Arab Science & Technology Foundation and Intel launch '2nd Arab Technology Business Plan Competition'

Speaking at the press event, Dr. Abdalla A. Alnajjar, President of ASTF said: 'The Arab Science and Technology Foundation, through this regional competition seek to increase Arab investment in Technology and promote entrepreneurship in the Arab world. The Second Arab Technology Business Plan Competition will create more awareness on potential opportunities in technology startups, recognize innovative and outstanding technology business ideas, plans and startups and increase investments in Arab technology startups by providing Arab investors with diverse & well selected group of startups to invest in.'

'As part of Intel's ongoing drive to promote Arab talent and endorse youth's entrepreneurial skills, Intel has joined a growing movement of multinational and Pan-Arab organizations that focus on raising the caliber of Arab youth and invest in the young entrepreneurs of the future,' said Bassem Nasir, Higher Education Manager, Intel Middle East Turkey and Africa. 'In order for Arabs to compete globally, they must start focusing on innovation and education. Under the Intel World Ahead Program, we are committed to educating youth and enhancing their entrepreneurial skills, as this will translate into long-term benefits for the community. The idea is to help develop a more competitive IT workforce capable of driving innovation and economic growth in the region.'

For this year, the Universities competition (Arab Universities Technology Business Plan Competition) will be merged with the mature entrepreneurs competition, and several new categories will be created. The final round of the competition will be held in Jordan on the 10th & 11th of December this year and the winners will be announced in a special ceremony at the 5th 'Investing in Technology' Forum, 12th -13th December 207, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein.

Also speaking at the press conference, Farhan Kalaldeh, Investing In Technology Program Manager, ASTF, said, 'Entrepreneurs from all Arab countries, whose new ventures are in the seed, start-up or early growth stages are eligible to join the contest.' He added, 'Successful business projects must have passed the research and development (R&D) stage, must be financially feasible and must offer attractive returns on investments. To qualify, these projects should also develop and deploy technologies with regional or worldwide market potential, and finance proposals should be clearly spelt out for investors. Entries will be judged on general criteria such as innovation, uniqueness, strategy, experience, competitive advantage and business model, marketability, financial feasibility and funding requirements of the projects.'

To participate in the competition, teams have to submit their executive summaries to bpc@astf.net. The qualified teams will be announced and asked to submit their draft business plans for the second round, and submit their final business plans at the third round. For further information on the competition, interested Arab entrepreneurs can visit the competition website (www.astf.net/bpc2 ).

In the first competition, held in Kuwait, the first prize went to Astroleap, which had submitted a business plan to stream location sensitive data to mobile devices. Astroleap's content will allow users to download and redeem coupons and promotions, check for friends in near proximity while traveling and dispatch emails and invitations. Astroleap was awarded an investment of US$ 50,000 in their business plan. WadiMobile UAE secured the second place with its mobile applications platform, while Hakaya Technology's concept for new software development tools gave them the last spot in the winner's circle.

In the 2006 universities competition held in UAE, Kindisoft, A Jordanian team from Princess Sumaya University for Technology, was awarded the first prize through introducing a unique and powerful Adobe Flash reverse-engineering protection solution. The product aims to protect the intellectual property of more than 2 million flash developers suffering from code theft since 1998.