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Fifty teams of the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders will converge on Abu Dhabi, from March 18-19, 2012, to participate in the second round of the 5th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Business Plan Competition held for the fourth consecutive year in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives.
This edition of the business plan competition was launched in late September 2011, by H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology. The forthcoming two-day forum is the next stage of the competition, which will see those teams selected from the original entrants learning the business and marketing skills to be sell or pitch their innovative business ideas.
In this regard, Mrs. Hala Fadel, Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region, says: “The choice of Abu Dhabi to host both launching event and annual workshop is no coincidence. It reflects the city’s energy and dynamism in terms of promoting a culture of entrepreneurship and change in the Arab region.”
The 50 teams chosen to attend the entrepreneurship workshop on March 18 & 19 represent 10 nations within the MENA region - KSA, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Yemen, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine and Syria.
The teams’ respective business ideas cover a diverse range of entrepreneurial fields including telecommunications, food & beverage, creative industries, entertainment & travel, environment (power & water), agriculture, healthcare, education & training and e-commerce.
Throughout the intensive two-day program the teams will learn the key aspects to creating the ideal business plan for their projects from leading business experts including Tarek Kettaneh, Senior Lecturer at the American University of Beirut; Ken Morse, highly successful entrepreneur and Founding Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center; Yousef Tuqan, CEO of Flip Media; Chady Zein, Principal of Booz & Co; and a host of other international senior managers.
The teams will be put through their paces as they delve into issues such as financial planning, entrepreneurial skills, sales, business plan writing, networking, marketing, presentation skills and creating a successful business model.
A highlight of the competition will be a networking dinner for participants on March 18, with VIP guests including HRH Saud Al Faissal, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Fady Jameel President of ALJ Community Initiatives, Fadi Ghandour, Founder of Aramex; Ossama Hassanein, Chairman of Silicon Valley-based TechWadi; Samih Toukan, Founder of Maktoob; Kathleen Kennedy, President of MIT Technology Review and Habib Haddad, CEO Wamda Capital to name a few.
Founded in 2006, the aim of the MIT Enterprise Forum is to develop and nurture a culture of entrepreneurship across the Arab region by providing a platform for networking, knowledge sharing, showcasing new concepts, and the coaching and mentorship of the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The annual business plan competition, which garners more than 4,000 new business plans annually in the form of applications from across the MENA region, is run in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJ). It is also an initiative supported by Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) since 2010.
This year, the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Business Plan Competition, received a record total of 4,500 applications from 20 Arab countries, which means over 13,000 entrepreneurs were involved in the application process.
To date, the competition has helped approximately 200 companies develop in the Arab region, which in turn now employ thousands of people. The two-day forum will be held at the HCT’s Khalifa City and Abu Dhabi Women’s Colleges, both located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
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