Unprecedented Partnership to Increase Exposure of the Region's Most Dynamic Growing Businesses

Dubai, UAE, May 31, 2011

Today, AllWorld Network and Zawya, the leading online provider of business intelligence in the MENA region, launched the 2012 ARABIA500 application process.  This is the second year that Zawya has partnered with AllWorld's Arabia Fast Growth 500 program (ARABIA500).  AllWorld, co-founded by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, created the ARABIA500 to establish the largest information system and network of growth entrepreneurs in the region.

Porter was described by the Times of London as the world's "most influential management guru" and is widely regarded at the foremost authority on company and country competitiveness.   "The ARABIA500 companies, led by dynamic men and women, represent the leading edge of a new approach to the region's competitiveness" says Porter.   

In December 2011, AllWorld announced the inaugural ARABIA500 at the Global Summit on Entrepreneurship in Istanbul.  The companies represented 15 countries of the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.  The ARABIA500 represent $10 billion in sales growing at 50% a year, in industries from technology to waterless car washes.

Last year AllWorld received over 1500 applications for the inaugural ARABIA500, and this year they hope to double the number of applications. All non-listed companies from any industry are invited to apply at www.allworldlive.com.
 
Deirdre M. Coyle, Jr. and Anne Habiby, Co-CEOs and Co-Founders of AllWorld said: "Many assumed the region only had small and unsophisticated entrepreneurs.  The ARABIA00 crushed that assumption.  These companies are some of the most sophisticated entrepreneurs in the world, many with operations spanning the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and some with deep ties to Silicon Valley and universities around the world.   We look forward to working with the ARABIA500 to become the largest entrepreneurial collaboration in the region."

AllWorld and Zawya are pioneering new ways to bring attention to emerging companies.  Being on an AllWorld ranking puts companies on the world map, allowing them to greatly improve their odds of success.  With worldwide visibility, ranked companies attract new investors, customers, joint venture partners and talent so they continue to grow and scale - AllWorld calls this concept Visibility EconomicsTM.   Zawya will publicize the ARABIA500 companies to its regional network of business professionals, investors and government officials, and will actively participate and promote the ARABIA500 Awards & Summit.

Gunnar Skoog, Chief Executive Officer, Zawya added: "Following our SME initiative, Zawya is once again at the leading edge when it comes to helping entrepreneurs in the region reach their full potential. The ARABIA500 is one of the most ambitious projects to date, empowering entrepreneurs to reach the next stage of growth by allowing them to network, increase their visibility and attract new capital."

Coyle added, "We are honored to be working with Zawya to create the ARABIA500 as a new beacon of success for the world."

The 2012 ARABIA500 winners will be announced in mid-November at the ARABIA500 Awards & Global Summit. The ARABIA500 Summit will gather the region's growth entrepreneurs together along with regional and global media, and public and private sector leaders.

The ARABIA500 ranks the most dynamic, not the largest companies.  Entrepreneurs from any industry are invited to apply and to find out more at www.allworldlive.com, and there is no cost to apply. 

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QUALIFYING COMPANIES MUST:
• Have a three-year operating history with revenues/turnover of at least $500,000USD in 2011.
• Smaller and younger companies can qualify as Start Ups to Watch using the same application.
• Be an independent, private, non-listed, for-profit, corporation or partnership, or proprietorship. The company can be an independently incorporated entity owned by a holding company.
• Have its primary location in the country for which the company is applying to the ranking, but the company can be legally incorporated elsewhere.
• The company must not be 51% or more owned by a publicly traded company or by a government of any country.

© Press Release 2012