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(English) (Francais)

أعلنت شركة امازون المتخصصة بالحوسبة السحابية (خدمات أمازون ويب) Amazon Web Services (AWS) عن توفر فرع لها في منطقة الشرق الأوسط (مملكة البحرين) على الفور، وهي أول منطقة خدمات امازون السحابية  AWS في الشرق الأوسط وتتألف من ثلاث مناطق خدمة.
مع هذا الإطلاق، تتيح امازون ويب (AWS) خدماتها الآن في 22 دولة و69 منطقة متفرقة في ارجاء العال ، تخدم العملاء في أكثر من 190 دولة.
تعد الخدمات السحابية بمثابة عامل التمكين الرئيسي للمؤسسات من جميع الأحجام في الشرق الأوسط.
يمكن للمطورين والشركات الناشئة والمؤسسات، فضلاً عن المؤسسات الحكومية والتعليمية والمنظمات غير الهادفة للربح استخدام خدمات امازن للانترنت AWS لتشغيل التطبيقات والاستفادة من التقنيات المتقدمة مثل التحليلات وقواعد البيانات والخدمات الشاملة ادارة الخوادم (Serverless) لدفع الابتكار عبر منطقة الشرق الأوسط.

للاطلاع على قائمة كاملة بخدمات AWS المتاحة في منطقة الشرق الأوسط (البحرين)، يرجى الضغط على الرابط للاطلاع على جدول مناطق AWS. جدول الاسعار لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط (البحرين) الخاص بـ AWS متوفر في صفحة التفاصيل لكل خدمة معينة من خدمات AWS.

 

ما هي الخدمات الشاملة لادارة الخوادم (Serverless)؟

هي البنية الأصلية للسحابة التي تمكن من تحويل المزيد من المسؤوليات التشغيلية إلى امازونAWS ، مما يزيد من سرعة الحركة والابتكار لدى المستخدم. يسمح للمستخدم بإنشاء وتشغيل التطبيقات والخدمات دون الحاجة لاستثمار الوقت والجهد في متطلبات الخوادم. هذه الخدمة تلغي مهام إدارة البنية التحتية مثل توفير الخادم أو الكتلة والتصحيح وصيانة نظام التشغيل وتوفير سعة التخزين. حيث يمكن إنشائها للحصول على أي نوع من أنواع التطبيقات أو الخدمات الخلفية تقريبًا، ويتم التعامل مع كل ما هو مطلوب لتشغيله وتوسيع نطاق التطبيق الخاص بالمستخدم مع توفير ما يلزم.


لماذا استخدام الخدمات الشاملة لادارة الخوادم (Serverless)؟

تمكّن هذه الخدمة من إنشاء تطبيقات حديثة مع زيادة السرعة وتقليل التكلفة الإجمالية للملكية. يعني إنشاء تطبيقات بدون الحاجة للعناية بمتطلبات الخادم يمكن للمطورين التركيز على منتجهم الأساسي بدلاً من القلق بشأن إدارة الخوادم أو تشغيلها وأوقات التشغيل، إما في السحابة أو في أماكن العمل. يسمح هذا القدر المنخفض من الانشغال للمطورين باستعادة الوقت والطاقة التي يمكن توظيفها على تطوير منتجات كبيرة الحجم وموثوقة

 

ترجمة نقلا عن موقع امازن

The transformation towards the digital economy in Bahrain is conducive to economic growth, higher GDP, and higher GDP per capita for Bahrainis, says Bahraini businessman Yacoub Al-Awadhi.

He stressed that digital transformation may have a positive impact on financial and social inclusion and increase access to quality health care and education services.

Al Awadi, CEO of NGN, a global information systems company, stressed the importance of increasing “venture capital” to finance startups in Bahrain.

This, he said, would enhance the presence of Bahraini cadres in jobs and digital industries, as well as increase the number of patent applications in Bahrain, while enhancing infrastructure development to improve the supply of ICT products and services.

He said that Bahrain possesses all the elements of the knowledge economy, namely the existence of a supportive community infrastructure, broadband connectivity, Internet access, a learning society, knowledge workers and knowledge makers with the ability to question and connect, and an effective research and development system.

Al-Awadhi stressed that all Bahrainis are in one way or another connected to the national plan for the transformation to the digital economy. In Bahrain, the use of smartphones exceeds 170%, and most Bahrainis have an account on one or more social media; these rates exceed even those in the United States.

In addition most Bahrainis display a readiness to embrace new digital products.

On the other hand, Al-Awadhi considered that Bahrain's early transformation towards the digital economy makes it better able to face the challenges of this type of economy. These challenges inevitably come, including the control of multinational companies on global production, open markets and the removal of barriers will facilitate the control of large companies with their networks.

"When we look at American or Chinese technology companies such as Facebook, Google and Alibaba, they are profitable from everywhere in the world, and this has led to an increase in the unimpeded displacement of funds to the United States and China.

"Hence the importance of accelerating the transformation towards the digital economy in Bahrain and achieving a balance between exports and imports of digital goods."

In this regard, Al Awadi stressed the importance of accelerating the development of the education system in Bahrain in order to ensure the qualification of graduates to fill the jobs arising from this transformation to the digital economy, saying that the digital economy will provide new job opportunities, but will abolish many of the traditional jobs that we see in existence today.

These could well include the job of a school-teacher, bus driver, customer service officer, auditor or bank teller.

source: tradearabia

(عربي) (Francais)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the immediate availability of the Middle East (Bahrain) Region, which is the first AWS Region in the Middle East and consists of three Availability Zones.

With this launch, AWS now offers 22 Regions and 69 Availability Zones worldwide, serving customers in over 190 countries.  

The cloud is a key enabler of opportunity for organizations of all sizes in the Middle East.

Developers, startups, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organizations can use AWS services to run applications and leverage advanced technologies such as analytics, database, and serverless to drive innovation across the Middle East.

 

What is serverless?

Serverless is the native architecture of the cloud that enables you to shift more of your operational responsibilities to AWS, increasing your agility and innovation. Serverless allows you to build and run applications and services without thinking about servers. It eliminates infrastructure management tasks such as server or cluster provisioning, patching, operating system maintenance, and capacity provisioning. You can build them for nearly any type of application or backend service, and everything required to run and scale your application with high availability is handled for you.

 

Why use serverless?

Serverless enables you to build modern applications with increased agility and lower total cost of ownership. Building serverless applications means that your developers can focus on their core product instead of worrying about managing and operating servers or runtimes, either in the cloud or on-premises. This reduced overhead lets developers reclaim time and energy that can be spent on developing great products which scale and that are reliable.

 

sourc: amazon

Bahrain’s new bankruptcy law, established in 2018, has attracted the attention of international legal scholars in an analysis from the Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal’s 2019 issue.

The report, which provides information on the recent transformations in insolvency provisions in the GCC, points to Bahrain’s Bankruptcy Reorganisation Law as a leading example of progressive policy reform in the region.

The ‘debtor-friendly’ bankruptcy law, which borrows from both the UK’s and the United States’ federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy codes, acts as a safety net for troubled businesses and gives latitude to concerning companies over their reorganisation plans, while allowing for a moratorium on enforcement actions that enables businesses to continue operating through bankruptcy court proceedings.

