Oasis500, a leading early stage and seed investment company in Jordan and the MENA region, has received the Mohammad Bin Rashed Award for Young Business Leaders for 2013. With this award, it has crowned its efforts and expansion of operations at the local and regional levels and received recognition for its efforts and the excellence of its training and qualification program.
Oasis500, which is a fund specializing in the acceleration of entrepreneurships in the area of information and communications technology and digital content, received this Arab award during the seventh term from among a large group of its peers of Arab initiatives and funds.
The award ceremony was held in Dubai at the beginning of last month under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, the Deputy Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as part of the World Entrepreneurship Forum that was held on 8-9 December 2013.
The award seeks to create a competitive environment among new entrepreneurs and to recognize them for their exceptional performance despite their recent beginning in this field. The award dates back to the time when the Mohammad Bin Rashed Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprises (Dubai SMEs) launched an awards program called the Mohammad Bin Rashed Award for Young Business Leaders in 2003. It is considered the first of its kind award in the UAE and the entire Arab homeland.
The chairman of Oasis500’s Board of Directors, Dr. Usama Fayyad, said that the fund is proud to receive this award, which has crowned its last year’s work and achievements that included organizing a number of training bootcamps for entrepreneurs in Palestine and Beirut and being present at entrepreneurial events and investment sessions in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in addition to the fact that several companies affiliated with Oasis500 have won international and Arab awards and recognitions.
Dr. Fayyad stressed the importance of the fund’s work and the team behind it, including entrepreneurial support, training, guidance, and attracting investments through partnerships and a network of mentors and investors. This has increased the fund’s level of excellence in the Arab region, which continues to lack in the concepts of proper support for entrepreneurship.
Dr. Fayyad added that the award proves the importance of the fund that was launched to meet the vision and directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II for Jordan to focus on education in the area of information and communications technology. This, in turn, has allowed for the establishment of one of the best infrastructures for information technology, providing the necessary push to establish the fund three years ago.
Oasis500 has invested in more than 60 companies since it commenced its work in September 2010. This is an unprecedented number for an investment fund in the Arab region. With the help of Oasis500, some of these companies obtained subsequent investments in the total value of US$12 million, ranging between US$100,000 and US$2.5 million per company within one year from Oasis500’s original investment in them.
On his part, Oasis500’s CEO, Yousef Hamidaddin, talked about the importance of this award for the fund at the level of the Arab region, stressing that it is an expression of Arabic recognition of the excellent concept and model that Oasis500 is providing to the Jordanian and Arab youth in the area of entrepreneurship and with the aim of supporting and qualifying entrepreneurial startups in the industry of the internet, information technology and digital content.
Hamidaddin added that the fund’s working model is not limited to providing entrepreneurs with financial support, but it is also focused on more extended aspects, including guidance, instructions, and trial, throughout the work stages of the entrepreneurial company and its requirements, from the concept, through establishment, expansion and marketing, to attracting investments.
Oasis500 is a company interested in accelerating the work of entrepreneurial startups in the field of communications, information technology and digital content by creating a new platform for entrepreneurship that is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. It is aimed at assisting aspiring entrepreneurs in the launch of their enterprises and companies.
Oasis500 provides a variety of support for entrepreneurs, including the organization of training bootcamps that provide the necessary guidance for establishing a company, inclusive of financial and marketing issues, the creation of an appropriate business plan, and other important aspects of a successful endeavor. The support also includes the provision of early stage funding, inclusive of monetary support from Oasis500, and an incubation period of 100 days for the companies in which investment is undertaken, to include the provision of training, guidance, follow-up, consulting services, and advice, in addition to offices, internet access, office services and others to help the companies acquire additional funding at a later time through a large network of local, regional and international investors, in addition to the possibility of obtaining additional investments from Oasis500.
Additionally, Oasis500 helps obtain investments in existing companies that wish to grow and expand the scope of their products and markets.