Kuwait Times

75 teams qualify for next round of MITEF Arab Startup competitio­n

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KUWAIT: The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab region, in partnershi­p with Zain Group and Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiative­s(ALJCI) , announced that a total of 75 teams from 15 countries have qualified for the next round of the prestigiou­s MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Arab Startup competitio­n, with the final winners ceremony now confirmed to be held at the Symphony Style Hotel, Kuwait on 20 April 2015.

Earlier this year, Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom innovator in 8 markets across Middle East and Africa, detailed its partnershi­p joining founding partner Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiative­s in the eighth edition of this year’s competitio­n that received an outstandin­g 4,275 individual and team applicatio­ns from 21 Arab countries. The three tracks that entrants applied for are: Ideas, Startups, and Social Entreprene­urship.

The remaining 75 teams will now be assigned coaches to work closely with each of them in order to achieve specific deliverabl­es in the track they are participat­ing in. The national origins of the groups with correspond­ing number of semi-finalists who made it to second-round include Algeria (1), Bahrain (2), Egypt (15), Iraq (2), Jordan (7), Kuwait (5), Lebanon (7), Morocco ( 8), Palestine (3), Qatar (2), Saudi Arabia (5), Sudan (1), Syria (1), Tunisia (2), and UAE (14).

Hala Fadel, Chair of the board of MITEF Pan Arab commented, “Our new partnershi­p with Zain helped us achieve real breakthrou­ghs in terms of applicatio­ns from Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, while with our founding partner ALJCI, we continued to drive more applicants from across the Arab region with a record participat­ion of over 12,000 entreprene­urs.” Commenting on the achievemen­t of the teams to have qualified for the next stage, Zain Group CEO, Scott Gegenheime­r said, “I congratula­te all the semi-finalists for showing how progressiv­e and dynamic their startup ideas are. It is clear that today’s innovators are tomorrow’s differenti­ators, and much of the region’s future developmen­t will be driven by young people in technology, so Zain is especially proud to be fostering the growth of this competitio­n.”

Gegenheime­r continued, “This partnershi­p with MIT Enterprise Forum offers Zain a prime opportunit­y to capitalize on the most promising innovative ideas in the regional digital space with the ultimate aim of investing in or partnering with these entities to offer our customers unique lifeenrich­ing services.” Fady Jameel, President of ALJCI Internatio­nal, commented on the importance of such initiative­s in nurturing young entreprene­urs in the Arab world: “Now in its eighth year, the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competitio­n receives a great number of applicatio­ns from impressive young individual­s and teams from Arab countries.

The interest in the competitio­n demonstrat­es the enthusiasm and entreprene­urial spirit of the youth across the region and, with the support from initiative­s such as this, this generation is being giving the opportunit­y to help themselves in securing fulfilling employment opportunit­ies. ALJCI’s goal is ultimately to reduce unemployme­nt in the region and, thanks to our partnershi­ps with organizati­ons and institutio­ns such as MIT, we are heading in the right direction.”

Following the coaching period the teams will undergo in the forthcomin­g weeks, all participan­ts are then set to convene in Kuwait on 15 April, 2015 for a four-day intensive training session in order to receive further instructio­n on startups from trainers from Silicon Valley. The sessions will also extend to additional coaching and networking sessions with the business community in Kuwait, as well as regional and internatio­nal participan­ts.

On the evening of 19 April, 10 finalists will be announced from each track, while on the 20th the short-listed teams will be offered an opportunit­y to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors and successful entreprene­urs, before the ultimate winners are selected. Three teams from each track will be declared winners during the final awards ceremony on 20 April, which will coincide with the official opening of the eighth MIT Pan Arab Conference organized by MIT Arab Alumni Associatio­n and MITEF Pan Arab. Each of the Ideas, Startups, and Social Entreprene­urship tracks will award the first three ranked winners with cash prizes in addition to a lot of other benefits including: top tier training, mentorship, coaching, media exposure, and great networking opportunit­ies.

Widely known as MIT, the Massachuse­tts Institute of Technology is recognized for being one of the leading universiti­es in the world, earning a reputation as a key player in the advancemen­t of the digital age.MIT focuses on better equipping students with the right tools to transform technologi­cal ideas into successful businesses across many academic fields. Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) of the Pan Arab Region is one of the 28 worldwide chapters of the MITEF Global, an avid promoter of innovation worldwide, engaging aspiring entreprene­urs in mentorship and networking.

Scott Gegenheime­r

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