ArabNetMe Roadshow

I just got an email from ArabNet announcing their Roadshow event in Jordan. A free training workshop about entrepreneurship in the technology sector. It’s taking place on Dec 8, 2010 at the Friendship Auditorium in PSUT.

This traveling workshop is part of the ArabNet Roadshow, which will span 7 countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Egypt.

The workshop will give you the tools and expertise you need to grow your company and gain further exposure by helping you:

• meet with investors and learn about how to secure financing
• meet with experienced entrepreneurs and learn about growing your business, managing talent, and building a corporate culture
• learn more about the latest trends in the web space
• network and meet with skillful employees you can hire if you’ re looking to expand

Organized by the International Business Alliance Group / ArabNet, the workshop will feature a panel of experts from diverse backgrounds, and a roundtable breakout session where you can talk to the speakers in a close setting and get personalized advice.

It is an ideal opportunity for you to network and get expert insights to help you grow your business.

For more details click here to download the workshop flyer. For registration and information about the speakers, venue and more; click here.

In a landmark event, Abraaj Capital is gathering the full ecosystem of entrepreneurs, innovators, business leaders, youth and artists to instigate a new phase of entrepreneurship in the region. Over two days, the mission is to inspire creativity and collaboration, empower tomorrow’s talent and connect ideas with opportunities.

Nakhweh.com will be presented and all its initiatives (Give Back, Blood Channel and 3ammerha) for the first time in such a huge regional event that’s taking place in Dubai on the 8th and 9th of November. Between more than 130 speaker; as a co-founder of Nakhweh.com, I will take the responsibility at the Celebration of Entrepreneurship (CoE) to show how social media can definitely work for social change in the region with the great impact and significant results of initiative during the first year of operations.

I believe that this step will help us in moving forward with our plan to start covering other Arab countries with Nakhweh.com’s services and initiatives that take place on the internet and on the ground.

As a speaker to speaker question on the video competition page of CoE; I submitted a question asking Ms. Soraya Salti, a senior vice-president of MENA for Junior Achievement Worldwide who is also speaking at the event, about entrepreneurship for children in the Arab world.

Check out the video:

During the last couple of weeks we heard a lot about the MENA ICT Forum that’s happening on the 10th of October 2010 (10-10-10), most of those who are interested in the topic were surprised with the high registration fees. Personally I was very disappointed with the number since it destroys all my chances to attend the region’s premier biennial ICT industry event. The 750$ created a conflict for startup entrepreneurs who don’t want to miss the opportunity but on the other hand they can’t afford such a number.

Couple of days ago; I figured out that there still a chance for me to be there and attend the MENA ICT Forum FOR FREE. How? Here you go…

Oasis500; a new initiative designed to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into businesses, firmly believes that entrepreneurs and start-ups can benefit a great deal from attending the Forum and is therefore sponsoring 30 free passes. To provide entrepreneurs with an equal opportunity to win the passes, Oasis500 is launching the video competition “Why should I be invited to attend the MENA ICT Forum?” that starts on September 8th , and ends on September 29th 6:00 PM Amman, Jordan time.

This competition will provide winning entrepreneurs with the opportunity to spend two days with regional and global ICT leaders and key decision makers.

All that interested entrepreneurs need to do is signup on the video competition platform http://oasis500.com/en/competition.html , upload a 2-3 minute video telling the world about their business concept and uniqueness, and promote the video and share it with family, friends and communities to get as many views as possible.

Winners will be announced on:
http://www.oasis500.com
http://twitter.com/oasis_500
http://www.facebook.com/Oasis500
http://www.facebook.com/MENAICT
http://twitter.com/MENAICT

AmmanTT

Tomorrow I will be missing the first #AmmanTT event that will be held in Amman as the beginning of a new platform for the tech-community by the tech-community. Amman Tech Tuesdays will bring engineers, business people, experts, investors, marketers, entrepreneurs, students and regular enthusiasts from the technology community together on the first Tuesday of every month in a casual but structured setting. The main goal behind the program is to organically fortify and interweave ties in Amman to further our position as the region’s new Tech Hub.

