, by email to mictn@microsoft.com, or by Fax to + 216 71 858 420.

Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 17 – 23, 2008

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Global Entrepreneurship WeekThe approaching week of November 17 – 23, 2008, is Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide initiative aimed at young entrepreneurs everywhere who seek to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things. 

During this week, governments and partner organizations from all over the world will host events ranging from invention competitions to local entrepreneurship summits – designed to inspire, connect, inform, mentor and engage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The Week is a global initiative that is linking all those willing to embrace it. Host organizations in each participating country are recruiting partners and coordinating related activities. The exact type of these activities, whether online or face-to-face, is limited only by the imaginations of the partners and the participants. And while a list of suggested activities such as invention competitions, entrepreneurship film festivals, networking events, school-based activities, and local entrepreneurship summits – are available on the website, the actual activities conducted by partners will vary greatly.

And while it may be global in scope, at its heart, the Week is a local initiative that reflects the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community. After all, what works in one corner of the world might be quite different from what works in another.

Some hosts and partners have signed up from a number of Arab countries to take part in this week, by conducting activities and organizing events. To check the hosts and partners in your country, apply to be a host, sign up as a partner or member, or add an activity; you can visit the official website: Global Entrepreneurship Week

Zero2Beta: Intense Web Application Design & Development

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Zero2BetaZero2Beta is a new experiment launched by SpinBits and CloudAppers on intense design and development of a useful web application from concept to launch in a couple of days, and releasing it to the public.

With agile development platforms like Rails and the back-to-basics approach to applications, the time to design, develop and launch an application has become impressively short; Zero2Beta is a collaboration effort that aims to push this to the extreme and create something from scratch in a couple of days time only.

It enforces the practice of coming up with a unique idea, designing an application around it, deploying it and getting it out to the public as soon as possible. The idea is that the self-imposed limitations in terms of time and resources will eventually push the team to focus on what really matters and rise above trivial decisions to working on the absolutely necessary parts needed to have something working quickly.

The first application in this experiment, code-named “App1″, and which will be named “Next“, will kick off tomorrow.

A blog to document the different steps of the project has been setup at  Zero2Beta; and a twitter account @zero2beta has been created too, so that people can follow the advancement of the project hourly throughout the next couple of days, with links to posts in addition to some photos and videos as well.

I think it’s a very interesting experiment, and am really looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration between SpinBits and CloudAppers.

Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition Nominated Teams Announced

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QRNEC Logo

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

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SynergosIn 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

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Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum FoundationThe 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

Swalif Think Day, An Event Encouraging Arab Thought & Innovation Online

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Swalif Think DayUnder the slogan “Think“, Dubai’s Knowledge Village will be witnessing a joint event by GadgetsArabia, Swalif Soft, and the Emirates Internet Group, on August 7th 2008, aimed towards pushing and encouraging development in the Arab internet industry, by bring together a number of high profile speakers from some leading Arab web2.0 companies.

Some representatives from Google Middle East will be attending the event, as well as people from Arab internet companies and prominent Arab websites and portals. Members of the press and media will be attending too.

Event Location:
United Arab Emirates
Dubai
Knowledge Village
Conference room, block 1, 1st floor

Event programme:

  • Welcome & Opening Note
    Speaker: Ahmed Gabr, Editor of GadgetsArabia
    Time: 5 minutes
  • How do I attract big advertisers to my site?
    Speaker: Tariq Al-Asiri, CEO or Argaam.com
    Time: 15-20 minutes
  • Open discussion on online advertising
    Q&A with Tariq Al-Asiri; moderated by Ahmed Gabr
    Time: 20-30 minutes
  • How do you launch a web2.0 project, and what are the difficulties and challenges you could face?
    Speaker: from TootCorp
    Time: 15 minutes
  • From idea to implementation in web2.0
    (Use of APIs, Usability, Productivity)
    Speaker: Habib Haddad, Co-Founder of Yamli.com
    Time: 15 minutes
  • Web2.0 success story
    Speaker: Rida Al-Barazi, of SpinBits.com
    Time: 15 minutes
  • Open discussion on web2.0 and web development
    Q&A with all speakers, moderated by Ahmed Gabr
  • Closing note

The event is public, open to everyone and free.

Microsoft & ABAN Partnership To Promote Entrepreneurship In MENA Region

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Microsoft
ABAN

Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) covering the Middle East and North Africa region.

The partnership aims to increase the success rate of new entrepreneurial ventures in the region, by encouraging innovative business ideas and providing seed funding. Under the agreement, ABAN will work with Microsoft to identify and foster innovative technology ventures in the region.

During the launch event, ABAN and Microsoft gathered four budding entrepreneurs who presented their business ideas to over 70 potential investors. These business projects were:

  • Dia Diwan, an online portal that offers the latest news on lifestyle and entertainment in the region, including an ecommerce shopping facility for fashion items.
  • WeNear, a mobile platform for location-based services and applications.
  • Cash Trash, an innovation aimed at recycling to reduce pollution problems.
  • PolluMap, an automatic pollution mapping system to track city pollution levels.

This initiative like others before it aims to address the problem early stage startups and businesses face in the Arab world when it comes to financing.

Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) was launched by the Young Arab Leaders and Dubai Holding, with Dubai International Capital as its founder and lead institutional investor, back in 2005. It invests through its Angels’ network and manages two funds: a US$ 10 Million seed capital fund and US$ 5 Million fund for women-led ventures.

ABAN recently announced its first three investments in the Middle East, and has been leveraging its global partnerships and high-profile connections to optimize its investments and reach out to more promising entrepreneurs.

From Microsoft’s side, this partnership follows their Unlimited Potential and Local Software Economies initiatives that aim to create social and economic opportunity through programs and products that transform education, foster local innovation and enable jobs and opportunities worldwide.

# Press release: Zawya

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation Launches ‘Sawaed’ Challenge Fund Programme

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Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum FoundationThe Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation announced recently the launch of ‘Sawaed’, a new programme that aims to challenge the private sector to develop innovative business concepts to drive the development of the Arab world.

Operating as a ‘challenge fund’, ‘Sawaed’ will encourage businesses to compete for funding in response to a specific regional development goal. Each year, the programme will promote a regional challenge and invite businesses to submit competitive project concepts dedicated to addressing the challenge.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the Young Arab Leaders (YAL).

According to the signed MoU, YAL, an independent, not-for-profit organization with a strong membership base across the Arab region, will leverage the experience of 30 active members who will serve as mentors and support eligible businesses across the region throughout the process of applying to the fund.

As the first initiative under the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, ‘Sawaed’ seeks to promote business excellence, empower young Arabs to innovate, while facilitating job creation in the region. The program will award non-refundable grants of between AED100,000 to AED1 million (US$27,000 to US$270,000) to projects implemented by private sector entities that aim to increase the amount of high quality Arabic online content, develop and improve access to education, knowledge, and information on ICT platforms to promote Arab capabilities.

Application for Sawaed programme will open on the website starting September 1st, 2008. Interested applicants can download and fill electronic forms of “Concept Note Proposals” and submit them online before October 12th, 2008. Winners will be announced towards the end of March 2009.

Launched with an endowment of AED37 billion (US$10 billion), the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation aims to develop future leaders and create a knowledge-based society in the Arab world through the key components of knowledge creation, culture, as well as entrepreneurship and employment generation.

# Sawaed