Oasis500, the MENA region’s premier early stage and seed investment company, was highly at Arabnet, the biggest digital gathering in the Middle East, which convened in Beirut between 23th and 25th March under the patronage of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. Oasis500 took part in a number of activities, including panel discussions, workshops and the Arabnet exhibition.
Dr. Usama Fayyad, Oasis500 Executive Chairman, was one of a five-member panel in the plenary session entitled “Fostering Entrepreneurship,” which highlighted the increasing importance of entrepreneurship in the web and mobile industries in the Arab world as generators of work opportunities for young people and as engines of progress towards a knowledge based economy in the Arab region. The panel used their respective experiences to explore the elements of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as the lessons learned from supporting early stage entrepreneurship, both regionally and globally.
“Incubation programs and seed stage investment have become topics of intense interest, with the rising success of programs like Seedcamo, YCominator, and Oasis500, among others,” said Dr. Fayyad. He reviewed Jordan’s efforts in support of entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises saying those sectors have proven to have great positive impact on socioeconomic development in the Kingdom.
Arabnet was organized by the International Business Group, in partnership with Audi Bank, Aramex, Google, N2V, TwoFour54, and MBC. Over 1000 business leaders, investors, IT developers and young entrepreneurs from various Arab states converged to the gathering, with more than 100 industry leaders taking the podium to present their expert opinion on web and mobile investment opportunities and the future of the Arab region as an information based economy.
As the incubator partner of Arabnet, Oasis500 also conducted a workshop for some 90 entrepreneurs and business leaders from the region on “Negotiating Investments for Startups”. The workshop was led by Dr. Fayyad, assisted by Mrs. Salwa Katkhuda, Oasis500 Investment Manager, with the participation of a panel of investors who presented their personal experience on how to negotiate investments for startup companies and interacted with the audience through a Q&A session. The panel included Mr. Emile Cubaisi of IV holdings, and Mr. Adey Salamim, of Reyada.
Oasis500 representatives also actively engaged with visitors of the exhibition, organized on the sidelines of Arabnet, through their booth, which received a big number of interested participants seeking to learn more on the web and mobile industries’ investment opportunities.
Set in Jordan, the Oasis500 program includes entrepreneurship training, mentor-ship, incubation, and follow-on and angel investment funds, aiming in particular to accelerate the transformation of business ideas into startup companies in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), as well as mobile and digital media with a focus on entrepreneurs in the region. Oasis500 aim at accelerating the launch of 500 startups within the next five years.
Published by: MENAFN
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