The spin on all of this is that #AmmanTT is an adoptable platform. Looking at Amman’s tech community, we easily realize that it operates in small groups according to specialization. Today, we see little activity between these groups and most are blind to what innovations and ideas are being developed at the local level. So from month to month, #AmmanTT will be managed and hosted by a different part of the tech community to promote and expand reach. Anyone can step up to the plate and take ownership!

#AmmanTT first event will be held in the Friendship Auditorium at Princess Sumaya University for Technology at 7:00PM. The agenda of the evening includes speeches by:

• My ex-mentor for Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition, Dr. Usama Fayyad.
• Ibrahim Manna our friend and the co-founder of Wheels Express will speak about the challenges of an e-commerce business in Jordan.
• Lawyer Omar Al-Taweel (Al-Taweel Law) will give the audience some information about registering companies in Jordan in addition to some information about the new Cyber Crime Laws.

From the other part of the world; I hope that my friends in Amman, especially Fouad Jeryes, will be able to deliver a unique and informative evening.

Under the Patronage of H.E. Saad Hariri, President of the Council of Minister of Lebanon, Beirut will host the largest and most significant gathering of web industry leaders ever to take place in the Arab world.  40 top-notch speakers, 11 supporting partners, 18 media partners, 35 startups, 50 ideas, 25 ambassadors, and over 300 decision makers, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the MENA, Europe, and Silicon Valley, will gather on March 25 & 26 at the Habtoor Grand Hotel to network and discuss emerging opportunities in Arab web business.

ArabNet’s unique conference format integrates the audience in candid talks between global giants (including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Nokia, Intel, Cisco) and regional powerhouses (including Aramex, Jabbar Group, Bayt, anf Al Jazeera).  With 8 comprehensive panels, each featuring 6 experts from the Arab World, Europe, and Silicon Valley, participants will discover cutting-edge trends in Social Media, Content, Online Advertising, Mobile, Gaming, E-commerce, Startup Financing, and the Ecosystem as a whole.  Speakers include Samih Toukan, founder of Maktoob.com, acquired by Yahoo for over $150M; Russell Buckley, VP of Global Alliances at AdMob and Global Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association; Ghassan Haddad, Director of Internationalization at Facebook; Wael Ghonim, Marketing and Product Manager, MENA, Google; and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

ArabNet is dedicated to nurturing the Arab Internet ecosystem.  Day one, March 25^th 2010, will feature two exclusive competitions highlighting web entrepreneurship in the Arab World: 1) the Startup Demo, sponsored by Aramex, showcasing 10 of the region’s most promising Internet startups and 2) the Ideathon, sponsored by Google, starring 10 of the region’s most innovative web business ideas.  Over 50 ideas & 35 startups have been submitted for consideration from across the region.  ArabNet will connect these entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, and media, matching talent with opportunity!

ArabNet builds a community of enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, experts, businessmen and angel investors that spans all of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.  In collaboration with its supporting partners and media partners, ArabNet organized groundbreaking pre-conference workshops in 7 MENA countries to foster a sense of ‘ArabNet identity’, and instill continuity and longevity in the ‘ArabNet experience’.  Such was the success of these workshops that they have been featured in the news across the globe.  This community was further extended and strengthened by ArabNet’s pioneering use of social media to engage the world, from the very start, in dialogue about the conference vision, program, and speakers.  Over 1,000 Twitter and Facebook users take part in this dialogue daily!

ArabNet 2010 is taking place in collaboration with the Central Bank of Lebanon, the Telecom Regulatory Association of Lebanon, and the Union of Arab ICT Associations. ArabNet is proud to have Aramex, Bank Audi, Google, National Net Ventures, Yahoo, Cisco, Middle East Venture Partners, and LINKdotNET as key sponsors.

Register Now to take part in this unparalleled and exceptional event!

Visit http://www.ArabNet.me for the Full Program & List of Speakers

As a co-founder of Nakhweh.com I have been selected by the U.S Department of State as the only Jordanian to attend the 3 weeks International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) under the title “Volunteerism: United we Serve”. The program includes a lot of interesting and informative activities on volunteerism and civil engagement in the United States.

I’m looking forward to take such an opportunity to get more exposure for Nakhweh.com in addition of developing my skills for volunteerism culture that can be reflected positively on Jordan and the Arab World.