Moreover, the law, which allows for asset-selling and DIP financing, is the first enacted within the GCC that embeds cross-border insolvency provisions to better protect foreign ventures.

These forward-looking restructuring mechanisms exemplify Bahrain’s insistence on a modernized business environment that prioritizes innovation and experimentation, especially within the start-up field. The law will likely decrease the possibilities of liquidation and open up greater access to credit. Debtors are connected with creditors to allow for greater autonomy over restructuring plans, thus mitigating bankruptcy risks for investors.

The reformation of Bahrain’s bankruptcy laws affirms Bahrain’s business-friendly status as a country looking to facilitate the success of its investors and innovators.

sourc: bahrainedb

The country’s annual real GDP growth rate stood at 2.2 percent in 2018 and growth in non-oil sectors reached 3 percent

Bahrain is ranked among the top-10 most improved economies in the world according to a World Bank report that assessed 190 countries.

The Doing Business 2020 report showed that Bahrain advanced 19 places to the 43rd place since last year.

The Arab kingdom has implemented a comprehensive economic reform programme as part of its Economic Vision 2030, increasing its foreign direct investment (FDI) to $1515 million in 2018, from $65 million in 2015, data from the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2019 showed.

The country’s annual real GDP growth rate stood at 2.2 percent in 2018 and growth in non-oil sectors reached 3 percent.

Four Arab countries were among the top 10 most improved economies: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia was the top improver climbing to the 62nd place from 92nd last year. The UAE ranked 16th globally in the ease of doing business, topping the MENA region again.

World Bank identified Bahrain as having made the following reforms:

Enforcing contracts

The creation of a new specialised commercial court enforces contracts easier and establishes time standards for key court events, and allows electronic service of the summons.

Getting credit

Access to credit was strengthened by giving secured creditors absolute priority during insolvency proceedings.

Protecting minority investors

Protection of minority investors was strengthened by clarifying ownership and control structures.

Resolving insolvency

Introducing a reorganisation procedure made resolving insolvency easier and allowed debtors to initiate the reorganisation procedure.

Trading across borders

Bahrain made exporting across borders faster by deploying new scanners powered by artificial intelligence. The new scanners have the capacity to seamlessly screen 120 export trucks per hour.

Dealing with construction permits

The country has made obtaining construction permits easier by further streamlining the application process through the new building permit portal ‘Benayat’, which delegates the application review processes to licensed engineering firms. This has reduced the time to obtain a construction permit drastically from 174 days to 71 days.

Getting electricity

Bahrain made the process of getting electricity easier by investing in digitization and transparency of information and by improving its inspection and installation process.

These reforms have reduced the number of days it takes to connect to the national electricity grid from 85 to 69 days.

Registering property

The Arab Kingdom has made property registration easier by streamlining administrative procedures and improving the quality of the land administrative system, reducing the number of days required to register a property from 31 to two days.

Paying taxes

Bahrain has made paying taxes easier by implementing electronic payment of social insurance contributions.

source: zawya

With a long commercial history ever since Trade caravans used it as a crossroad for over 3000 years, The Kingdom of Bahrain is familiar with trade concept and Small Business opportunities.

According to the World Bank’s report on the easiness of starting and doing business in Bahrain in 2019, the island kingdom came in the 62nd rank out of 190 indexed countries.

And ever since the Kingdom’s economy started expanding and depending on non-oil sectors more than ancient times, this diversification encouraged many investors to consider Bahrain as the investment hub in the region. Also, Bahrain was ranked as the fastest-growing economy in the GCC region in 2017.

All of which made the Kingdom more capable of creating various small business opportunities for investors from all over the world.

If you live in Bahrain, then here are the best 7 small business opportunities you should definitely consider starting in the Kingdom.

 

1. Construction Company

Known for being a resilient market, the real estate industry in Bahrain is growing each year, unlike it’s neighboring countries.

Ever since the Kingdom started counting on the non-oil sectors, and its economy has witnessed unmatched stability that kept the Kingdom going despite the oil slump.

Any investor interested in the market will make a fortune out of it.

The under-construction market in the Kingdom of Bahrain is an ever-growing market, which is why going for establishing a construction company will reap the rewards.

 

2. Restaurants

Food is the ultimate pleasure factor, which is why opening a restaurant in the Kingdom is a great business idea. The most recognized destinations of such investments are Block 338 in the district of Adliya, also known as the fine dining district of Bahrain.

With many nationalities living and working in the country, the culinary scene has expanded offering new flavors and introducing new cuisines.

Just make sure when going for the restaurant plan to introduce something that stands out from the rest whether the theme of the venue, it’s eclectic menu or toothsome eats.

 

3. Interior Designing Company

With many real estate developments being sold off-plan and many more upcoming projects in all real estate sectors, thinking of opening an interior designing company will pay off.

Whether you are going to work with major real estate developers or individuals, invading this field in the Kingdom will make you one of the wealthy investors.

 

4. Events Planning

Starting from a small birthday party to organizing a real estate exhibition, for instance, opening an event planning business in Bahrain is considered one of the winning business ideas.

With many international companies based in Bahrain in all fields, hosting an exhibition or a conference or even a small party is something that requires real planning and great expertise.

Which is why an event planning business in the Kingdom is considered one smart choice.

 

5. Cleaning Services

Many homeowners, hotels, restaurants, and companies are in desperate need of cleaning services.

Establishing a business that provides professional cleaning services in Bahrain will require a thorough search for qualified and well-trained individuals, however, it’s one business that is bound to get you more profit than you planned.

 

6. Financial Consultancy Company

One of the most thriving sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain is its banking sector.

And whether you decided to start your own financial consultancy service agency or even better, you decided to start your own bank, starting financial consultancy business in the Kingdom of Bahrain these days – if you have the relevant experience- is definitely a profitable business idea.

 

7. Real Estate Brokerage Company

As we mentioned earlier, the real estate market in Bahrain has proved to be a stable market over the past couple of years despite the circumstances.

This is why, if you are thinking of working as a freelance real estate agent or starting your own real estate brokerage company, your business will be a successful one.

With many real estate projects currently in the process of construction and others are in the process of planning, Bahrain is considered an attraction when it comes to real estate investment.

source: weetas

Bahrain launched rules in February for cryptocurrency companies such as trading platforms, including rigorous customer background checks, governance standards and controls on cyber security risks

When Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya in March 2017, their discussion was scheduled to last for an hour but went on for three times that long.

The meeting, Prokopenya said, ended with Lukashenko asking him to propose regulations to boost the country's tech sector. Prokopenya worked with IT firms and lawyers to draft guidelines to cash in on an emerging digital industry: cryptocurrencies.

Some two years later, the rules are in place. Investors can trade bitcoin on an exchange run by Prokopenya, while other companies are launching their own cryptocurrency platforms.

"The idea was to create everything from scratch," Prokopenya told Reuters in an interview in London. "To make sure that it is free in some of the aspects it needs to be free, and very stringent in other aspects."

Contacted for comment, Lukashenko's office directed Reuters to an account of the meeting on the president's website.

