The Winners of the Third Annual Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition (QRNEC)
10. November 2008 - 10:46 pm | Arab World, Press Release, Startups, VC & Capital, Web 2.0 | Permalink
The announcement of the winners came few days ago, as this year competition was open for Jordanian entrepreneurs only, next year it might be open to all Arab entrepreneurs.
Last Thursday, Princess Sumaya said the Kingdom’s large pool of graduates “represents a tremendous value that Jordan creates every year”.
In her address at a ceremony to honour winners of the third annual Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition (QRNEC), the Princess said that the participants in this year’s competition represent “job makers rather than job seekers”.
The Princess, who was deputising for Her Majesty Queen Rania at yesterday’s award ceremony, added their success is “important to Jordan as role models for the next generation of entrepreneurs whom they will inspire, as future employers and as innovators who are solving valuable problems for society”.
The competition, which aims to encourage a business culture among Jordanian youths, focuses on launching new competitive products and services in various technical sectors, including the environment, information, communications, water desalination, energy and agricultural technologies.
In her address, the Princess stressed that Jordan’s human capital is needed at home to build the country’s economy and advance society.
“If we are to examine the numbers of Jordanians abroad, we learn that more than 500,000 live in the Gulf states alone, and nearly one million worldwide,” she said, adding that if the figures are examined “on how much it costs Jordan to educate these expatriates, Jordan is in fact a donor to the global economy in the form of billions of dollars worth of human capital”.
Mohammad Gawdat, Google’s MENA Emerging Market managing director, also commended the quality of Jordan’s graduates and human capital, describing them as innovative.
He added that the country’s human capital is well-known at Google for their inventiveness and success.
“I am responsible for 112 countries in the world; however, I haven’t seen enthusiasm and creativity more than in Jordan,” Gawdat said in yesterday’s ceremony.
The winners of this year’s award ranged from students to new entrepreneurs.
Hussam Salhab, who won the third prize in the Academia category said his project, “Medical Diagnosis on the Internet”, could never have succeeded without the help of the award organisers.
“I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this competition… It was easy for me to develop the project, but I had no idea on how to work on a business plan without the training offered at the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship,” Salhab told The Jordan Times.
The QRNEC, which was first initiated in 2005 as the Princess Sumaya National Entrepreneurship Competition, is designed to promote the spirit of creativity and innovation among young people and highlight the significant role citizens play in social and economic development.
This year marked the first-time participation of Google, which awarded a $10,000 prize for the best online business plan, in addition to providing mentorship through online workshops.
The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau also offered a prize for the best security and defence business plan.
Starting with $20,000 in award prizes in 2006, the award has now grown to $70,000 in order to help encourage entrepreneurial initiatives in the Kingdom.
Award winners
KADDB Award for the Best Defense and Security Business Plan
YAMAMA: Developing vehicle monitoring systems, that can be used for detecting and reporting various vehicle traffic violations, and for tracking.
Google Award for the Best Online Business Plan
Populace Ads: Ad serving technology for small businesses.
First Prize in the Academia category
Human Heater: from the name, a personal portable heater where users can control the degree of warmth needed.
Second Prize in the Academia category
JUST TEAM: Interactive e-learning e-notebook that replaces paper and pen.
Third in the Academia category
FRIENDS: A medical diagnostic tools for personal health record (PHR) project from Google Health.
First Prize in the Mature Entrepreneurs category
KEENWASH: waterless car washing technology.
Second Prize in the Mature Entrepreneurs category
TALASIM: Arab online comedy community.
Third Prize in the Mature Entrepreneurs category
MIDA: developing and manufacturing interactive non-solid free space displays that give three-dimensional effect, and reduce the complexity of interaction between humans and computers.
Best Financial Plan
Better Care
Best Marketing Plan
Advanced Security and Technical Systems
Monday, November 17, 2008
Mohammad bin Rashid Foundation Signs MOU with Syrian Computer Society's ICT Incubator
16 November 2008
Damascus - Syria -The Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Computer Society's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Incubator.
Established to build the information society in Syria and nurture entrepreneurial ideas, the ICT Incubator currently provides a variety of services and training to projects that are commercially viable.
This announcement came during the fourteenth annual Information and Communication Technology exhibit which was held at Exhibition City in the Syrian capital Damascus. The MoU was signed by Sultan Lootah, Vice President of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation - Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, and Dr. Rakan Razouk, Chairman of the ICT Incubator, Syrian Computer Society, in the presence of senior Foundation officials and key Syrian officials from the private sector, public sector and academia..
