MIT Enterprise Forum for the Arab region, in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Co, announces 5 Jordanian teams among the top 30 teams qualifying for the second round

Amman Jordan- 26 February, 2011: The first round of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition, a competition specially designed to encourage all entrepreneurs in the region to start their own company, has finally closed off, proving to be a resounding success. The judging panel of the competition, held in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Company and in its fourth year now, has chosen the top 30 semi-finalist teams that qualify for the second round. According to the MIT Enterprise Forum for the Arab Region's statement, the top 30 teams are from the following countries: eleven from Egypt, five from Jordan, five from Lebanon, two from Tunisia, and one each from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Qatar, Palestine, Yemen, United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Team members will be invited to attend a workshop on business planning which will be held in Beirut and led by Ken Morse, a professor from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The Jordanian participation has been impressive in both number of applications submitted and the quality of business ideas presented. Five Jordanian teams, with a total of 16 team members, were among the 30 semi-finalist teams. The ideas presented ranged between four different industries including Education and Training, Health and Healthcare, Construction and Engineering, and High-Tech.

The first round's success was signified by the extraordinary number of applications submitted and the quality of ideas presented. This year's competition accepted a record total of 3,780 applications from 17 different Arab countries, a 100% increase from last year's number of applications.

The members of the 30 teams qualified for the second round of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition will be participating in a two-day workshop, led by Ken Morse, a professor from MIT, in Beirut on March 25 and 26. Participants will learn how to develop successful business plans and how to pitch their ideas in front of investors. They will also be offered free access to Arab Net (www.arabnet.me) on March 23 and 24. Following that, participants will be expected to submit their business plans by April 13 and subsequently, nine teams will then be selected to qualify for the third and final round.

Mrs. Hala Fadel, Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab region, says, "Our experience has led us to realize that the most significant problem the participants have, even those with brilliant ideas, is the lack of skills to compose a proper and professional business plan, in its correct format. We have planned to resolve this issue by hosting a professor from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  We are confident that this will enrich and further enhance all participants' knowledge and learning experience since it will teach them how to effectively showcase their ideas, even if they do not qualify for the final round."

In order to ensure unbiased and fair grading, each application was reviewed and evaluated three times. This called for a jury comprised of 100 leading business professionals from the Middle East and North Africa, who hand-selected the top 30 teams based on an analysis of the innovation of the ideas presented, their scalability and their ability to positively impact the community.

Commenting on the occasion, Mrs. Fadel, said, "We are proud to have taken such important steps forward to spread culture, innovation and spirit, which are lacking nowadays in Arab societies. This has been reflected across two key areas, the first being the high number of applications submitted during the first round of the competition and the second being the quality of ideas presented, surpassing the criteria and conditions that we had set forth, aiming for the establishment of innovative leading firms that will positively enhance the community."

During the final phase of the competition, the nine finalist teams will need to verbally present their business plans and ideas to a jury comprised of some of the Middle East and North Africa's leading decision-makers. The three winning teams that are chosen are those that are able to best persuade the committee of the strength of their plans and marketing ideas, and their passion to successfully execute them.

The final awards ceremony will take place in Tunisia where the nine rising entrepreneurial teams will be competing for the first place start-up seed money equaling USD $50,000.

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For more information, please contact:
TRACCS Jordan
Maha AlRawashdeh
Tel:0096265660542
Fax: 0096265660541
Email:jordan@traccs.net 

© Press Release 2011