SOME of the Middle East and North Africa's most promising entrepreneurs are to be recognised in Cairo on Friday, when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Enterprise Forum of the Arab Region awards the winners of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition, held in partnership with by Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Company. This year, nine finalist teams are from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and the UAE made up a shortlist from a record total of 1,852 applications across 13 Arab countries. Presenting their most compelling business ideas to a jury comprised of some of the Middle East's leading decision-makers, the nine rising entrepreneurial teams are competing for start-up seed money equaling $65,000 as well as receiving mentoring support from successful business leaders and consultants. This year has seen three of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition finalists from Egypt, including a team offering a solution for the continuous monitoring of blood glucose that will fit into a handheld battery-operated ergonomic shape; a group working on social conversation monitoring and analysing tool and a team providing software products and services for genomics data management and analysis. “Given the current economic climate globally, the Arab world has never been more in need of entrepreneurial talent to lift its competitiveness and financial prospects” commented Fadi Jameel, representative of ALJ Company Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation. “The diversity, professionalism, and comprehensive nature of the applications sent for this year's MIT Arab Business Plan Competition demonstrates that there is real business innovation and drive to be found in the current generation of young Arabs,” explaied Hala Fadel, Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab region. Entries received from entrepreneurial teams in Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates included detailed business plans for new businesses to be launched in the areas of energy, engineering, healthcare, Internetbased business solutions, software, and telecoms. Each of the nine teams competing will spend June 3 with global consulting firm Booz & Co to hone their pitches before the final oral presentations on June 4, in Cairo.