Belarus is among a handful of smaller countries coming up with specific rule books for digital currencies. Their efforts could help shape the development of the global market and the growth of industry players, from exchange platforms to brokers.

So far, cryptocurrency companies have often had to choose between two extremes when deciding where to set up shop.

Major financial centres like London and New York, which apply traditional financial services rules to the sector, might be attractive to big institutions seeking safety but the compliance complexity and costs preclude many of the startups at the heart of the fledgling industry.

Conversely, lightly-regulated jurisdictions like the Seychelles and Belize allow far easier market access. But states with light rules can offer less protection for investors and have looser checks on money laundering, lawyers say.

The likes of Belarus and other newer entrants - including Bahrain, Malta and Gibraltar - are seeking to offer a third way: crafting specific rules for the cryptocurrency sector, betting they can attract companies by providing regulatory security as well as perks like tax breaks.

While there is no guarantee of success, cryptocurrencies represent a rare chance for these states or territories to grab a slice of an emerging market, potentially attracting investment and creating jobs, at a time when big financial hubs are adopting a more conservative, "wait-and-see" approach.

"There are jurisdictions in the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil camp," said Jesse Overall, a lawyer at Clifford Chance in New York specialising in crypto regulation. "On the other end there is the U.S., UK, EU. In the middle, that's the juicy part of the spectrum."

Overall said both countries and companies could benefit from the emergence of frameworks specifically for cryptocurrencies. But states that get the rules wrong could fall foul of global rules to stamp out illicit use of digital coins, he added.

Indeed, there are major questions over whether these nations will be able to consistently prevent the hacks and illegal activities, such as money laundering, that plague the opaque sector and could hammer their reputations as secure centres.

Another risk of building rules for an unpredictable and rapidly evolving industry is that they could soon become outdated.

'CARROTS WITH NO STICKS'

ZPX, a Singapore-based crypto firm, will launch a cryptocurrency trading platform, Qume, next month catering to institutional investors such as high-frequency proprietary trading firms and hedge funds.

It has decided to base the business in Bahrain's capital Manama - and the considerations it faced are emblematic of the quandary confronting many players across the industry.

ZPX's CEO Ramani Ramachandran said it decided against operating in a so-called offshore jurisdiction with low or no regulation. Such a base could deter big investors as scrutiny of digital coins heats up from global regulators and politicians, he said.

"As the market matures analogous to traditional capital markets, mainstream institutional capital will increasingly look to come to regulated exchanges such as Qume as opposed to 'light-touch' venues in offshore jurisdictions."

Bahrain launched rules in February for cryptocurrency companies such as trading platforms, including rigorous customer background checks, governance standards and controls on cyber security risks.

It's also usually far cheaper in terms of compliance and administration costs to set up in smaller locations like Bahrain than in major financial hubs, said Ramachandran.

ZPX estimates such costs would come to around $200,000 a year in Bahrain, versus at least $750,000 a year in London.

Another advantage of setting up in a smaller country, said ZPX co-founder Aditya Mishra, was the close communication companies could have with regulators, something that would be difficult in a big financial centre. Bahrain also offered good access to Gulf markets, he added.

Another cryptocurrency trading platform, iExchange, began operating in the Belarusian capital Minsk this month, aiming to attract investors from the CIS market of Russia and the former Soviet states.

Co-founder Igor Snizhko said Belarus was the best option because it had a regulatory framework that other countries in the region lacked.

Belarus demands audits of issuers of digital coins and details of the projects underpinning any issuance. For trading platforms, the rules include keeping tabs on suspicious transactions to meet international money laundering standards.

"For many the CIS market is very promising and very dangerous at the same time," he added. "Many large and accomplished players are still afraid of one factor - a lack of transparency. We didn't want to work in any 'grey' jurisdiction."

Sweeteners offered by Belarus include tax breaks for companies mining or trading cryptocurrencies. The rules, described by PwC as "carrots with no sticks," also give firms looser rules on currency controls and visas.

In the United States, by contrast, digital coin transactions are taxable. In Britain, capital gains taxes apply.

iExchange said it had also initially looked at other countries including Estonia and Malta, but chose Belarus because of its proximity to its target market.

BESPOKE APPROACH

The size of the global cryptocurrency sector is hard to gauge because of its complexity and lack of transparency. Still, Ireland-based Research and Markets reckons the sector will grow to $1.4 billion by 2024 from $1 billion this year. Other estimates see a faster rate of growth.

Crypto regulations vary through the world. While Facebook's unveiling of its Libra coin has prompted signs of a coordinated backlash against cryptocurrencies by major economies, a patchwork of approaches still rules from country to country.

China has even banned cryptocurrencies outright, while an Indian government panel last week recommended a similar measure. 

Sui Chung of Crypto Facilities, a London-based cryptocurrency futures exchange, said there were clear benefits to being in a major financial hub, including having access to highly skilled employees.

"You need to be in place where you can get the staff," he said. "Our product teams, development teams have financial institution experience."

Being regulated in an established centre can also allow companies access to deeper, more liquid markets and provide greater certainty on securities law, said Ann Sofie Cloots, one of the authors of a Cambridge University study on cryptocurrency regulation.

"It may mean you have a more sophisticated investor base, greater access to capital," she said. "It's also a reputational thing."

To be sure, it is not just the likes of Belarus and Bahrain that have coined their own crypto rules: Some larger countries like France and Japan have also made moves in that direction.

But it's the smaller countries that have tended to launch the most sophisticated "bespoke" approaches, according to the Cambridge University study.

That could bring clarity to both cryptocurrency companies and related services like banks previously wary of the sector's unclear legal status, said Cloots.

Belarus entrepreneur Prokopenya, whose Instagram posts of sports cars in Cyprus and beaches in Dubai are followed by 5.6 million people, acknowledged the risks that came with blockchain technology, including the potential for money laundering.

But he said these could be mitigated with clear regulation, and that countries like Belarus should not miss out on a chance to grab a slice of an emerging market.

"The biggest risks come from not taking any risks," he said.

Source: zaway

Exclusive Interview for SA Entrepreneurs

 

Bahrain EDB is the country’s investment promotion agency. In practice, the EDB’s acts as a nerve centre for the Kingdom’s economic ambitions

 

1. Can you tell us about the role of the economic development board of Bahrain?

On the surface, Bahrain EDB is the country’s investment promotion agency. Although in practice, we have developed the EDB’s network and scope to the extent that it acts as a nerve centre for the Kingdom’s economic ambitions.

The EDB functions as a business development division, but we do not stop at just finding the right investors and business prospects. We offer this through our integrated Team Bahrain proposition. When an opportunity arises, we consider every network, contact and resource that could help the prospect launch and grow successfully. This starts from introducing the prospect to relevant government entities and local private sector businesses. It continues to ensure they have access to funding, infrastructure, and the right talent locally.

At the EDB, we are determined to be anything but complacent in our ability to attract new investments. We go all in and have had great results with this approach. For example, ICT continues to be a focus sector for us as we look at promoting Bahrain’s potential. We have cloud aspirations but only an embryonic data centre network. Knowing this could be a gamechanger for Bahrain, we invited the biggest cloud providers to come see for themselves how we could give them access to the $1.5 trillion regional economy. From regulation to cost-effectiveness, we were able to show a clear advantage over other cities. Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the biggest and fastest growing cloud enabler globally, is setting up its regional hub in Bahrain. As the EDB, we have taken every measure to make Bahrain the top choice, and this is the differentiation we bring to every conversation.

