Money Fellows, Kiliim and Blink bag in the MIT Arab Startup Competition
The MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) for the Pan Arab Region, in partnership with Community Jameel, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Abdul Latif Jameel, and Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom innovator across the Middle East and Africa, and with year’s strategic partner Tamkeen, a semi-government organization in Bahrain with the task of making the private sector as the key driver of sustainable economic development announces the launch of the tenth edition of the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition.
The Competitions were open for Application on October 13th, 2016 and closed on January 4th, 2017, This year’s reign is going to Egypt as all the three startups were from Egypt.
Money Fellows startup does online group savings and lending platform which leverages users’ social media networks. The startup was named the winner and it cashed in US$50,000 prize money.
Kiliim revives and sustains the local craft of handmade kilim making in Egypt. Kiliim emerged the winner in the social entrepreneurship track – also taking home US$50,000.
Finally in the ideas track, augmented reality app development startup Blink was awarded US$15,000 as first prize.
“It is time to invest more in the infrastructure that helps young people to hone and develop their entrepreneurial ideas, stressing the importance of utilizing technological innovation towards the modernization and development of tools that enable entrepreneurs to create technological solutions,” Said Hala Fadel, chair of the board of MIT Enterprise Forum for the Pan-Arab region. “This will, in turn, contribute to the revitalization of the economy and encourage the inauguration of partnerships that can eventually transform into large institutions that will house impeccable talent and capacities with opportunities to grow and develop.”
