All posts by Banque du Liban Accelerate

Idea Stage Workshop: Session #3

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The third workshop session was kicked off with the formulation of insights about the Reimagine Challenge theme each team was assigned. Insights have to be supported by observations and offer a glimpse into what people think or feel.

The teams were asked to develop a mind map using keywords, highlighting emphasis and categorizing ideas. The diagram is used to visually organize information by drawing the concept in the center of the page to which the associated representation of ideas, such as images and key words, are added directly connecting to the central concept with ideas branched out.

The teams proceeded to ideation, the final phase of the workshop. In this phase they were asked to chain write storm, the process of writing an idea and passing it on to the next person to build on the idea. They participated in pair brainstorming, in which teammates sit down in pairs to write ideas for several rounds until every teammate has done the exercise with the other, and finally draw storming, where they are to draw their idea.

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The workshop is the third of five weekly workshops in the series of design thinking workshops offered by SETT, part of the BDL Accelerate Idea Stage Startup competition themed Reimagining Lebanon. 24 participants were selected and assembled into 8 teams of 3 to develop a startup idea to address a problem assigned to them. The participating teams will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in front of an audience during Banque du Liban Accelerate 2015 for the chance to win 5,000 USD.

Samir Abdelkrim – StartupBRICS.com

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samir abdelkrim

Samir Abdelkrim
StartupBRICS.com
Founder & Editor

Consultant, entrepreneur and tech journalist Samir Abdelkrim is the Founder of StartupBRICS.com, the very first and leading French-speaking blog covering startups and innovation in emerging countries.

Samir has spent the last 8 years working or traveling in Africa, Europe, and the Arab world covering more than 20 countries. Being passionate about innovation and startups, he created StartupBRICS in 2013 that currently comprises a team of 6 experts, writers, and connectors based in Europe, LatAm, Africa, India and China.

For 6 years, he worked on European development projects aiming at strengthening startup ecosystems entrepreneurship and innovation in the MENA region, from Algeria to Palestine to Turkey. In 2014, he bootstrapped and launched TECHAfrique, a 6-month trip to explore 15 Startup ecosystems in Africa to meet to meet tech entrepreneurs and hubs, and to create connections and write about it in The Huffington Post, LesEchos.fr, as well as in his latest project’s blog.

Samir has acquired over 6 years of experience in the management of international innovation projects in challenging countries with burgeoning Startup ecosystems – especially in the MENA region. He is also a specialist of “Diaspora Entrepreneurship” and often writes about it in international startup magazines.

Today, Samir is writing a book about African startups and the Tech ecosystems in Africa He also travels the world to share his expertise in several conference such as the much-coveted South By South West (SxSW) Festival in Austin (Texas), the Aspen Institute or the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the upcoming highly anticipated startup conference in Beirut, BDL Accelerate 2015.

BDL Accelerate 2015 is taking place in 2 weeks!

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Registration Chart

As of today, our total number of registered attendees is at 4,500 and we have adjusted production to accommodate another 500 attendees for a grand total of 5,000 expected registrants. The extra batch of tickets are available here.

Using Eventbrite’s geolocation stats, we know that attendees will be flying in to Beirut from 50 countries across 6 continents. The majority are from Europe, USA, Southeast Asia, Caucasus, and MENA, with a handful from China, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The breakdown of registrants provides for a diverse set of profiles distributed organically for an ideal mix of entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, mentors, academics, public servants and professionals. For every 10 entrepreneurs attending, there will be approximately 2 investors, 3 advisors & mentors, 1 academic, 1 public servant, and 15 professionals.

Our Startup Competitions & Exhibition attracted hundreds of applications from dozens of countries. 30 top-tier startups from around the world have been selected for our Early Stage Startup Competition. The winner will take home an impressive 10,000 US$ in cash, but more importantly, will peak the interest of the 200+ investors with over $500 million to invest. Investors are not limited to locals, with some flying over 10,000 kilometers to participate in Banque du Liban Accelerate 2015.

Separately, our Wearables Hackathon and Web & Mobile Hackathon are now accepting applications. Each is awarding 6,000 US$ of cash prizes, which should make for worthy challenges to test the best

We look forward to seeing you in two weeks!

Said Rahmani – Sarava VC – Iran

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said

Said Rahmani
Sarava VC
CEO & Founder

Global serial entrepreneur Said Rahmani left Iran to the United States as a teenager. He worked for IBM until the mid 90s when he started his entrepreneurship journey by launching his first startup, Pathlight Technology, in Upstate New York. He later joined Naspers prior to founding Sarava, the first technology VC fund in Iran.

At Naspers, Said held a number of senior positions since he joined the group in 2007. As Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at Irdeto, he was responsible for worldwide business strategy to enable new online business models for the world’s most popular app-stores and operators. Prior to this, he was responsible for Cloakware Business unit, implementing a business turnaround to become the global leader in protection of premium content on the Internet.

Prior to leaving Naspers, he was regional general manager and country representative of Naspers in the Middle East. In this last role, Said was responsible for business strategy, market development, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, regional investments, mergers and acquisitions, and country operations. He was asked to evaluate the possibility of investing in Iran start-ups. Ultimately, Naspers decided not to invest, but Said was convinced of the country’s potential and returned to where he was born.

Said returned to Iran and in early 2012 he founded Sarava, the first technology VC fund in Iran, focused on investment in Internet and Ecommerce and incubation of technology startups. Sarava comprises a team of game-changing entrepreneurs to help Iranian startups by providing unrivaled support with world-class mentorship and local services.

Said Rahmani will be speaking at BDL Accelerate in Beirut taking place on December 10 – 11.

Benefits of Co-Working Spaces

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When an entrepreneur is starting up, especially when bootstrapping everything themselves, it could get pretty tough and challenging. Working from home may have its perks but it also has some cons. When entrepreneurs get started, they usually don’t understand the process of startups and may face obstacles they find challenging. Working from home in your PJs at your own comfort will not help with that. This is how co-working spaces can begin to benefit an entrepreneur.

There are quite a few co-working spaces and startup hubs in Beirut. Each have their own unique feel, provide different services, and are filled will talented individuals who can benefit entrepreneurs in the short and long term. Besides fighting off loneliness, these working environments are beneficial for entrepreneurs since they form a collaborative community creating the ideal ground for innovation and networking.

The spaces are created to enhance the ability to interact with others. They are places where you may meet brilliant and inspirational entrepreneurs who can help you strategize, share insight, and provide networking opportunities. You can also find writers, developers, designers, or marketing specialists at these spaces who can provide you with their skills. Some co-working spaces constantly have workshops, events, and seminars to help entrepreneurs turn their startups from ideas to reality. Most of them offer affordable rent from daily to monthly contracts with access to necessary office amenities such as Internet, printers, and conference rooms. Every dollar saved is an additional dollar to invest in your startup. Make sure you read about the space, visit them, get a feel of their vibe and see how they could benefit you.

DigiHive:
Berytech DigiHive is a pioneer co-working space allowing interaction with the community in a collaborative approach. It is located in Berytech Digital Park in Beirut Digital District (BDD) area, an innovative environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, in a prime location. DigiHive has developed a dynamic and vibrant community entrepreneurs promoting innovation, technology and business development. They have co-working spaces available on daily, weekly, and monthly rates. Check out their website to learn more.

Beirut Digital District (BDD):
Located in the historical district of Bachoura, BDD has been developing a community that brings together people encouraging them to connect, exchange ideas, and grow. The district is a cutting edge sustainable project dedicated to improve the digital industry by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and superior support services at competitive rates. Check out their website to learn more.