 

2. What are the main sectors in which you have been successful so far in attracting foreign investors? any data on their sectorial distribution in terms of the size of investments?

We have five main sectors and two subsectors that we, as the EDB, are promoting actively to investors. ICT, which accounted for 5% of FDI in 2018 is definitely top on our economic agenda. As with the AWS example, we have been keenly developing the sector to become a key growth generator. As you can imagine, technology cuts across all industries and segments of business, and this is where we see its value.

Another core area that we are focused on is the financial sector. Bahrain has a long-standing tradition of being a financial hub in the region. We were admittedly slower in evolving the sector technologically than other financial hubs, but this is something we believe is changing rapidly. In fact, we are currently the only country in the region to have an onshore regulatory sandbox, which today includes close to 30 FinTech concepts, in cryptocurrency, trade, payments and more.

FinTech is also an important growth segment for Bahrain. One of the key advantages we offer is competitive operating costs, approximately 30-40% less than neighbouring countries. In the Gulf, FinTech startups are expected to attract $2bn in private funding over the next 10 years, compared to $150m over the previous decade. To this end, we have developed Bahrain FinTech Bay as the region’s largest hub for FinTech businesses to come together, collaborate, learn and grow.

As part of our efforts to diversify the economy, we have also built up our profile as a manufacturing hub. The sector, along with logistics and transportation brought in a significant 24% of investments last year. Much of this comes down to the cost advantage, as well as connectivity to the entire GCC and most importantly to the largest market, Saudi Arabia.

Logistics, as it complements manufacturing, is also key to other growth sectors such as ecommerce and regional trade. We have seen tremendous success in this area. In fact, today the occupancy rate of Bahrain’s logistics zone is well above 80%, compared to 39% in 2015. Moreover, the sector has attracted over US$184 million in investments, creating 875 new jobs in the market.

Finally, and most importantly, we’re developing the tourism sector in a big way. The potential here is greatly underestimated. In 2018, for example, Bahrain received a record 13.7 million international visitors, which is 7.9% over the previous year. We have two UNESCO world heritage sites, and a growing number of retail and leisure concepts prompting greater investment into tourism. For Bahrain, we think that if we can ensure we have the right assets we can see significant tourist flows.

 

3. What are the procedures for foreign companies to enter the market?

Bahrain has a really simplified market entry process in many ways. We have an online registration system, Sijilat, which has digitised and accelerated the entire process of obtaining a commercial registration. On top of that, the change in entry visa procedures now allows for visa on arrival for 66 countries and eVisa’s for 114 countries. In terms of regulation, we reduced the minimum capital requirement from BD 50,000 to BD 100. We at the EDB are here to support companies, and what differentiates us and Bahrain from other business hubs is that we have a private sector approach to business. We like to call it our Team Bahrain approach, it is where the public and private sectors collaborate to create a successful business environment.

 

4. How can you help businesses and investors to become successful, what is your formula for entrepreneurs to be successful?

I think what is most important is that as the EDB, we recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for businesses to be successful. We have consciously developed various platforms and initiatives to help entrepreneurs get the best value and returns in Bahrain. For one, as our size allows new businesses to test their products or services from here, and then scale beyond borders.

We have also worked tirelessly towards creating a startup hub in Bahrain, not just to spur investments but also to address some of the biggest challenges facing the region, such as youth unemployment. We see startups as job creators and skill enablers. To help fledgling businesses, we introduced a new bankruptcy law to allow entrepreneurs to fail and start again. In addition to that, we are the first country in the region to have a nation-wide cloud first policy, which will allow the government to provide services more efficiently and at a lower cost. Shortly after that came the data protection law which is modelled after global practices.

We believe business success is relative to the ecosystem in which it operates. Our efforts have been consistently directed at making sure Bahrain offers the ideal conditions for entrepreneurs and investors to thrive.

 

5. What is your vision and your efforts in terms of the 4th industrial revolution and the digital economy?

I think as a nation we are on the right path towards digitalisation and Industry 4.0. Proving this point is the fact that we saw investment levels rise by over 13% in 2018, to approximately US$830 million..

To this end, we have attracted several incubators and accelerators, as well as a substantial flow of financing through the US$100 million Al Waha Fund of Funds. Already, we have deployed 45% across five funds, four of which are technology focused and one FinTech focused.

To add to this, Bahrain is the first country in the region to introduce a cloud-first policy. Our ability to attract big names such as AWS reinforces Bahrain’s willingness and potential to create the perfect environment for 4IR-driven disruption in the region.

We are also developing the skills to complement this evolution. This includes upskilling Bahraini talent to lead the region in highly technical fields, including in programming, coding, industry 4.0 and FinTech. Amazon Web Services has come to Bahrain and has set up their AWS Educate program. A huge number of young Bahrainis have signed up for this – even more than in India and China. Additionally, we are working with Udacity, the Polytechnic University, and Tamkeen to develop local talent as it is a very crucial part of the ecosystem.

 

6. The fintech industry is gaining momentum globally and in the GCC region. Why has Bahrain chosen to be a hub for FinTech, what type of cooperation do you have with Bahrain FinTech Bay?

Financial services account for close to 20% of Bahrain’s GDP. Even before FinTech became a global phenomenon, Bahrain has had a long tradition of financial innovation that is widely accepted as the leading standard in the region. Naturally, we see a clear parallel between the Kingdom’s historical success as a financial hub, and the emerging technology trends that we are now well-positioned to support, not least because of our advanced digital infrastructure.

Bahrain FinTech Bay is a shining example of how countries can catalyse expertise and innovation. We work very closely with Fintech Bay to ensure a good balance of established names and newcomers in the financial sector. The idea here is to create an environment of collaboration, mentorship and learning that generates new ways of activating financial services. We are looking to develop capabilities in RegTech, InsurTech, and Blockchain technologies. Through its state-of-the-art venture accelerator program, FinTech Bay is bringing exciting new ideas to life. We see the co-working space as a launch pad for realising Bahrain’s FinTech ambitions.

 

7. According to “Expat Explorer Survey”, Bahrain is in the top of the ranking (5th place) before the USA, UK and Switzerland, how could Bahrain achieve that? 

Bahrain offers a very high quality of life that sets it apart from the rest of the region. The population mix here is balanced 50:50 between expats and Bahrainis, which reinforces the Kingdom’s long history of being a cosmopolitan trading centre. Bahrain’s connectivity with the rest of the Gulf region also plays to its strengths, with flights from most cities in the region taking less than hour.

As such, the cost of living in Bahrain is also quite favourable, with estimates showing that it is 45-70% lower than our neighbours. The country also promotes religious tolerance, and is home to a number of mosques, churches, temples, and the GCC’s only synagogue.

