Tag Archives: Competition

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!

Rebranding Lebanon: The Media

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In a country such as Lebanon that has suffered from decades of instability and troubled civic finances, rebranding is of essence. Since Banque du Liban introduced Circular 331, the Lebanese startup ecosystem has been thriving and the world has been recognizing the country’s attempt to foster innovation and development.

BDL Accelerate 2015 themed, ‘Emerging Startup Ecosystems,’ will gather entrepreneurs, investors, and support institutions from key emerging markets across 5 continents under one roof. So far, the organizers have received over 3500 registration requests from around 50 countries to attend the conference. The success of BDL Accelerate 2014 in establishing Lebanon as an international startup hub has created a global buzz attracting a considerable increase in the number of international applicants to BDL Accelerate 2015.

The change in the Lebanese global reputation is happening and although the process to erase stereotypes may be difficult, they are taking place and the country is signaling change. Everyone has a role in rebranding a nation, but mass media, both traditional and social media, play a major role by promoting all the positive aspects. As the media are observing the impact and benefits of the local startup scene, they have been more enticed to communicate it to their audiences.

Below is a sample of the media outlets who are sponsoring and partnering with BDL Accelerate 2015:

MIT Technology Review Arab Edition, regionally renowned for providing intelligent and serious journalism on technology, will promote innovation through Arab figures at BDL Accelerate 2015. They will be providing regional readers with success stories in the Arab world by exploring and understanding their new technologies and their impact.

In the spirit of finding the next generation of entrepreneurs, the BDL Accelerate 2015 team has been visiting all major universities in Lebanon to inspire youth to join the startup movement and attend the conference. NRJ Radio, Aghani, and Nostalgie have been tagging along to spread the word further and farther. High school students are also encouraged to attend, with a couple of schools already scheduling class trips for their senior students.

BDL Accelerate 2015 has also secured a long list of local and regional media partners:
Al Hadeel, Al Morakeb Al Mali, Al Massira, Al Hasnaa Magazine, Al Bank Wal Mustathmer,Al Bayan, Al Kifah Al Arabi, Joumhouriya, Assafir Daily, Al Sharq, Al Markazia, Tree Ad, Lebanon Daily Star, The Gate, iloubnan, Ekarouna, Focus Magazine, L’Orient Le Jour, Le Commerce Du Levant, Leader Press, FaceLook, Naharnet, National News Agency,  Aalamoki,  Al Markaziya, El Nashra, Al Liwaa,  Ad Diyar, Today’s Outlook, T3 Middle East, Iktissad Wa Aamal, Sinna Iktisad, Beiruting, Lebtivity, Bread on Butter, LiveLoveBeirut, NABD, Techrasa, International New York Times,  Inspirational Unlimited eMagazine.

Idea Stage Workshop: Session #2

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Workshop 2

The second workshop session was kicked off with an intro on gaining user insight about the problem or challenge that each team was assigned as a theme last week.

The teams then spread out throughout the creative venue and were asked to identify the persona of their users– archetypes developed to understand the final user’s needs, wants, and expectations in order to design the best experience for them. The teams then had to draw a customer journey map to tell the story of the customer experience throughout the different stages. Finally, the teams were then asked to come up with up to 10 ideas on methods of how to research their topics through observation, engagement, and immersion.

The workshop is the second of five weekly workshops in 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.

Workshop 2

BDL Accelerate 2015 Web & Mobile Hackathon

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BDL Accelerate 2015 is hosting a Web & Mobile hackathon organized by MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab & WDS.

The participants will be provided with a brief that will consist of a specific theme and the contestants will have to collaboratively brainstorm and work extensively to find a web or mobile solution to a specific issue that is shared with them at the start of the hackathon.

The BDL Accelerate 2015 Web & Mobile Hackathon will gather developers/programmers, designers, and businesspersons, who will be grouped in teams and each team will have 36 hours to develop a working website or app.

The teams will pitch their solutions to a panel of international judges on stage at BDL Accelerate 2015. The winning team will win a $3,000 cash prize, the 1st runner-up team will win a $2,000 cash prize, and the 2nd runner-up team will win a $1,000 cash prize.

If you can code, design, or conceptualize ideas then this Web & Mobile Hackathon is for you! Anyone is free to join. No restrictions on age or years of experience. Apply before December 7th.