6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition Announces Winners

Doha, April 28 (QNA) - Results of the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, organized in partnership with ALJ Community Initiatives for the sixth year in a row now, were announced recently. Prizes were distributed to the five winners chosen from 50 teams, including 150 semi-finalist entrepreneurs who participated for three days in the semi-final activities and entrepreneurship workshop in Doha, co-sponsored by Enterprise Qatar and Silatech. The Instabug team (Egypt) won the first prize. Instabug is a mobile phone application that helps developers test their software by providing a platform for remarks. The second prize was won by Darebni TV (Jordan), which is the first online training website in Arabic specialized in graphic design in the Middle East. The third prize was jointly won by Gallery AlShark (Jordan), a website that offers thousands of rare Middle East digital photographs, and Home Page (Egypt), a website that helps clients decorate their homes. Diana Al Dijjani won the best Female Entrepreneur for her website EduTechnoz, which is specialized in teaching Arabic for children in an entertaining way. Hala Fadel, Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab, opened the prize distribution ceremony by commending the teams from the 12 participating countries, which included Algeria, Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, and thanked Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives for its continuous support to the competition. Fady Jameel, President of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives International said, "The competition is progressing year after year, and the number of entrepreneurs is increasing. In Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, our efforts will not end with the announcement of winners, but we will continue supporting them by identifying the best ways to leverage their projects and create job opportunities through their projects." Noura Al Mannai, CEO, Enterprise Qatar said, "This competition was a life-time opportunity for participants, who were lucky to find this chance to develop themselves further and reach the finals. This year's event has come to an end, but we will continue to maintain this driving force to create a local environment that helps establishments and companies to succeed." Dr. Tariq Yousuf, CEO, Silatech, remarked that entrepreneurs in the region are inclined to employ modern technology. "This is an important experience that will drive social change in the Arab World. If young people believe in their abilities and continue the hard work, these kinds of competitions will be part of the Arab renaissance." Alex Slon, a Silicon Valley-based investor who manages an investment portfolio in the "School" Charity Association, encouraged entrepreneurs to create a social impact with their organizations from day one. He said, "Ambitious young people can have a positive impact on their communities. The legacy they will create depends upon how they will use this opportunity. I already saw many participants introducing products and projects that respond to the needs of their societies in the health, environment, education and finance sectors." Ann Habibco, founder of "All the World Network" managed a session on digital content, in which a number of successful entrepreneurs in the field of Arabic digital content participated, including Ihsan Jawad, founder of Zawya, Qaswara Al Khatib, Chairman of U-Turn, Amjad Abbas, Digital Media Director al Al Jazeera, Faris Aqad, E-Media Development Director at MBC and Brihan Abu Zain, Founding Partner and Executive Director of Qabila. The session discussed the importance of improving the quality of digital content in the Arabic language. Jawad said, "We have a lot of content, but what differentiates companies is the quality of the content they offer." Sonny Fou, Founding President of Misfit Wearables, a company specialized in developing smart wearable devices, introduced tips on how to create a company with a vivid culture and easy-to-use products. Dugan Sherwood, President of Cambridge Creativity Center in Massachusetts, US, managed a session highlighting success stories in the Arab region, followed by a session on the Qatar Vision to facilitate entrepreneurship. Representatives from Al Jazeera, the channel that positioned Qatar at the heart of the global media and Google, the most important search engine in the world, participated in this session. Wael Al Fakhrani, Regional Director of Google in Egypt and North Africa said, "The playground is open for those who are interested. All you need to do is to find a mentor in your field and schedule an appointment for a meeting." (QNA)