From the perspective of workplace diversity as well, Bahrain offers equal opportunities and encourages women to enter the workforce. As an example, women make up 61% of the EDB’s workforce, while 58% of them work in management positions. On the other hand, Bahrain offers flexible worker permits, which allow expatriates to work and live in the country without a sponsor, work full or part-time, and for more than one employer, for a renewable two-year period.

 

8. Can you give us some examples of the most successful stories that you have?

As mentioned earlier, Team Bahrain’s success in bringing Amazon Web Services to Bahrain is perhaps one of the most notable success stories we have seen recently.

Another notable example is the expansion of the FMCG giant, Mondelez, in Bahrain. The company opened its second facility and it’s 6th global megaplant in the Kingdom in 2018, This was a great moment for EDB, given how closely we worked with the Mondelez team to build their trust in the market.

There were several critical factors that led to this. For one, Bahrain’s talented young workforce allowed Mondelez to build a world-class team here. The other equally important factor was access to Saudi Arabia. Approximately 97% of Mondelez products made in Bahrain are exported, of which 60% goes to Saudi Arabia. Through our Team Bahrain approach, we worked with Mondelez to reduce the transit times from its Bahrain factory to the Saudi market by 70%. This was significant, and stands as a testament to the Kingdom’s strength as a leading manufacturing hub in a fast-growing market.

 

9. Could you describe the entrepreneurial scene in the country? In terms of entrepreneurship, Bahrain (ranked: 10th) overcome Switzerland (ranked: 21st), what are your expectations in the next 10 years?

Up to 90% of Bahraini companies are SMEs, and Bahrain is top in the global startup ecosystem in terms of female founders, therefore, it’s safe to say that we see entrepreneurship as a fundamental pillar of economic growth. Education is key to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs. This forms a huge part of what we offer as a stepping stone towards entrepreneurship, through platforms such as Startup Bahrain.

We’ve seen the local startup ecosystem grow substantially in the past couple of years, from the number of accelerators and incubators to funding opportunities. This has lead to a growth in the number of startups set up in Bahrain, which has doubled, and an increaed international recognition. We recently signed an MOU with Invest Istanbul to cooperate on ecosystem development and growth and stratup support.

Looking forward, we are transforming the playing field through a comprehensive startup support programme, which is essentially a bespoke concierge for entrepreneurs. New businesses can fast-track registration applications, pitch and access funding, and really cut through the noise of business set-up. One of the more notable benefits of this programme is that it allows Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) members access to seed financing programs offered by Tamkeen, including a $13,000 grant and an accelerated activation timeline, alongside Bahrain Development Bank’s seed fuel program which offers up to $25,000 for 15% equity.

 

 --------------------------------------------------------

 

* Dr. Simon Galpin was appointed Managing Director of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) in February 2016.

Previously, Dr Galpin was the Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the Government Department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong, and helped establish the Department as one of the world's leading investment promotion agencies.

With senior management experience in both the private and public sectors, Dr. Galpin was also actively involved in promoting Hong Kong’s expanding start-up ecosystem. Prior to joining InvestHK, Dr. Galpin spent ten years with Scottish Enterprise – at that time Europe’s largest economic development agency. He was initially posted to Hong Kong in 1992 but also worked in Glasgow, Taipei, Sydney and London.

Dr. Galpin holds Masters degrees in Business Administration, Local Economic Development and International Business Law and recently graduated as a Doctor of Juridical Science.

(English)

أختتمت قمة الشركات الناشئة التي نظمتها مجموعة البذور النجوم (سيدستارز، Seedstars) أعمالها في مركز المؤتمرات السويسري المرموق في لوزان (Swiss Tech Convention Center) في معهد العلوم التطبيقية (EPFL)، حيث كانت الجائزة الكبرى من نصيب الشركة الأرجنتينية الناشئة (Blended).

بعد عام من التصفيات والمنافسات التأهيلية في أكثر من 80 مدينة في البلدان الناشئة، دعت مجموعة سيدستارز 67 متسابقًا نهائيًا إلى سويسرا في الفترة من 1 إلى 5 نيسان/أبريل 2019. تم اختيارهم من أصل 3500 طلبا من 63 دولة، وكان لهم شرف المشاركة في تدريب عملي لمدة يومين، تخلله لقاءات فردية مع الخبراء والمستثمرين، والتنافس على العديد من الجوائز على شكل رأسمال استثماري.

على الرغم من كون القطاع المالي الأكثر تمثيلا في السنوات السابقة في هذه القمة، فان الابتكارات التكنولوجية الفائزة في عام 2019 كانت جميعها تتعلق بالصحة والتعليم.

 

 

تكريم تكنولوجيا التعليم والصحة

تعكس قائمة الفائزين لهذا العام احتياجات البلدان الناشئة. يؤكد فريدي فيغا (Freddy Vega)، مدير شركة (Platzi.com) في خطابه على أن 13٪ فقط من الشباب يدخلون الجامعات في أمريكا اللاتينية على سبيل المثال. يوفر برنامجه على الإنترنت لمليون طالب من جميع أنحاء القارة الوصول إلى التدريب المتقدم في مجال التقنيات الجديدة.

 

يقول ريكو بالديجر (Rico Baldegger)، الأستاذ في جامعة العلوم التطبيقية في فرايبورغ، أحد شركاء سيدستارز: "التعليم لا يقتصر فقط على الدروس، بل أيضًا على إيجاد الإلهام". مثل مشروع الدكتور فهد النمري من المملكة العربية السعودية احدى المشاريع الملهمة، حيث استخدم تجربته كمعلم متخصص لتصور برنامج ينمو (YNMO)، وهي خدمة للأطفال المعوقين. وبالفعل فقد كرم المشاركون في القمة هذا المشروع بمنحه جائزة الجمهور لعام 2019 (انظر الإطار).

 كانت جائزة الجمهور للعام 2019 من نصيب مشروع ينمو (YNMO)، وهي شركة سعودية ناشئة يقل عمرها عن سنة واحدة. يتيح البرنامج الذي يمكن الوصول إليه عبر الإنترنت التصميم والإشراف على استراتيجيات التدريب والدعم الفردي والخطط المصممة خصيصًا لتلبية الاحتياجات المحددة للأطفال ذوي الإعاقة. وهو مخصص للمدارس أو المراكز أو المنازل المتخصصة، ويضم 11 مشتركًا بواقع 503 مستفيدًا. أثار نجاحه السريع اهتمام المؤسسات الحكومية التي تشكل عملاء المستقبل.

 

 

كانت الجائزة الأولى من نصيب (Blended) التي توفر منصة عبر الإنترنت وهي طريقة مبتكرة للتواصل بين المدرسة وأولياء الأمور حيث يستفيد منها بالفعل 250 الف طالب. توفر الجائزة لتي تصل قيمتها الى 500 الف دولار فرصة فريدة للمشروع للتوسع في القارة التي يصعب فيها جمع الأموال. ومع ذلك، كما يقول فيديريكو هيرنانديز (Federico Hernandez)، مؤسس الشركة الناشئة، فإن هذه التجربة جلبت له أكثر من مجرد أموال: وهي الأفكار. ويقول: "تقوم شركة سيدستارز بعمل أساسي للكشف عن الشركات الموهوبة في جميع أنحاء العالم". وهذا ما تطمح اليه بالفعل: لتحفيز الابتكار.

