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Region ‘needs’ entrepreneurs Sheikha Hanadi (right) in a panel session during the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington DC Sheikha Ha

Region ‘needs’ entrepreneurs

Sheikha Hanadi (right) in a panel session during the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington DC
Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bin Khalid al-Thani, founder & chairperson of Amwal, has stressed the need for promoting entrepreneurship in the Middle East.
“Increasing entrepreneurship is vital to the future of the Middle East. We have to promote partnerships that provide innovative solutions and support entrepreneurial ecosystems in the region. Educational, social and cultural aspects are all crucial to developing new businesses in the Middle East,” said Sheikh Hanadi while attending the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship and TechWadi Global Technology Forum (GTF) in Washington DC.
The Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship was a result of US President Barack Obama’s commitment to deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and entrepreneurs in the US and Muslim communities around the world.
The summit represents an opportunity to support business and social entrepreneurship in Muslim-majority countries (MMCs), including their minority populations, and Muslim communities around the world.
Through this summit, the US joined existing efforts and helped inspire new efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
Sheikha Hanadi participated in the panel on “Promoting entrepreneurship and enabling business”.
Karen Mills of the US Small Business Administration moderated the panel, which focused on how governments can support and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, including the development and growth of small and medium enterprises.
Sheikha Hanadi also attended the TechWadiGlobal Technology Forum, a networking association for Arab-American professionals in the technology industry.
Speaking at the forum, she said: “It is up to us in the private sector to ‘make it happen’ and develop and grow a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Middle East.
“We have to empower Arab entrepreneurs and build strategies to accelerate entrepreneurship, develop our educational programmes and strengthen opportunities for cross-border collaboration. All the support initiatives that had been announced during the summit are encouraging though we need to dedicate it toward sectors where there are opportunities with untapped potentials.”

Closing Remarks at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship

Closing Remarks at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship

And here are some of the outcomes of this summit, as to what the United States intends to do. First, we are launching the Global Entrepreneurship Program. That’s an initiative that will provide concrete support to new entrepreneurs, starting in Muslim-majority communities and eventually expanding to others worldwide. Through this program, we will work with the United States private sector partners and local businesses, along with civil society groups, to help create successful entrepreneurial environments. We will help sponsor business plan competitions to identify and support promising ideas. We will work to expand access to capital so entrepreneurs with a sound business concept will have access to credit to enable them to put their ideas to work. We will facilitate partnerships between business schools in the United States and educational institutions worldwide to share knowledge and help strengthen business education. We will support mentoring programs so someone starting out can benefit from the experience of someone who’s been down that road before.

I’m pleased to announce the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Program’s first pilot program, in Egypt, coordinated by a team of Entrepreneurs in Residence from USAID. We will soon launch our second program in Indonesia, and we plan to expand to a dozen countries within the next two years. (Applause.)

Second, we have established partnerships with two Silicon Valley-based organizations: the Global Technology and Innovation Partners, and the Innovators Fund. Both were started by U.S. venture capitalists and business leaders inspired by President Obama’s call at Cairo to support innovation and entrepreneurship in Muslim majority communities worldwide. Both partnerships will launch in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Malaysia, and will then expand from there. (Applause.)

The Winners of the Third Annual Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition (QRNEC)

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

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-

Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 launched in Middle East by Ernst & Young

Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 launched in Middle East by Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, the world's leading professional services firm, today announced the launch of their Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 awards program throughout the Middle East.

The world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs is now in its second edition in the region.

The program has already been successful for over 22 years in 135 cities in over 50 countries and seeks to honor entrepreneurs whose ingenuity and perseverance have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. It makes a difference by encouraging entrepreneurial activity and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

In 2007, from a competitive pool of 17 finalists across the Middle East, Samih Darwazah, Chairman of Jordan based Hikma Pharmaceuticals was named as the Ernst & Young Middle East Entrepreneur of the Year. This year, the pool of finalists is expected to increase and the competition will intensify.

'At Ernst & Young we're committed to achieving potential. It is how we make a difference for our people, our clients and our wider communities. We seek to foster and encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in our region and we hope that this program is bringing us closer to that goal. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award is an ideal platform for Arab entrepreneurs to highlight their achievements and to take their place amongst global business leaders,'

said Ahmed Al Aiban, Ernst & Young's Middle East Chairman.

