Amman, May 2012 – As part of its investment cycle, Oasis500, the MENA region’s premier early stage and seed investment company, wrapped-up its 12th Start-Up Boot Camp, in Ramallah, Palestine. The Boot Camp, which took place between 12th and 17th May, 2012, was held in in partnership with local Palestinian entities including PADICO Holdings, the Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI), CISCO, CHF International and Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB).
Oasis500 received a total of 106 online applications, in addition to 64 General Assessment forms from aspiring entrepreneurs applying to take part in the 12th Boot Camp. 59 applicants were interviewed, out of which 56 start-ups were selected to take part in the 12th Oasis500 Boot Camp in Palestine. The 56 entrepreneurs who participated in the Boot Camp spanned Ramallah, Gaza, Al-Khalil, Nablus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tulkarem and Jenin.
During the Boot Camp, participating entrepreneurs presented their business ideas, which covered a wide variety of fields including e-commerce, online services, mobile applications and other digital content. Headed by Dr. Usama Fayyad, Executive Chairman of Oasis500 and former Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer of Yahoo! Inc, the 12th Boot Camp’s training workshops were delivered by a team of specialized Oasis500 experts and staff.
Oasis500’s Boot Camps provide entrepreneurs and established start-ups with top level training in a variety of fields. Training topics included marketing and investment techniques, pitching techniques, business model creation and marketing throughcreative campaigns, market segmentation, attracting investments and how to approach investors.
Commenting on the conclusion of the 12th Start-Up Boot Camp, Dr. Fayyad stated, “We are delighted to have expanded our activities to encompass Palestine, in hopes that this Boot Camp will be as successful as previous ones that took place in Jordan. Through our Boot Camps, which are a key element in the acceleration of start-ups into fully-operating and profit-generating businesses, we at Oasis500 are committed to providing Palestinian youth with the support they need to transform their business ideas into reality. We are confident that this will have a positive impact on the national economy and help in achieving sustainable social development. The 13th wave of the Oasis500 Boot Camp is scheduled to commence on 10th June, 2012, in Amman. Applications are currently being accepted.
Oasis500 is the first development and investment company of its kind in the MENA region. It aims to support entrepreneurs by providing them with funding and training in an effort to accelerate the transformation of business ideas into start-up companies in the ICT, digital media, and mobile technologies and content sectors. Oasis500 aims at accelerating the launch of 500 start-up companies within the next five years, which will create an incentive for aspiring entrepreneurs and generate job opportunities within the world’s fastest growing sectors.Since commencing its operations in September 2010, Oasis500has successfullysecured investments for49 technology companies, in addition to a number of other investments that were unmatched by any investment fund in the region.