84 Teams From 14 Arab Countries Qualify to Finals of 11th Edition of MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition

- Money prizes exceed 160,000$; Final Award ceremony in Oman, 19 April 2018

The MIT Enterprise Forum (MIT EF) of the Pan Arab Region is proud to announce the results of semi-finalists of the 11^th edition of its competition. The MITEF Arab startup competition, in partnership with Community Jameel, will be held in Oman on April 19. Community Jameel, a social enterprise organization that operates a wide range of initiatives to promote a positive society and economic sustainability, has been a founding partner for 10 consecutive years.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/631305/MIT_Enterprise_Forum.jpg )

As local support and engagement in Oman is always very important, strategic partners this year include Riyada, the competition's governmental backbone, and Omantel, the key contributor and supporter. Regionally, partners also include Zain Group, the competition's digital partner.

This year's edition, that was open for applications between September 3 and December 5, 2017, witnessed an impressive participation, with more than 5,300 applications including Saudi Arabia, which runs a parallel competition. The submitted projects came from a variety of sectors, such as internet services, software, education, healthcare and creative industries. 

The semi-finalists hailed from 14 Arab countries, as follows:  Lebanon (20), Egypt (14), the United Arab Emirates (10), Saudi Arabia (9), Jordan (7), Palestine (6), Morocco (4), Tunisia (6), Bahrain (2), Sudan (2), Kuwait (1), Qatar (1), Algeria (1), Oman (1).

As in previous years, the competition includes three tracks - the Ideas track, the Startup track, and the Social Entrepreneurship track, with respectively 26, 34 and 24 semi-finalist projects in each one of them. Each project includes a team of at least three people bringing the number of Arab entrepreneurs coming to Oman in April to over 200.

All 84 teams will participate in pre-boot camps in February and March in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Nine winning teams from the MIT EF Saudi Competition will be announced in March, and will be part of the list of the Pan Arab semifinalists. For a complete list of semi-finalists and more information, visit:  http://www.mitarabcompetition.com.

This year's edition is yet another annual competition that celebrates Arab innovators, who see it as a platform to showcase, test and develop their creative ideas and skills. Cash prizes exceeding USD 160,000 will be distributed among the nine lucky winners, three per track. Beyond the cash prizes, all 84 semifinalists will benefit from advanced training sessions, personal mentorship and guidance, as well as media visibility, and excellent networking opportunities.

Hala Fadel, Chair of the board of MIT EF Pan Arab, commented on this year's edition by saying: "Every year, our confidence and belief in the importance of this competition grows in its role in supporting and nurturing the culture of entrepreneurship. Developing the ideas and projects of the Arab youth and empowering them to transform these pioneering ideas into success stories couldn't make us prouder."

Fady Jameel, President of Community Jameel International, commented on the semifinals saying: "We are happy to give the opportunity for innovation and creativity across the Arab world. We see new promising business models each year, all coming from diverse backgrounds. This reinforces the fact that the Arab world is full of talent and creativity. Community Jameel has offered full support to this successful Arab event for 11 consecutive years now, and remains true to its commitment to see it through. As it has been the case in previous years, our strong belief in this competition continues, as we strive to encourage an environment where new ideas flourish and projects are implemented not only in the Arab region but internationally. The generation of young Arabs deserves our full support to realize their hopes and bring their aspirations to life."   

The MIT Arab Startup Competition will culminate in a two-day event on April 18 and 19, 2018 in Oman, with the announcement of this year's winners, set to take place during the final award ceremony. For more information on this year's MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, visithttp://www.mitarabcompetition.com. 

About MITEF Pan Arab:

Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region (http://www.mitefarab.org) is one of the 28 worldwide chapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global, an avid promoter of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. The MIT Enterprise Forum- Pan Arab has a proven record in promoting MIT-style entrepreneurship by organizing each year the MITArab Startup Competition targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and attracting over 12,000 entrepreneurs a year.

About Community Jameel: 

Established in 2003, Community Jameel is a social enterprise organization that operates a wide range of initiatives to promote a positive society and economic sustainability. From individual, community and Arab life as a whole, in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Community Jameel promotes Arab arts and culture in the Middle East and around the world, works against unemployment, enables research for poverty alleviation and food and water security, and provides education and training opportunities.

Community Jameel supports and partners with global institutions, which employ hundreds of people, all aiming to provide people with opportunities and training in the following areas:

• Job Creation - Bab Rizq Jameel

• Arts and Culture - Art Jameel

• Global Poverty Alleviation

• Food and Water Security

• Education and Training

• Health and Social

About Riyada: The Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada) is the Sultanate of Oman's arm for the development of small and medium enterprises and the strengthening of their contribution to the local economy through a wide range of business advisory services and training programs.

Riyada was established as the Public Authority for Small & Medium Enterprises Development as per Royal Decree No. 36/2013, whereby it enjoys financial and administrative autonomy and is headquartered in the Muscat Governorate with the right to establish branches in other governorates according to a resolution from its board of directors.​

About Omantel:  Investing in the future of the nation, Omantel connects even the most remote communities of the Sultanate to each other and the rest of the world. Omantel is the Sultanate's first integrated telecommunications services provider, enabling the digital society to flourish, allowing new ways of doing business and delivering a world of information, news and entertainment. Today, Omantel boldly innovates to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction, the broadest and most reliable nationwide network while investing for Oman's future development. Learn more athttp://www.omantel.om.

About Zain Group: Zain is a leading communications operator across the Middle East and North Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 45.3 million active customers as of 30 September, 2017. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the company manages 'touch' on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in Wana Telecom, now branded 'INWI', through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN).

Contact: Maggie El Eid, +961-76-993070

SOURCE The MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab