After announcing new partnerships and projects, PICTI ends its successful participation at Palestine's Expotech 2006

Throughout its participation around 8,000 visitors visited the PICTI booth, whereby entrepreneurs and university students have demonstrated interest to learn more about PICTI, its incubation related services and projects that supports entrepreneurial talent and culture in Palestine.

PICTI FUND

During PICTI's participation at the exhibition, PICTI has announced different new projects including; PICTI Fund. PICTI Fund aims to invest in and support seed and early stage technology and technology-driven companies, mainly in Palestine. It builds on the track-record and achievements of its sponsor and Manager, PICTI.

The Fund itself will be a for-profit limited partnership, which is designed to achieve objectives of financial returns for the Fund's investors and positive social and development returns in Palestine. The Fund will be focused on the technology industry, as well as opportunities that are technology-related or technology-driven in other high growth sectors.

According to Mr. Laith Kassis, the General Manager for PICTI: 'PICTI Fund will invest in talent development, being a catalyst for integration of ICT into the economy by establishing new start-up companies and providing talented Palestinian with incubation infrastructure, resources and financing opportunities.'

Mr. Kassis has also advised that the target size of the fund will be US$ 5 million, with a first closing of approximately US$ 3 million and he advised that PICTI can be contacted on this investment opportunity by interested parties to consider the confidential private offering memorandum on PICTI Fund.

New Partnership with Paltel Group

During the partnership signing ceremony that took place on November 06th, 2006 at the Expotech IT exhibition in Palestine, between the founders of PICTI represented by the Palestine IT Association of Companies (PITA) and the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) and Paltel Group, the Paltel Group CEO, Dr. Abdul Malik Jaber, has committed the amount of US$3 million towards this Fund.

'PICTI has a rich and a qualitative deal flow. After two months of operations, PICTI has already received more than ninety applications from entrepreneurial teams from across Palestine and Palestinians abroad, who applied their ideas for incubation at PICTI,' said Mr. Hasan Omar, PICTI Operations Manager.

He added that, 'PICTI provides a creative and innovative environment to nurture Palestinian talent. PICTI has also managed to create marketing channels. Some of these channels include communicating outside the walls of the Incubator and reach out to Universities, which connects us to the real talents. Our role starts in sponsoring these talents and providing them with PICTI business development services in order for these entrepreneurs to start and develop their IT business venture.'

Mr. Jamil Daher, PICTI's Chairman added that, 'The information and communications technology is a strategic industry for Palestine, whereby the Ministry of ICT has launched a national ICT Strategy and multiple developmental initiatives. The ICT sector has a vibrant multi-stakeholder industry with the potential of playing a strategic role in building the overall economy, which is characterized with fully privatized and liberalized telecom sector.

'Moreover, the ICT sector is a growth industry, despite tough overall conditions in Palestine and has high potential for export services. Most importantly, it is my believe that Palestine has a pool of talented individual that we need to invest in.'

And he added, 'PICTI Fund will play a positive tool to develop the national economy in terms of establishing new start-up companies in IT as well as providing job opportunities in this vibrant sector.'

PICTI's Accomplishments

PICTI, so far, have provided incubation services to 5 companies of which two are equity based projects, and is currently providing pre-incubation services for two projects. The Incubator was able to provide more than 61 job opportunities during the past year and a half.

Ever since it was established, the Incubator also conducted more than 18 workshops in different Universities and educational institutions in the West Bank and Gaza as part of its awareness campaign to over 3,500 university students covering most of Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza. PICTI also had representation and has participated at Gitex exhibition on a regional level.

MobIS, a start-up company at PICTI

According to Hanna Kreitem, the owner and initiator of 'MobIS', 'I am thankful for PICTI and the Palestine IT Association of companies (PITA) for giving me the chance to display my mobile information services and take part at the Expotech exhibition in my own pavilion' and added 'PICTI always supported me and my innovation and now through this exhibition, it gave a great chance to reach out to the market and join one of the IT companies, and I know they are still capable of supporting us in the long run.'

Reaching Out to Universities

And to establish its vision of communication and connectivity, PICTI created a link with Bethlehem University by bringing two busses with students and teachers from Bethlehem University, and shred with them new projects supported by the infoDev program as part of the World Bank that included a Business Plan Contest and an Internship Program for top students. PICTI also launched the Business Plan Contest during its participation at Expotech 2006.

Innovative Entrepreneurs at PICTI's Booth

PICTI also provided the opportunity to 9 creative students, recent graduates and entrepreneurs to display their products as part of PICTI pavilion as a testimony that PICTI is the address to nurture Palestinian talent.

As its third participation, PICTI's participation in Expotech 2006 was crowned with success as it met its objectives in reaching out to its stakeholders, communicating its services and programs as well as announcing new partnerships and fund.