 

صناديق استثمار إقليمية جديدة

تهدف المجموعة التي تتخذ من سويسرا مقراً لها الى تحسين حياة الناس في البلدان الناشئة من خلال التكنولوجيا وريادة الأعمال، والسعي لتحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة وفقا لجدول أعمال الأمم المتحدة لعام 2030. فهناك حاجة إلى حوالي 5 تريليون دولار من الاستثمارات لتحقيق ذلك. ومع ذلك، تشير التقديرات إلى أنه يمكن تعبئة 228 مليار دولار من الأصول الخاضعة للإدارة لهذا النوع من الاستثمار المسؤول. في الجهة الاخرى، يتمثل مجال العمل الرئيسي الآخر لـسيدستارز في توليد استثمارات في داخل البلدان الناشئة وتحويلها إليها.

 

من خلال شعارها "التأثير والابتكار والاستثمار"، شرعت سيدستارز في وضع إستراتيجية جديدة لإنشاء صناديق استثمار إقليمية. وقد أعلنت عن إطلاق صندوق رأس المال الاستثماري بقيمة 100 مليون دولار لأفريقيا جنوب الصحراء، وذلك بالشراكة مع شركة (First Growth Ventures). وقد رحب المشاركون بالتصفيق لانشاء هذا الصندوق الذي سيسمح بالحصول على تمويل للبدء بالمشروعات يتراوح بين 250 الف دولار و5 ملايين دولار. وتقول اليزي دو توناك (Alisée de Tonnac)، الشريك المؤسس لمجموعة سيدستارز: هناك اهتمام متزايد بالاستثمار الذي له تأثير اجتماعي أو بيئي.

 

 

تغيير الذهنية: احداث التغيير المطلوب

وينطبق هذا بشكل خاص على الجيل الناشيء، لأن المال يحفز بشكل أقل من القدرة على التعبير عن القيم. تسعى سيدستارز إلى التأثير على ثقافة الدول الناشئة من أجل بناء صورة إيجابية لرجل الأعمال تدريجياً. وقد عقدت حلقة نقاش في هذه القمة حول مسألة عقلية ريادة الأعمال.

اكد هذه الفكرة أحد المتحدثين، عمر عيتاني، مؤسس شركة (FabricAID) من لبنان: وقد أشار الى أنه في تصورات والديه "كان من الضروري توفير ثلاجة ممتلئة " وذلك من خلال وظيفة مستقرة. لم يعد هذا هو الشاغل الرئيسي لجيله. فقد بدأ مشروعه في ظروف يحفها المخاطر لبيع الملابس المستعملة للمجتمعات المحرومة في بلده. ومن أجل النجاح والحفاظ على أسعار منخفضة، راهن على العدد. اليوم مشروعه يجذب الأموال من الشركات غير المعتادة على الاستثمار الاجتماعي. يميل جيل الألفية الذي ينتمي اليه، خاصة في البلدان التي تتمتع بالميزة، إلى رؤية العالم كقرية كبيرة. ويلخص القول :"الأمر كله يتعلق بالحالة الذهنية".

 

 

التركيز على منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا

يظل النظام الإيكولوجي في البلدان الناشئة بالنسبة للشركات الناشئة جنينياً. وتشكل منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا جزءا من هذا الواقع. وقد عززت سيدستارز وجودها في العام 2019 من خلال برامج في 18 مدينة و15 دولة. واستضافت قمة بيروت الإقليمية في تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر 2018، 351 مشاركًا لمدة ثلاثة أيام ونظمت 303 اجتماعًا مباشرًا بين 45 مستثمرًا و 119 شركة ناشئة من 21 دولة.

ضمت القمة العالمية في لوزان، 13 متسابقًا من منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا, تم ترشيح أربعة منهم لنيل جوائز فاز منهم اثنين (انظر الإطار).

 

ترشيحات لمتأهلين للنهائيات من منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا لنيل جوائز

شركة (Seabex) من تونس: تم ترشيحها للنهائي في مجال التكنولوجيا الزراعية، وهي تقدم حلاً جاهزًا لمواجهة نقص القوى العاملة والحد من هدر المياه. تمكن أداتها المبتكرة لجمع وتحليل البيانات من تحسين أوضاع الزراعة والري وفقا لجدول زمني.

أما شركة نقطة حضرية (Urban point) من قطر: يتيح تطبيقها الاتصال المباشر بين 600 الف مستهلك وشركات محلية وشركات اتصالات. وكانت شركة فودافون (Vodaphone) واحدة من أوائل عملائها.

 

وكانت المنطقة موضوع عدة حلقات النقاش، خاصة الندوة التي شارك فيها رضا رهنمة، مؤسس شبكة نتكلم (NaTakallam) في لبنان (انظر الإطار).

التكنولوجيا من أجل السلام

كانت الابتكارات الإيجابية في حالات النزاع والتشرد السكاني موضوع نقاش. وقدم رضا رهنمة، رجل الأعمال الاجتماعي والمؤسس المشارك لـشبكة نتكلم NaTakallam ، عرضا خاصا بجلسات المحادثة عبر الإنترنت للطلاب في أوروبا والولايات المتحدة الذين يريدون تحسين مهاراتهم اللغوية. يصل عدد المنتفعين من هذه الخدمة المدفوعة حوالي 150 الف لاجئ سوري في لبنان. تتطلب الظروف التي يعمل فيها رضا احتياطات خاصة لتجنب حدوث توترات أو استبعاد جزء من السكان، وبالتالي يصبح استخدام تقنية بسيطة ومشتركة مثل سكايب (Skype) امرا لا بد منه.

 

 

يبدو أن ريادة الأعمال أصبحت مرغوبة في الدول الاكثر ازدهارا في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا. وكونها ترتبط ارتباطًا وثيقًا بالتنمية الاقتصادية، فان ثقافة ريادة الأعمال تعتبر أقل بروزًا في بلدان مثل مصر، على الرغم من قصص النجاح لمشروعات ريادية مثل Swvl أو Instabug، التي اخترقت السوق الآسيوية والأمريكية، أو 7keema التي حصلت على جائزة (انظر الإطار).

 

تقدم الشركة الناشئة المصرية 7keema تطبيق للحصول على الرعاية التمريضية المنزلية. ويربط هذا التطبيق الآف المرضى بالممرضات ذوات المؤهلات. وهو الأول من نوعه في مصر، وقد حصل على جائزة من مؤسسة ارتفاع المد (Rising Tide Foundation). وبالإضافة إلى رأس المال الاستثماري، فقد حصل مديره عمرو بكر على تذكرة لبرنامج النمو لسيدستارز.

 

يصنف مؤشر سيدستارز (SSI) المنامة بين أفضل 10 مدن من أصل 78 مدينة تم تقييمها في الدول الناشئة. بشكل عام، تتميز مدن الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في هذا التصنيف العالمي لبيئتها الأكثر ملاءمة لريادة الاعمال، حيث تحتل الشارقة في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة المرتبة الأولى. وقد وضعت هذه الدولة سياسة عامة وطنية تشجع روح المبادرة. وتخطط دبي لإنشاء هياكل في الجامعات لدعم الابتكار. من جانبها، أنشأت مصر حاضنة المشروعات الناشئة فلك (Falak startups)، وهناك حرم جامعي مخصص لتسريع الأعمال في جامعة القاهرة (FEPS Accélération) ومركز ابتكاري بشاركة القطاعين العام والخاص في جامعة عين شمس. وفي المقاب فان المملكة العربية السعودية على وشك إطلاق أكبر مركز أعمال لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا.