The agreement marks a new milestone in the Foundation's Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, which seeks to develop cooperative programmes to advance the creative talents of Arab entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities, as well as enhance research methodologies and information exchange.
The agreement mandates the creation of an extensive online network for regional incubators to encourage interaction, share experiences, discuss best-practices and exchange information between entrepreneurs and incubators throughout the Arab World.
The Foundation aims to build the Arab incubator network into a framework that fosters fruitful relationships between corporations and academic institutions to ensure that new companies being incubated receive appropriate industry know-how and financial support. The network will also contribute to developing research methodologies and related studies that will be shared with relevant organizations.
Sultan Lootah said the MOU would serve as a pivotal element to achieve the ultimate goals of the Foundation, which seek to spread knowledge, encourage creativity and innovation, and develop human resources.
He said: "The Foundation is inspired by the strategic vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which recognizes the importance of empowering Arab entrepreneurs to effectively lead the development process in the region.
"Our research outcomes indicated entrepreneurship is on the rise among the Syrian youth. Based on this, we are confident our cooperation with the Syrian Computer Society will prove highly beneficial and guarantee strong economic growth."
Dr. Rakan Razouk said: "The Syrian Computer Society is committed to cooperating with the Foundation and supporting its efforts to promote entrepreneurship and create more job opportunities in Syria and the Arab world.
"The Society will work to hosting the network's workshops and forums, as well as competitions, while actively sourcing investments for seed ventures. It will also provide the human resources needed to implement best-practices that can compete on a global level, besides working with the Foundation to enhance the online platform for regional incubators."
In its efforts to empower the Arab youth to better contribute to the region's overall growth, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation has, to-date, launched collaborative ventures with Morocco, Lebanon and Bahrain.
Earlier this year, the Foundation today signed an agreement with the Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) to initiate joint efforts for encouraging and stimulating entrepreneurial activity within Palestine and across the Arab world.
-Ends-
Damascus - Syria -The Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Computer Society's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Incubator.
Established to build the information society in Syria and nurture entrepreneurial ideas, the ICT Incubator currently provides a variety of services and training to projects that are commercially viable.
This announcement came during the fourteenth annual Information and Communication Technology exhibit which was held at Exhibition City in the Syrian capital Damascus. The MoU was signed by Sultan Lootah, Vice President of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation - Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, and Dr. Rakan Razouk, Chairman of the ICT Incubator, Syrian Computer Society, in the presence of senior Foundation officials and key Syrian officials from the private sector, public sector and academia..
The agreement marks a new milestone in the Foundation's Entrepreneurship and Employment sector, which seeks to develop cooperative programmes to advance the creative talents of Arab entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities, as well as enhance research methodologies and information exchange.
The agreement mandates the creation of an extensive online network for regional incubators to encourage interaction, share experiences, discuss best-practices and exchange information between entrepreneurs and incubators throughout the Arab World.
The Foundation aims to build the Arab incubator network into a framework that fosters fruitful relationships between corporations and academic institutions to ensure that new companies being incubated receive appropriate industry know-how and financial support. The network will also contribute to developing research methodologies and related studies that will be shared with relevant organizations.
Sultan Lootah said the MOU would serve as a pivotal element to achieve the ultimate goals of the Foundation, which seek to spread knowledge, encourage creativity and innovation, and develop human resources.
He said: "The Foundation is inspired by the strategic vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which recognizes the importance of empowering Arab entrepreneurs to effectively lead the development process in the region.
"Our research outcomes indicated entrepreneurship is on the rise among the Syrian youth. Based on this, we are confident our cooperation with the Syrian Computer Society will prove highly beneficial and guarantee strong economic growth."
Dr. Rakan Razouk said: "The Syrian Computer Society is committed to cooperating with the Foundation and supporting its efforts to promote entrepreneurship and create more job opportunities in Syria and the Arab world.
"The Society will work to hosting the network's workshops and forums, as well as competitions, while actively sourcing investments for seed ventures. It will also provide the human resources needed to implement best-practices that can compete on a global level, besides working with the Foundation to enhance the online platform for regional incubators."
In its efforts to empower the Arab youth to better contribute to the region's overall growth, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation has, to-date, launched collaborative ventures with Morocco, Lebanon and Bahrain.
Earlier this year, the Foundation today signed an agreement with the Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) to initiate joint efforts for encouraging and stimulating entrepreneurial activity within Palestine and across the Arab world.
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