Beirut, October 10, 2018: touch, the leading mobile telecommunications and data operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, has awarded certificates to promising entrepreneurs and innovators at its inaugural “touch Innovation Program” (TIP) cohort graduation ceremony. The event was hosted at Antwork in the presence of representatives from startups, digital innovators, entrepreneurs, and influencers.
TIP is an innovative platform that was launched earlier this year and seeks to empower rising entrepreneurs in Lebanon. The initiative forms part of touch’s digital innovation strategy and aims to contribute to the digital and innovation startup ecosystem in the country and beyond. Every six months TIP selects between 4-6 promising entrepreneurial ideas and provides their originators with access to touch Lab as a working space for meetings, product and service launches, and to host workshops.
TIP was launched in partnership with ArabNet, renowned for supporting new ideas, businesses, and job creation for young people. The initiative engages with and supports the local digital economy in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, by collaborating with startups and identifying potential partners.
Emre Gurkan, Chief Executive Officer at touch commented, “I congratulate the six touch innovators on their initiatives and entrepreneurial mindsets. At touch, we have always aimed to empower creative minds and foster talent in Lebanon, and TIP is a manifestation of this ambition. The program has certainly helped ignite each startup’s entrepreneurial spirit. In fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lebanon, we truly believe that the country’s innovation landscape has the potential to succeed and thrive even beyond our borders.”
The award ceremony commenced with a panel discussion on the topic of “Unleashing the full potential of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lebanon”, where panelists discussed new ways to drive entrepreneurship in order to grow the economy and address social challenges. Panelists comprised diverse, successful, and experienced leaders in their respective fields.
Following the panel, representatives from the six TIP startups participated in a fireside chat about the benefits and progress they have achieved during TIP, and outlined their future plans. The successful startups are Dentiflow, Dox, Ecomz, Feel22, Jaleesa, and Sympaticus.
The award ceremony ended with the presentation of graduation certificates and TIP alumni packages to the six innovators in celebration of their success. touch subsequently announced the opening of the second-cycle of TIP.
About touch
touch is the leading mobile operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, the pioneering mobile and data services operator in the Middle East and Africa. In the last thirteen years of operations under Zain’s management, touch has had many success stories, providing cutting-edge services and technology to its consumers.
Drawing from Zain’s regional expertise providing telecommunication and mobile data services to 50 million users, touch has devised and adopted a consumer-centric strategy. touch’s range of services and its 3.9G and 4.5G coverage of all Lebanese territories has allowed it to gain a 54% wireless telecommunication market share in Lebanon. touch employs specialized and competent Lebanese personnel that aims to provide the latest in telecommunication services and products to the local community to help it grow in a more sustainable way.
touch, with the backing of Zain and its cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, dedicates all its resources to keeping up with the latest in telecom and mobile data. It offers a 24/7 call center service to cater to the need of its customers for uninterrupted connection.
touch values the local community, perceiving it as a major partner; its mission and vision reflect a dedication to humanitarian, social, and cultural causes, as well as creativity and innovation, which it considers integral to advancing its social responsibility program.