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.

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

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.