This new strategy includes working on partnerships with initiatives, private sector institutions and funds that support entrepreneurship in the Arab region and also includes broadening Oasis500 mentors and investors networks.
Oasis500 also stressed on the point that their strategy aims at attracting companies with an aim of growing and developing their regional market, as well as attracting Arab and foreign investments to the Jordanian market, which comes in due time after nearly three years of the launch of Oasis500’s operations in Jordan, in which 25 training boot camps were held and 61 ICT start-up companies received investments.
In its efforts to ensure optimal implementation of this strategy in the Arab countries, Oasis500 announced the appointment of Mr. Yousef Hamidaddin as Chief Executive Officer of Oasis500, a position that has been vacant since the start of operations in Jordan for more than three years.
Prior to Oasis500, Mr. Yousef Hamidaddin was the CEO of Axiom MENA for Middle East, North Africa and the Islamic world. Axiom MENA was the product of a merger between Axiom and the Saudi company DMS in the field of Direct Marketing, which was founded by Mr. Yousef Hamidaddin in 2000, and which he skilfully led from a small local Saudi company into a regional company under the name of “Axiom Middle East and North Africa” to provide services for a number of the largest national and multinational companies in the region.
Dr. Usama Fayyad, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Oasis 500 emphasized that selecting Yousef Hamidaddin an outstanding entrepreneur is in line with our vision to support developing our investment strategy across MENA. His in depth experience, the leadership role he played in developing the direct marketing industry, & focus on value creation contributed to transforming a Saudi establishment from into a strategic partner with governmental, and non governmental agencies which resulted into a regional company with the majority acquired by a NASDAQ based company in the same field. Such value creation is what we aspire for in the companies we invest in.
Fayyad added that Oasis500’s Board of Directors believes in the capabilities of Yousef Hamidaddin and that he will assist in the expansion and development of Oasis500’s operations across the Arab region in the technology field in regards to training and funding to attract investment for entrepreneurial companies operating in such a field.
In return, Hamidaddin expressed a high level of appreciation for the appointment at Oasis500 based out of Amman, and the confidence of the Board of Oasis500 in his experience and skills, emphasizing the harmony between his personal qualities and the objectives of “Oasis500 that will support creating a geographic foot print across MENA.”
Furthermore, Hamidaddin acknowledged the importance of leadership for Arab youth in such political and economic conditions that are experienced by everyone in the region, pointing out that the young people are looking for opportunities through more innovation, and more calculated risks, and to maximize their impact, stressing the importance of the role played by “Oasis 500” in this field.
In regards to his view on entrepreneurship, Hamidaddin said: “Personally, it’s is not just about creating a company or reviving a company’s unstable conditions, it is about leadership and the continuous journey to breakthrough limitations and overcome numerous obstacles in order to achieve the vision and added value that no one can see except the entrepreneur himself.
Prior to accepting his new position as Oasis500’s CEO, Yousef Hamidaddin served as CEO of “Acxiom” in the Middle East. He graduated from King Saud University with a degree in Economics & Quantitative Math with honours. He started his career in Procter & Gamble in Jeddah overseeing recruiting for the Arabian Peninsula in 1995.