 

 

من الظواهر الإيجابية في المنطقة الاهتمام المتزايد للشركات الكبيرة بالشركات الناشئة. أصبحت رعاية الأنشطة والتعاون لتمويل البدء بالمشروعات أكثر شيوعًا. بشكل عام تشهد منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا أيضًا تغييراً في اللوائح الملائمة لإنشاء الشركات. ومع ذلك، لا يزال هناك معوقات ولا تزال الحواجز المؤسسية تعيق الوصول إلى الاستثمار الأجنبي.

 

 

(سيتم نشر مقابلات مع الشركات الناشئة من العالم العربي وسويسرا لاحقا).

 

 

الشركات الناشئة المشاركة في القمة من الدول العربية وسويسرا:

 

 

المؤسس

الشركة الناشئة

الصفة

البلد

علي تازامي

Inggez

www.inggez.com

المدير التنفيذي

فلسطين

عمرو بكر

تامر شاور

7Keema Nursing Services

http://www.7keema.com/

مؤسس ومدير تنفيذي

الرئيس

مصر

مالك اجياج

لينا بن عامر

Elham Education

http://inspirelll.com

مؤسس

ليبيا

ماهر شكرون

Optimalogistic

www.optimalogistic.com

مؤسس

تونس

انور الرفاعي

P5M

www.p5m.me/home

مؤسس

الكويت

حامد مصري

Robu

www.robu.io

مؤسس

الاردن

صديق فريد

موسفيك احمد

Smart Crowd

www.smartcrowd.ae

مدير تنفيذي مدير التكنولوجيا التنفيذي

الامارات

زياد علامة

Spike diabetes Assistant

www.thespikeapp.com

مؤسس

لبنان

ابراهيم القصاب

رضا الفردان

Temr.cm

http://temr.cm

ومدير العمليات

مؤسس مشارك

البحرين

سوزانا إنجلس

فريد قازي

Urban Point

http://onelink.to/urbanpoint

مؤسس مشارك

مدير

قطر

جيتو سعد

ساليهو ندياي

Weego Transit App

www.weego.ma

مؤسس

مدير التكنولوجيا التنفيذي

المغرب

فيصل النيمري

فهد النيمري

YNMO

www.ynmodata.com

ومدير العمليات

مدير تنفيذي

السعودية

هشام الفيشاوي

At home doc

www.at-home-doc.com

مؤسس ومدير تنفيذي

قطر

ستيفان زريهن

Stephane Zrehen

Agam Scurity

https://agamsecurity.ch

مؤسس

سويسرا

رمزي بوزردا

Ramzi Bouzerda

Droople

Energy / Clean Tech

www.droople.io

مؤسس ومدير تنفيذي

سويسرا

 

 (العربية)

A l'issue de son 6ème sommet, Seedstars vient de désigner dans le prestigieux Swiss Tech Convention Center de Lausanne, le grand vainqueur de sa compétition internationale annuelle : la start-up argentine Blended.

Après une année d'épreuves qualificatives dans plus de 80 villes des pays émergents, Seedstars a invité 67 finalistes en Suisse, du 1er au 5 avril 2019. Choisis parmi 3'500 postulants de 63 pays, ils ont eu le privilège de participer à un stage pratique de deux jours, à des rencontres individuelles avec des experts et des investisseurs, et de concourir pour plusieurs prix sous forme de capital d'investissement.

Bien que, comme les années précédentes, le secteur financier ait été le plus représenté à Lausanne, les innovations technologiques lauréates en 2019 portaient toutes sur la santé et l'éducation.

 

 

La technologie pour l'éducation et la santé à l'honneur

Ce palmarès est le reflet des besoins des pays émergents. Dans son allocution Freddy Vega, directeur de Platzi.com, le souligne : seuls 13% des jeunes entrent à l'université en Amérique latine par exemple. Son programme en ligne offre à un million d'étudiants du continent l'accès à une formation supérieure dans le domaine des nouvelles technologies.

«L'éducation, ce n'est pas seulement suivre des leçons, c'est aussi trouver une inspiration», affirme Rico Baldegger, professeur à la Haute école de gestion de Fribourg, l'un des partenaires de Seedstars. D'inspiration, le Dr. Fahad Alnemary d'Arabie saoudite en a fait preuve, en puisant dans son expérience d'éducateur spécialisé pour imaginer YNMO, un service en faveur des enfants handicapés. Les participants au sommet ne s'y sont pas trompé en lui décernant le Prix du public 2019 (voir encadré).

 

 

 

 Prix du public 2019, YNMO est une start-up d'Arabie saoudite de moins d'un an. Son logiciel accessible par internet permet de concevoir et superviser des stratégies et plans de formation et de prise en charge individualisés adaptés aux besoins particuliers des enfants handicapés. Destiné aux écoles,  centres ou foyers spécialisés, il compte 11 abonnés et 503 bénéficiaires. Son succès rapide a éveillé l'intérêt des institutions gouvernementales, ses prochains clients.

 

Quant au gagnant du 1er prix, Blended, sa plateforme en ligne propose un mode innovant de communication entre école et parents, dont bénéficient déjà 250'000 élèves. Doté de 500'000 dollars, le sacre de Seedstars Global Winner offre une opportunité unique d'expansion, dans un continent où la levée de fonds est particulièrement ardue. Pourtant, ainsi que le déclare Federico Hernandez, fondateur de la start-up, cette expérience lui a apporté bien plus que de l'argent : des idées. « Seedstars réalise un travail fondamental en révélant des entreprises de talent partout dans le monde», affirme-t-il. Et c'est bien là toute l'ambition de Seedstars : stimuler l'innovation.

 

De nouveaux fonds d'investissement régionaux

Le groupe né et basé en Suisse s'est donné pour mission d'améliorer la vie des gens dans les pays émergents grâce à la technologie et l'entreprenariat, à la poursuite des objectifs de développement durable de l'Agenda 2030 des Nations Unies. Quelques 5'000 milliards de dollars d'investissements sont nécessaires pour les atteindre. Or, on estime à 228 milliards de dollars les actifs sous gestion mobilisable pour ce type d'investissements responsables. Face à ce constat, l'autre grand volet d'action de Seedstars est de générer des investissements dans et vers les pays émergents.

 

Avec son slogan «Impact, Innovation, Investissement», Seedstars s'est engagée dans une nouvelle stratégie de création de fonds d'investissement régionaux. Elle a ainsi annoncé le lancement d'un fonds de capital-risque de 100 millions de dollars en faveur de l'Afrique subsaharienne, en partenariat avec First Growth Ventures. La perspective de montants d'amorçage de 250'000 à 5 millions de dollars a été accueillie par les applaudissements nourris du millier de participants présents à Lausanne. Alisée de Tonnac, cofondatrice de Seedstars World, l'affirme : il existe un intérêt croissant pour l'investissement à impact social ou environnemental.

