Palestine, Ramallah- Palestine Information and Communication Technology Incubator PICTI, announces the establishment of PICTI Fund. The fund is designed to achieve objectives of financial returns for the Fund's investors and positive social and development returns. The Fund also aims to invest in and support seed and early stage technology and technology-driven companies, mainly in Palestine.
The Fund will be focused on the technology industry, as well as opportunities that are technology-related or technology-driven in other high growth sectors. Mr. Laith Kassis, PICTI General Manager has advised that the target size of the fund will be US$ 5 million, with a first closing of approximately US$ 3 million and he advised that PICTI can be contacted on this investment opportunity by interested parties to consider the confidential private offering memorandum on PICTI Fund. During the partnership signing ceremony that took place on November 06th, 2006 at the Expotech; the IT exhibition in Palestine, between the founders of PICTI represented by the Palestine IT Association of Companies (PITA) and the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) and Paltel Group, the Paltel Group CEO, Dr. Abdul Malik Jaber, has committed the amount of US$3 million towards this Fund.
PICTI has a rich deal flow and has previously received ninety applications from entrepreneurial teams from across Palestine and Palestinians abroad, who applied their ideas for incubation at PICTI said Mr. Hasan Omar, PICTI Operations Manager. He also advised that PICTI has a short list candidate projects for the Fund's consideration. PICTI provides state of the art incubation facilities, has industry university linkages, provides well-developed and tested bouquet of start-up services and has a regional market focus.
According to Mr. Jamil Daher, PICTI Chairman, "the information and communications technology is a strategic industry for Palestine, whereby the Ministry of ICT has launched a national ICT Strategy and multiple developmental initiatives. The ICT sector has a vibrant multi-stakeholder industry with the potential of playing a strategic role in building the overall economy, which is characterized with fully privatized and liberalized telecom sector. Moreover, the ICT sector is a growth industry, despite tough overall conditions in Palestine and has high potential for export services. Most importantly, it is my belief that Palestine has a pool of talented individual that we need to invest in."
PICTI Fund will invest in talent development, being a catalyst for integration of ICT into the economy by establishing new start-up companies and providing talented Palestinian with incubation infrastructure, resources and financing opportunities.
"PICTI is committed to playing an important role in Palestine in encouraging innovation and technology commercialization," said Mr. Laith Kassis. Now in its 3rd year, the successful PICTI incubation program is based on business assessment of entrepreneur and student concepts and ideas as well as regional focus.
PICTI's approach will be to offer seed financing and assist with putting into place those investment vehicles and mechanisms that are required for a start-up company to be commercially viable at graduation from PICTI. In addition, PICTI has developed a customized approach that will tailor its overall assistance to start-up companies based on their specific administrative, managerial, and technical needs. A combination of available financing and customized professional business services will help insure PICTI firms are "investor ready" at graduation. As part of PICTI technical assistance package, examples of how funds would be used include payment of hardware and software, start-up staff salaries, outsourcing services, business development, legal services, including IP protection and marketing services as well as providing office space.
The Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI), is an independent Palestinian organization that has been created through the initiative and support of the Palestinian Information Technology Community. PICTI and its partner organizations have as their mission the revitalization and the sustainable growth of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Palestine. Its mission is to design, develop, implement and promote those initiatives that will support the development of entrepreneurial business ventures with high growth potential by providing them with an integrated package of world-class business development services that will nurture and support the commercialization of ideas and enhance the development and growth of dynamic enterprises.
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For further information please contact Asda'a PR office, Ramallah:Tel: 02-2956878
© Press Release 2006
