Beirut – April 25, 2018: Lebanon marked its spot in the 11th edition for the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) of the Pan Arab Region, with two Lebanese teams scooping big wins in both the Ideas Track and Social Entrepreneurship Track. The Lebanese teams combined, pertained an active participation throughout the competition as an impressive total of 20 teams qualified to the semifinals. touch, the leading mobile telecommunications and data operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain group was keen to provide its full support to the Lebanese teams by organizing a training workshop in Beirut before moving on to the final ceremony of this annual competition, hosted by Oman.
The final award ceremony, in partnership with Community Jameel, and in collaboration with this year’s strategic partners Riyada, Omantel, and Zain Group as a digital partner, was held in Oman on April 19, announcing ten winning teams.
The winning teams were announced at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman during a ceremony that attracted more than 400 investors, business entrepreneurs, media representatives and renowned public figures. Notable attendees included H.E. Dr. Ali bin Masoud bin Ali Al Sunaidi, Oman Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Riyada; Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghassani, CEO of Riyada; Sheikh Talal Said Al Mamari, CEO of Omantel; Yousuf Al-Harthy, CEO of Oman Technology Fund and Zain Jordan CEO Ahmad Al Hanandeh.
Ideas Track:
Winner: Quirkpod, Egypt, an online platform that develops students’ 21st century skills through expert-developed content and an engaging UX.
1st Runner up: Spike, Lebanon, helps make diabetes management less diabetic via software and hardware innovations.
2nd Runner up: Smart Data Logger, Jordan, uses IoT and roaming cellular connection to allow real-time monitoring of the temperature of a shipment.
Social Entrepreneurship Track:
Winner: Al Khudairi for Biogas technology, Egypt, converts the waste and soil-damaging chemical fertilizers into energy as well as the production of biomethane gas, an alternative to fill gas cylinders.
1st Runner up: Fabric Aid, Lebanon, implements a successful European model that gives incentives to NGOs to collect more clothing without worrying about expenses and distribution.
2nd Runner up: Sunbox, Palestine, introduces an affordable off-grid, self-installable small solar kit for families who suffer from electricity shortage.
Startups Track:
Winner: ProvenMed International, Tunis, introduces a solution with options for restoring normal social life for patients suffering from Urine Incontinence.
1st Runner up: WideBot, Egypt, offer their platform to businesses to build their chatbots.
1st Runner up: Plotos, UAE, connect users to handpicked healthy yet trendy food from favorite restaurants through an innovative user-friendly platform created and endorsed by nutrition experts.
1st Runner up: Solar Foods, Sudan, a pioneer eco-friendly company in the field of food processing.
During the ceremony, Hala Fadel, Chair of the Board of MITEF Pan Arab said: “We are so proud that this year’s biggest Arab startup event was held in Oman. This event is not only a competition, but an opportunity for top tier Arab entrepreneurs to present and share their experiences in the area of innovation and the creation and nurturing of an ecosystem for innovation within Oman. Investing in Arab entrepreneurship will, in turn, contribute to the revitalization of the economy, and lead to the creation of new partnerships that can eventually transform into large institutions.”
The final event ceremony included a panel discussion entitled “Building Emerging Ecosystems” led by Hala Fadel, with David Fernanédz, Business intelligence at Startup Chile and Ahmed Al Alfi, Founder and Chairman at Sawari Ventures, as speakers. Another panel discussion, themed “What Silicon Valley investors want to see in MENA,” was moderated by Sharifa AlBarami, Managing Director at Oman Technology Fund, with Sharif El-Badawi, Partner at 500 Startups and Tarek Fahim, Managing Partner at Endure Capital, as speakers.
Prior to the final award ceremony, the 80 semi-finalists underwent a round of training sessions and presented their work to a jury that brought together many key investors and business people.
For more information, please visit www.mitarabcompetition.com . The ceremony was broadcasted live on Facebook and a replay can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2K0uNZB
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 ten 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 telecom and 3G coverage of all Lebanese territories has allowed it to gain a 53.82% 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.
About MITEF Pan Arab: Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region (www.mitefarab.org) is one of the 28 worldwide chapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global, an avid promoter of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. The MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab has a proven record in promoting MIT-style entrepreneurship by organizing each year the MITEF Arab Startup Competition targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and attracting over 12,000 entrepreneurs a year.
About Community Jameel: Community Jameel is a social enterprise organisation that helps communities transform themselves through a wide range of initiatives. It works to create job opportunities, tackle unemployment, promote arts and culture in the Middle East and around the world, enable research for poverty alleviation and food and water security, and provide education and training opportunities. Community Jameel was formally established in 2003 to continue the Jameel family’s tradition of supporting the community, a tradition started in the 1940s by the late Abdul Latif Jameel, founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel business, who throughout his life helped tens of thousands of disadvantaged people improve their lives. For more information on Community Jameel, please visit: www.cjameel.org
About Riyada: The Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada) is the Sultanate of Oman’s arm for the development of small and medium enterprises and the strengthening of their contribution to the local economy through a wide range of business advisory services and training programs. Riyada was established as the Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development as per Royal Decree No. 36/2013, whereby it enjoys financial and administrative autonomy and is headquartered in the Muscat Governorate with the right to establish branches in other governorates according to a resolution from its board of directors.
About Omantel: Investing in the future of the nation, Omantel connects even the most remote communities of the Sultanate to each other and the rest of the world. Omantel is the Sultanate’s first integrated telecommunications services provider, enabling the digital society to flourish, allowing new ways of doing business and delivering a world of information, news and entertainment. Today, Omantel boldly innovates to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction, the broadest and most reliable nationwide network while investing for Oman’s future development. Learn more at www.omantel.om.
About Zain Group: Zain is a leading communications operator across the Middle East and North Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 46.6 million active customers as of 31 December 2017. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the company manages ‘touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in Wana Telecom, now branded ‘INWI’, through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN). For more please visit www.zain.com