Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    Syria thanks Saudi Arabia and Qatar for settling World Bank dues    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sharing entrepreneurial ideas key to overcome challenges, think bigger
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 12 - 2016

MANAMA – Reluctance to share business models and ideas could be one of the challenges that ecosystem entrepreneurs in the MENA region are facing, according to experts during the first regional Seedstars MENA Summit.
The Summit, held in Bahrain last Dec.15, was organized by Swiss-based startup competition for emerging markets, Seedstars World, and business accelerator, CH9, in strategic partnership with Bahrain EDB and Tamkeen. The Summit is the culmination of Seedstars' work aimed at developing the MENA entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout the year in 10 countries. The summit includes startup pitches, keynotes, and panel discussions on different topic related to ecosystem entrepreneurship in the MENA region.
Alisée de Tonnac, CEO and founder of Seedstars World, said after four years of visiting, collaborating and investing in different startup ecosystems across the world, they realized that these startups need more than just capital.
She said entrepreneurs need to share their ideas and business models so they can benefit from the different ecosystem communities, since there are so many people that are trying to help.
«What I felt is something complicated and still needs to change is that they are very conservative in the way that they do not want to share ideas, they are very afraid. It feels that it is very competitive and I believe if you want to scale fast and avoid re-inventing the wheel and avoiding redoing the same mistakes like everyone else, you should share and try to understand if your business model makes sense and should try to find right advisors. Do not close yourself in your own business model and your own ideas because it will be so tough and there are so many obstacles."
She also said she was impressed with the number of female entrepreneurs in countries like Egypt and Jordan, but that numbers were low in the GCC. She also mentioned several obstacles that ecosystem entrepreneurs in the MENA regions are facing.
"I still feel like they do not have this competitive advantage to understand and provide quality solutions to the Arab world. Sometimes I feel that they are trying to build solutions for the United States, for Europe, and for the other regions, when the opportunities in your region are so big. What is interesting is that in these countries, many are very small local markets, so the entrepreneurs think global from day one which gives them a very strong competitive advantage of learning how to scale fast, and think bigger.
The Seedstars event brought together startups from Tunisia, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, GCC, and Algeria to pitch in front of an audience of 300 entrepreneurial representatives, investors and the media.
All participants are the winners from their respective countries, and following the MENA Regional Summit, they will travel to the Global Summit in Switzerland on April 6 to represent the region as they compete with 65 startup winners from around the world for investments and prizes worth over $500,000.


Clic here to read the story from its source.