The 7th MITEF Arab Startup Competition Kicks Start With A Global Webinar

For the first time in the past six consecutive years, the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab will launch the 7th MITEF Arab Startup Competition in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives from 20 Arab cities at the same time, on October 28 at 3 PM GMT. In Kuwait, The American University of Kuwait and Injaz Kuwait in Kuwait City will provide the electronic platform for the Kuwaiti entrepreneurs to attend the launch of the competition.

The launching will occur on Google hangout, and will be initiated by a 10-minute introduction to the competition and speaker, by Mrs. Hala Fadel, Chair of the MITEF Pan Arab.

"The Arab world is interrelated and at the same time each country is disconnected from one another when it comes to trade, politics and simply knowing what is going on in another Arab country," says Fadel. "Connecting 20 Arab cities, from Beirut to Sanaa, from Alexandria to Jeddah, From Amman to Casablanca, Gaza to Manama is a one-of -a-kind event connecting over 2,000 Arab entrepreneurs to two distinguished entrepreneurs. We want to connect Arab entrepreneurs to one another and also connect them to the rest of the world."

The following 60 minutes will allow for the thousands of entrepreneurs gathered in physical viewing sites in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, KSA, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, and UAE, to connect with major entrepreneur speakers.

The launching will round off with a 20-minute session for questions and answers from the public; one question per viewing site, and a handful of questions asked via twitter in advance. Mr. Fady Jameel, President of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives International, said: "Our endeavour to launch the Pan Arab MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) competition for the 7th consecutive year with our partners MITEF highlights ALJCI's commitment to support future young generations by providing them a platform to excel in their careers locally and internationally."

Local supporters will help in organizing physical viewing sites in their respective cities, and will assist with the promotion and spreading the word to universities, incubators, media, and entrepreneurship related entities/centers in their ecosystems. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to use hash tag #MITEFarabconnect on twitter and Facebook for the launching event.

The competition gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to receive training from top speakers in the region and globally. Besides the prize money, entrepreneurs chosen as semifinalists can also receive networking, mentorship, and visibility. The MITEF Arab Startup Competition offers entrepreneurs three tracks that they can apply to. The Ideas track is for entrepreneurs with ideas, while the Startups track is for entrepreneurs generating revenue. The Global track, introduced this year, is for globally established companies seeking to raise funds from international VCs. The application process will open on October 28 at www.mitarabcompetition.com .

Last year's competition saw 5,000 applicants from 21 Arab countries. Moreover, 250 established companies with the competition's support lead to 2,000 knowledge-based jobs.

About MITEF Pan Arab: Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region (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 MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition (www.mitarabcompetition.com), in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (www.aljci.org), targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and bringing in more than 5,000 applications a year.

Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives: In 2003 Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) was founded as the Community Services arm of the ALJ Group. Today ALJCI runs a considerable set of initiatives. From individual, community and Arab life as a whole in Saudi Arabia and beyond, ALJCI has the welfare of its people at heart. By promoting Arab arts and culture in the Middle East and around the world, working against the unemployment epidemic, enabling research for poverty alleviation, and providing education and training opportunities, ALJCI has successfully promoted positive social change.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 24th October 2013