Below is one of BLC’s new ads promoting an initiative they started a while ago to support women entrepreneurs by making it easier on them to get loans to start or expand their business.
It’s a great initiative indeed, but couldn’t they think of a business women can start other than a bakery as it shows in the ad?
(Click to enlarge)
The American Embassy in Lebanon is hosting the US-Lebanon ICT Forum on Oct 14-15 at BIEL. The forum will showcase 60 companies active in the ICT sector, and will feature a series of seminars about trends in the technology and communications sector.
As part of the forum, ArabNet is organizing a free entrepreneurship workshop, Speed Up Your Startup, to help entrepreneurs:
- turn their ideas into a business case and get personalized feedback
- learn about their legal options for starting a business in Lebanon
- understand how the fundraising works and what investors look for
- meet with experienced entrepreneurs and learn about growing their business, managing talent, and building a corporate culture
- learn more about the latest trends in the web space
The workshop will feature speakers from Tandem (Consultants), Kobeissi & Frangie (Law Firm), Middle East Venture Partners, Element^N and Yahoo!
The ArabNet Team held a pre-conference workshop on Thurday, Feb 25 2010, in Beirut, Lebanon. Omar Christidis, Samer Karam, Amber Lauletta and Sana Tawileh, organized Workshop 1: Preparing a Business Case to help entrepreneurs translate their ideas into clear and solid business cases.
The workshop started with an introduction by Omar Christidis about ArabNet, the reasons which led to its inception, and his belief in the potential of the Arab web business industry. The conference is keen on bringing together speakers from Silicon Valley, Europe and the Middle East, as well as providing opportunities for entrepreneurs with ambitious e-ideas to network with high profile investors and internet executives from the Arab world, he explained.
Samer Karam discussed the importance of the community and explained how the online ecosystem has been the most effective and interesting vehicle to engage with different and disparate audiences across the region. He also touched upon the importance of leveraging the synergy of the crowd to harness great ideas.
Karam went on to detail the core pillars of a business case, from value proposition to revenue streams and target audience. He also introduced the ArabNet Ambassadors Program, an integral part of ArabNet’s community-building initiative, which is open for applications and has interesting perks! http://blog.arabnet.me/?p=117
Sana Tawileh and Amber Lauletta, who are leading the ArabNet Startup Demo and Ideathon, detailed the requirements for submission and the selection process for their respective programs, delivering strong pitches for participation! They then presented an idea for online food delivery, collaborating with workshop attendees to pull together a business case around it.
Lauletta and Tawileh highlighted the Startup Demo and Ideathon as unique opportunities at ArabNet – for early-stage startups, young entrepreneurs, and innovators – to network and connect with investors, get media exposure, and win valuable prizes!
Samer Karam further coached attendees by crowdsourcing a full business case from a simple word, “fashion”. The simplicity of the process encouraged everyone to submit an idea to the Ideathon.
After that, some attendees discussed and developed their ideas with ArabNet Team members in one-on-one sessions; others networked and connected, forming an impromptu community.
Positive energy and synergistic interactions highlighted Workshop 1 appeal and the value of ArabNet’s community initiatives. There was a great spirit of friendly professionalism, eagerness to be involved, and unrelenting curiosity. The follow-up was great: participants and organizers connected virtually the next day, to discuss and comment on their workshop experiences.
Highly anticipated and finally here is the first international conference for the Arab internet industry: IBAG, International Business Alliance Group, presents ArabNet 2010: Trends and Opportunities in Arab Web Business. The conference will be held in Beirut on March 25-26, 2010 with the support of Endeavor Jordan, the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship, the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association and YallaStartup!.
ArabNet is bringing together the internet community to network and help launch the hottest startups from across the region — that means you! Top investors, internet executives and leaders from Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, AdMob and Intel will adress subjects that are critical to the Arab Web Industry including: e-commerce, gaming, mobile, content, online advertising, social networking, new media, and start-up fundraising.
Key to the conference are pitch sessions: Ideathon & Startup Demo. This is the place to match talent with opportunity.
The Ideathon is looking for 10 select entrepreneurs to introduce their fresh startup ideas to eager investors in a rapid-fire pitch session. Similarly, the Demo will select startups with innovative products to pitch and exhibit their companies for the duration of the conference.
We are currently accepting applications from entrepreneurs and startups from all over the region with strong ideas and products.
Visit ArabNet.me to learn more and apply.