The program will start on the 12th of April and I will be tweeting, blogging and sending updates to all of you on Nakhweh’s official social media channels.

About the IVLP:

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program.  Launched in 1940, the IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.  These visits reflect the International Visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.

ArabNet Pre-conference Workshop

Couple of hours ago we were at Al-Hasan Science City  (the campus that hosts QRCE) interacting and working together to explain the idea behind the first international conference for the Arab web industry; ArabNet 2010.

The workshop started with an introduction about the conference by Mohamad Khawaja (QRCE) and Ayman Azzeh (YEA), the introduction also included some stories on entrepreneurship in the Arab world. We were 9 in the hall when it started, then people started to join until we reached 14 people who introduced themselves in front of everyone.

Based on the agenda Khawaja and Azzeh started to explain the idea of the “Ideathon” giving an example for the template of a business case, and to make more useful, one of the attendees presented the business case he submitted to the “Ideation” already and discussed the idea with the audience. Also a good question came from one of the attendees asking about the benefits of submitting an idea, Khawaja answered that the people who will be there in Beirut during the conference time are a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, venture capitalists… etc; that obviously helps in taking any idea that will be presented to another level with the input from all people there. I also added to Khawaja’s answer the cash prize that the best 3 ideas will get (2500$, 1500$ and 1000$).

I’ve been invited to speak about Ideation Labs involvement to come back with ideas from the conference then I explained the “Startup Demo” part of the agenda and the event. We also announced the new deadline for applications and early registration.

After 6 months of launching the pre-beta version of nakhweh.com and under the patronage of Her Excellency Hala Bseiso Lattouf – Minister of Social Development; an outstanding social event sponsored by the Arab Bank will be held on the 27th of February as the official launch of the website.

The agenda of the event includes an interesting video (filmed by Aramram) and a lot segments that show the importance of volunteerism and social engagement. All segments are done in partnership with:

• 7iber.com by Mariam Abu Adas
• “Together” program by the Arab Bank
• Ta3leeleh by Rawan Zeine
• Madrasati by Dana Dajani
• Hamzet Wasel by Raghda Butros
• Jordan River Foundation by Valentina Qussisiya
• Raneen by Rawan Barakat
• Specific Union for Farmer Women in Jordan by Zeinab Al-Momany
• Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship by Mohammad Khawaja
• Zikra Initiative by Rabee’ Zureikat

There will also be a lot of surprises and announcements during the event about new services Nakhweh.com will be providing very soon.

Live streaming for the event will be available using the internet connection provided by Mada (link to be provided very soon).

#NakhwehEvent Sponsors

Highly anticipated and finally here is the first international conference for the Arab internet industry: IBAG, International Business Alliance Group, presents ArabNet 2010: Trends and Opportunities in Arab Web Business. The conference will be held in Beirut on March 25-26, 2010 with the support of Endeavor Jordan, the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship, the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association and YallaStartup!.

ArabNet

ArabNet is bringing together the internet community to network and help launch the hottest startups from across the region – that means you! Top investors, internet executives and leaders from Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, AdMob and Intel will adress subjects that are critical to the Arab Web Industry including: e-commerce, gaming, mobile, content, online advertising, social networking, new media, and start-up fundraising.

Key to the conference are pitch sessions: Ideathon & Startup Demo.  This is the place to match talent with opportunity.

The Ideathon is looking for 10 select entrepreneurs to introduce their fresh startup ideas to eager investors in a rapid-fire pitch session. Similarly, the Demo will select startups with innovative products to pitch and exhibit their companies for the duration of the conference.

We are currently accepting applications from entrepreneurs and startups from all over the region with strong ideas and products.

Visit ArabNet.me to learn more and apply.

Few days ago Amer (my friend) asked me to check Jordan Festival website, I forgot about it and today after seeing the ads on the streets I decided to go there and check the schedule of the festival in order to see if there are any interesting events that I would like to attend.

What happened when I used Firefox to open the website? Let the picture tell you:

Apparently the company that developed the website is called IT Imagine and their hosting servers are extremely black listed. What’s going on IT Imagine?!

The website was supposed to represent the biggest event in Jordan that replaced the former Jerash Festival since the last year.