 

 

Faire évoluer les mentalités : incarner le changement souhaité

Cela est particulièrement vrai pour la génération Y, que l'argent motive moins que la possibilité d'exprimer des valeurs. Seedstars s'efforce d'influencer la culture des pays émergents pour y instaurer graduellement une image positive de l'entrepreneur. Lors de son sommet annuel, un panel de discussion a été réservé à la question de la mentalité entrepreneuriale.

L'un des intervenants, Omar Itani, fondateur de FabricAID au Liban, le souligne : dans la perception de ses parents babyboomers « il fallait surtout un frigo bien rempli» grâce un emploi stable. Ce n'est plus la préoccupation centrale de sa génération. Il a démarré dans l'incertitude son entreprise de vente d'habits de seconde main à destination des communautés défavorisée de son pays. Pour réussir et maintenir des prix bas, il a misé sur le nombre. Aujourd'hui, il attire des fonds de firmes non coutumières de l'investissement social. Les millenials dont il fait partie, ont tendance, dans les pays privilégiés surtout, à voir le monde comme un grand village. «Tout est affaire d'état d'esprit», résume-t-il.

 

 

Gros plan sur la région Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord

Cependant, l'écosystème des start-ups demeure embryonnaire dans les pays émergents. La région MENA n'échappe pas à cette réalité. En 2019, Seedstars y a renforcé sa présence avec des programmes dans 18 villes et 15 pays. En novembre 2018, le sommet régional de Beyrouth a accueilli durant trois jours 351 participants et organisé 303 rencontres en tête-à-tête entre les 45 investisseurs et 119 start-up de 21 pays invités.

Au sommet mondial de Lausanne, la région MENA arborait 13 finalistes. Quatre ont été nominés et deux primés (voir encadré).

 

Finalistes MENA nominés

Seabex, Tunisie : finaliste nominée dans le domaine de la technologie agricole, elle offre une solution clé en main pour faire face au manque de main d'œuvre et limiter le gaspillage d'eau. Son outil innovant de collecte et d'analyse de données permet d'optimiser les modes et calendriers de culture et d'irrigation.

Urban point,  Qatar : son application permet une connexion directe entre 600'000 consommateurs, commerces locaux et les entreprises télécom. Vodaphone a compté parmi ses premiers clients.

 

La région était également représentée dans les panels de discussions, avec notamment Reza Rahnema, fondateur NaTakallam au Liban (voir encadré).

 

La technologie au service de la paix

Les innovations positives dans des situations de conflits et de déplacements de population a fait l'objet d'un panel de discussion. Reza Rahnema, entrepreneur social cofondateur de NaTakallam, a présenté son offre de sessions de conversation en ligne pour des étudiants en Europe et aux Etats-Unis désireux de se perfectionner en langues étrangères. Leurs interlocuteurs, payés pour cette prestation, sont 150'000 réfugiés syriens au Liban. Le contexte dans lequel Reza opère requiert des précautions particulières pour éviter de créer des tensions ou d'exclure une partie de la population. Le choix d'une technologie simple et courante (Skype) s'est donc imposé.

 

 

L'entrepreneuriat semble une carrière recherchée dans les pays les plus prospères de MENA. Fortement liée au développement économique, la culture entrepreneuriale est moins marquée dans des pays comme l'Egypte, malgré les exemples de réussite comme Swvl ou Instabug, qui ont pénétré le marché asiatique et américain, ou encore 7keema primée à Lausanne (voir encadré).

 

 La start-up égyptienne 7keema propose une application pour obtenir des soins infirmiers à domicile. Elle permet de connecter des milliers de patients à du personnel infirmier diplômé. La première du genre en Egypte, elle a été primée par la fondation Rising Tide. Outre un capital d'investissement, son directeur Amr Bakr  a ainsi gagné un ticket d'accès au programme de croissance Seedstars.

 

Le Seedstars Index (SSI) classe Manama au Bahreïn parmi les 10 premières des 78 villes évaluées dans les pays émergents. Globalement, les villes de MENA se distinguent dans ce classement mondial pour leur environnement plus favorable à l'entreprenariat, avec Sharjah aux Emirats arabes unis au premier rang. Ce pays a développé une politique publique nationale encourageant l'entreprenariat et Dubaï prévoit la création de structures dans les universités pour soutenir l'innovation. De son côté, l'Egypte a mis sur pied un incubateur (Falak startups), un campus dédié à l'accélération (FEPS Accélération, université du Caire) ainsi qu'un centre d'innovation public-privé (université de Ain Shams). Similairement. Et l'Arabie Saoudite est sur le point de lancer le plus grand centre entrepreneurial de MENA.

 

Un phénomène positif dans la région est l'intérêt croissant des grandes entreprises pour les start-ups. Le sponsoring d'événement, la collaboration et le financement de start-ups sont de plus en plus fréquents. De façon générale, MENA connaît également une évolution de la réglementation favorable à la création d'entreprise. Cependant, les obstacles persistent et des barrières institutionnelles continent de freiner l'accès des investissements étrangers.

 

(Les interviews avec les start-ups de monde Arabe et de la Suisse vont suivre).

 

Les start-ups des pays Arabes et de la Suisse participant au sommet:

Fondateur

Start-up

Title

Country

Ali Tazami

Inggez

www.inggez.com

CEO

Palestine

Amr Bakr,

Tamer Shawer

7Keema Nursing Services

http://www.7keema.com/

Founder /CEO

Chairman

Egypt

Mallek Aggiag

Lina BenAmer

Elham Education

http://inspirelll.com

Founder

Libya

Maher Shakroun

Optimalogistic

www.optimalogistic.com

Founder

Tunisia

Anwaar Alrefae

P5M

www.p5m.me/home

Founder

Kuwait

Hamed Masri

Robu

www.robu.io

Founder

Jordan

Siddiq Farid

Musfique Ahmed

Smart Crowd

www.smartcrowd.ae

CEO

CTO

UAE

Ziad Alame

Spike diabetes Assistant

www.thespikeapp.com

Founder

Lebanon

Anil Uzengi

Mete Ozturk

Stroma Vision

www.stroma.tech

CEO

CTO

USA

Ebrahim Alqassab

Reda Al-Fardan

Temr.cm

http://temr.cm

COO

Co-Founder

Bahrain

Susanna Ingalls

Saif Qazi

Urban Point

http://onelink.to/urbanpoint

Co-Founder

Director

Qatar

Jittou Saad

Saalihou Ndiaye

Weego Transit App

www.weego.ma

Founder

CTO

Morocco

Faisal Alnemary

Fahad Alnemary

YNMO

www.ynmodata.com

COO

CEO

Saudi Arabia

Hesham El Feshawy

At home doc

www.at-home-doc.com

Founder/CEO

Qatar

Stephane Zrehen

Agam Scurity

https://agamsecurity.ch

Founder

Switzerland

Ramzi Bouzerda

Droople

Energy / Clean Tech

www.droople.io

Founder & CEO

Switzerland

 

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