Fouad Alaeddin, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Middle East added:

'Entrepreneurs are pioneers of change and creativity who constantly move forward with spirit. They are highly competitive and constructive people and will, therefore, be drawn to this awards program. Our region has a wealth of positive and creative minds whose contributions will enrich the future economic development of the Middle East. We hope to see a cross-section of industries represented in our program this year including the emerging green technology companies.'

An independent judging panel will be drawn from business executives, entrepreneurs, ministers and academics to decide the overall winner of the Middle East Entrepreneur of the Year title. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner set to take place at the Philadelphia Hall, King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre at the Dead Sea in Jordan in November 2008. All winners become lifetime members of The Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, which is part of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Academy. In addition, the overall Middle East winner will be invited to participate in the World Entrepreneur of the Year awards, where entrepreneurs from around the globe vie for the title of Ernst & Young's World Entrepreneur of the Year.

To be eligible for consideration, nominees must be owners and managers who are primarily responsible for the recent performance of a privately held business that is at least two years old, or founder shareholders of a listed company who is still active in senior management or is still a 51% owner. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Self-nominations are encouraged and there is no fee to enter. Application forms can be downloaded from the Middle East Entrepreneur of the Year website or entrants may contact their local Ernst & Young office.

This year, the sole broadcast sponsor for the program is Al Arabiya TV, the sole print media sonsor is Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal, and the sole online sponsor is Zawya.com.

Myth of the Fearless Entrepreneur - TIME MAGAZINE

Myth of the Fearless Entrepreneur
Thursday, May. 22, 2008 By KEITH MCFARLAND Images.com / CorbisArticle ToolsPrintEmailReprintsSphereAddThisRSSYahoo! Buzz What distinguishes an entrepreneurial leader from the rest of the pack? Most people would tell you it is a tolerance for risk, and most people would be wrong. Having studied 22 years of performance data on more than 7,000 growth companies, I discovered that the idea that entrepreneurs are, by definition, risk takers is a myth. Curiously, many entrepreneurial leaders actually lose their nerve as they become successful. That may sound like a reasonable trade-off, but this tendency can hurt a firm's chances for long-term success and growth.

When calculating the entrepreneurial risk involved, people often get the math wrong. Take starting a business, for example. Some might say Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit, took a huge risk when he left a successful career at Bain & Co. to help start the company. But Cook figured otherwise. "The worst thing that could happen to me is that I would spend a few years paying off credit-card debt. To me, it looked like a risk-free decision," he said.

Like Cook, most people who start businesses don't take big risks because they don't have a lot to risk when they're getting started. Consider the history of the U.S.'s fastest-growing firms: 73% of them were started with less than $100,000 in capital. That's clearly in Cook's "go back to work, and pay off the credit card" range. And contrary to what most people imagine, most new businesses are not started with risky, new-to-the-world ideas like those of eBay and Google, which promise to transform the way we buy things. Cook reported that when his company launched its Quicken software program, there were already 46 similar products on the market--causing him to joke, "We enjoyed 47th-mover advantage." Columbia University business professor Amar Bhidé found that only 12% of growth-company founders surveyed attribute their success to an "unusual or extraordinary idea"; 88% reported that their success was due mainly to "exceptional execution of an ordinary idea." There's a lower risk in getting the details right.

So if entrepreneurial leaders are not, by definition, big risk takers, just what is the relationship between a willingness to take risks and the long-term success of a business? There is a relationship, but it is not one you would expect. The evidence suggests that as entrepreneurial leaders become more successful, there is a tendency for them to become more risk averse--a concept called "loss aversion" made famous by Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who studied behavioral economics. Kahneman and Tversky found that people don't always behave in the rational manner that the classical economic models predict. When they get ahead in the game, they may begin to get conservative--playing it safe even when the odds say a big wager is likely to pay off.

One of the factors that separate breakthrough companies from their competitors is the tendency to continue to up the ante as the stakes in the game increase. Polaris Industries left the safety of its snowmobile niche to battle the Japanese in the ATV business and later took on the gang at Harley-Davidson in the motorcycle business. The Staubach Co., the commercial real estate broker, pushed to expand nationally before other tenant-rep firms did. Intuit faced down Microsoft twice, in the personal-financial-management-software business and in the small-business-accounting business. In each of these cases, competitors chose to play it safe and consolidate their winnings rather than double down in a market. They learned the hard way that the only safe bet in business is the one in which a firm continues to play aggressively as the stakes of the game increase.

McFarland is the author of The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers