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Aïssa Dione: One woman’s fight for traditional Senegal textiles

12 April 2016 Comments (1) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Aissa Dione

The lady behind internationally renowned textile company Aïssa Dione; artist, designer and entrepreneur.

Dating back to the 15th century, Senegal has a tradition of textile weaving and dyeing as rich as the fabrics themselves. However, with a shift towards mass-produced clothing and the ever changing fashions and trends, this time-honored practice has suffered a huge set back. The name Aïssa Dione has become synonymous with the ancient craft, as she has fought to revive what was a tradition on the brink of distinction. “Spinning and textile industries have nearly all closed and traditional weavers are slowly but surely disappearing,” said the designer, a woman who has dedicated her life to reviving Senegal’s tradition.

A bold autodidact

Born to a French mother and Senegalese father in 1952, the renowned painter and textile designer grew up in Nevers, France. She attended the school of Fine Arts in Chelles before leaving to Senegal at the age of 20, to pursue an international career as an artist. Fate was to slightly alter her career course, when a potential buyer of her work, Pierre Babacar Kama, head of Chemical Industries of Senegal (ICS), said he would like first for his offices to undergo a revamp. It was “a bluff,” she said, when the budding artist responded confidently that she could manage such an undertaking.

This event marked the beginning of the entrepreneur’s textile and business adventure. Dione began with a single weaver who had worked for her grandmother. They set up their make-shift studio in her garden and she went to work, combining her artistic flare with traditional Senegalese weaving methods, such as the Mandjaque technique. The result was so impressive that many commissions were to follow. Local media interest sparked intrigue and soon her work was reaching a global audience, with orders flying in from all across the globe.

Celebrating Senegal

Aïssa Dione Tissus

Aïssa Dione Tissus was officially launched in 1992. From its modest beginnings it rapidly grew from having a single weaver to 15 workers, prompting a move to a more suitable location. Still her place of work today, her now burgeoning artillery is situated in Rufisque, a small town outside Dakar in Senegal. The company employs 100 Senegalese artisans. Dione dreams of recruiting more and expanding her business further but in the meantime there are Senegal’s restrictive labor laws to contend with.

Passionate about her roots, what she has borrowed from the country’s tradition and methods, she has more than given back by celebrating all that is Senegalese through textile and showcasing it to the world. The company’s philosophy is one of slow industry; creating a refined, luxury brand from local raw materials. While the West African country exports 5,000 tons of cotton annually, none was previously leaving as finished pieces of textile; the entrepreneur is changing this trend. The products from Aïssa Dione Tissus are 100 percent made from Senegalese materials, created by a purely Senegalese workforce and traditional methods of dying and weaving that are still harnessed to this day. One example: the all-natural dyes they make out of local bark and mud collected from the lake during the dry season.

“I strongly believe in small-scale industries, as a way to bring development to West Africa. We grow a million tons of cotton in this region and we export 99% of that. If I can process that cotton here, at home, I can increase my revenue fifty or one hundred times,” said the elegant 62 year old.

The future for textile and art

What the statuesque designer has so masterfully achieved is introducing a social and economically aware business into the world of high fashion and design. She discovered how to elegantly blend the traditional with the modern and it is a roaring success. What had been slowly slipping into oblivion was rescued from the precipice and with just the right modern twist is made palatable for the current trends. Labels such as Hermès, Christian Lacroix and Fendi Casa have made orders from Aïssa Dione fabrics and designers such as Jacques Grange, Christian Liaigre and Peter Marino have all used her products.

Her passion, her drive and her determination to stick fast to her beliefs make the success of Aïssa Dione Tissus even more incredible. Many frustrations along the way could have tempted a less resolute person to take shortcuts here and there but that would have compromised too much of what this French-Senegalese artist and “Lioness of Africa” believes in.

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Tourism in Morocco down amid regional unrest

11 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

Casablanca Morocco tourism

While the North African nation is considered safe, instability in neighboring countries prompts decline in foreign visitors.

As regional unrest results in declines in tourist visits by Europeans, Morocco is attempting to attract more visitors from Russia, China and West Africa.

A visit by Moroccan King Mohammad VI to Moscow in March underscored the North African nation’s strategy of attracting tourists from outside European nations that have traditionally been major sources of visitors.

The Ministry of Tourism of Morocco is also in talks with airlines to open direct flights to that country from Russia and China.

Safety fears groundless

Tourism minister Lahcen Haddad said Morocco has lost tourists because of unwarranted fears about safety prompted by continuing unrest in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt as well as recent attacks by terrorists in Turkey.

“Morocco remains a very safe and secure country,” Haddad said. “But we need to do more to get that message across.”

A 2015 report by the Overseas Security Council also declared all areas of Morocco safe for tourists, citing mostly minor thefts as the main risk.

Tourist visits down 1 percent

The country’s tourism industry got a wakeup call in 2015, when total tourism revenues and tourist visits declined after a decade of growth.

According to the Treasury and External Finance agency, tourist revenue to hotels and restaurants declined by 1.3 percent during the first three quarters of 2015, following an increase of 3.3 percent a year earlier.

The agency said tourist arrivals at Moroccan border posts also declined by 1 percent in 2015 while these arrivals had increased by 2.4 percent to more than 10 million in 2014.

French visits drop by 7 percent

The largest decline has been among the French, who constitute Morocco’s largest source of tourism. French tourism to Morocco declined by 7 percent in 2015. The nation also saw declines in visitors from Spain, Italy and Belgium, while arrivals from the United Kingdom and the United States increased, according to the tourism ministry.

Tourism revenue in 2015 totaled about $6 billion, still a significant share of Morocco’s $100 billion economy. The sector employs about 400,000 people.

Like other countries in the region, Morocco experienced significant growth in its tourism industry between 2001 and 2011, according to Eurostat. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia in 2010 and spread to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain the following year, prompting varying degrees of unrest and instability that persists in some countries today.

Other countries see steep declines

Morocco has not fared as badly as some other countries in the region.

Egypt more than tripled the number of visitors to 14.7 million in 2010, only to see tourism drop by one third. Jordan, while stable, saw tourism fall by 17 percent in 2010 and 2011.

Turkey, hit by terrorist attacks, also experienced steep declines in tourism, which accounts for 15 percent of its gross domestic product.

As Europeans stay away, Morocco is pinning its hopes to expand the tourism sector on visitors from Russia, West Africa and China.

King Mohammad visits Moscow

King Mohammad visits Moscow

King visits Moscow

In March, a visit to Moscow by King Mohammad VI’s included talks about ways to encourage more Russians to visit Morocco as well as talks about providing direct flights to the North African country from St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In his first visit to Russia since 2002, the Moroccan king met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral cooperation in tourism, agriculture and energy. The two countries signed 12 agreements related to tourism.

The king also inaugurated an exhibition “Morocco-Russia: A shared ancient history,” which includes bronze objects from ancient Roman sites as well as Roman statues at Moscow’s Pushkin Museum.

Goal is 200,000 Russian visitors each year

Haddad, the Moroccan tourism minister, said the nation hopes to increase the number of Russian tourists five-fold, from 40,000 annually in 2015 to 200,000 by 2019.

“Russia offers us a big opportunity,” he said.

Haddad said talks are under way with Royal Air Maroc and Russia’s Aeroflot about opening new routes between Marrakesh and Agadir in Morocco and Moscow and St. Petersburg.

A 2014 plan to add direct flights between Morocco and China has not been implemented.

Morocco is hub for West African travelers

Meanwhile, Haddad said Morocco is a top hub for West Africans traveling to Europe or other countries in Africa.

Haddad said Morocco could attract as many as 160,000 visitors from West Africa if it can entice transit travelers to stay a few nights in Casablanca and visit attractions such as the medina and Hassan II mosque.

Morocco’s tourism industry is expected to get a boost later this year with more than 30,000 attendees at COP22, the 2015 global climate conference November 7 – 18 in Marrakesh.

Morocco has also started talks with European carriers about offering low-cost flights to Moroccan tourist destinations such as Ouarzazate and Errachidia, Haddad said.

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A great season for Tunisia’s olive oil

8 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

tunisia olive oil

The EU has granted Tunisia a 2 year tax break on the import of olive oil; now it is down to the country to make it a top seller.

Producers of olives and olive oil since Roman times, Tunisia has stuck to a tried and tested method of harvesting this ancient fruit. Due to relatively cheap labor still on offer in the country, the olives benefit from being gathered using a technique of gentle sweeping with small rakes by a mostly female workforce.

Said to help retain the flavor of the olives and cause less damage to the trees, handpicking prevails over the commonly adopted method of machine harvesting in Europe. In order to distinguish themselves on the global market, maintaining the best flavor from their olives and being able to confidently ensure a pure product is paramount. “We can say that our bottled oil is 100% Tunisian and that counts for a lot in specialty shops. This is something Italy cannot always guarantee,” said Lemia Thabet, Executive Director of the Tunisian Technical Packaging Centre.

New lease on life for ancestral industry

Tunisia is the biggest producer of olive oil outside of Europe, yet for such a prolific producer the northernmost country in Africa has up until now remained decidedly in the shadows of its European counterparts. It has settled instead for selling off large quantities of oil to rival countries such as Spain, the biggest producer in Europe, and to Italy, commonly thought of as the home of olive oil. The wholesale olive oil is then mixed with the local kind, by way of improving on what will become the big brands we are all familiar with. In this way the “liquid gold” Tunisia produces is generating far less money than if they had the means to bottle, package and label the product on their own.

Tunisian olive oilOn 10th March, 2016, the European Parliament agreed upon an initiative to allow the country to export tax-free olive oil for two years, limited to 35,000 tons per year. The reason for the tax break is in part due to the particularly bountiful spell that Tunisia has been experiencing compared with the rest of the world. Records released by the Tunisian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy showed that for the 2014-2015 season, Tunisia exported more than any other country worldwide. In a record-breaking harvest, overseas sales reached 299,300 tons, which equates to a massive 10 percent of the global olive oil consumption. This earned the country, which has a 3,000-year history of olive-farming, a respectable $976 million. “Our record harvest has coincided with a shortfall in international production,” said Abdellatif Ghedira, the head of the government’s National Oil Office. “This year we are the world’s second-largest producer.”

Olive oil economy

Accounting for over 10 percent of Tunisia’s exports and providing a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of people, it is unquestionable that the olive oil trade is of major importance to the country, coming second to tourism. However, after the devastating effects of 2015’s Bardo Museum terrorist attacks and the Sousse beach massacre, what once was the nation’s linchpin, generating 15 percent of the country’s GDP in 2014, is now a sector worryingly in decline.

Bereft of some one million foreign visitors last year, the economy is in crisis and the security of the nation as well, as the somber climate has given rise to expanding terrorism. Recognizing the terrible blows Tunisia has been dealt over the past year and the promise the country had shown for real democratic change, the EU stepped in. A declaration of political support is the primary reason for implementing the measures, in hopes that it will allow the Tunisian economy enough time to recover. “Exceptional times call for exceptional measures. The proposal is a strong signal of EU solidarity with Tunisia,” said High Representative of the European Union, Federica Mogherini, adding, “Tunisia can count on the EU’s support in such a difficult time.”

Promoting the future

The tax break may come as a temporary relief but other obstacles still lie in the paths of the country’s producers. To truly make a success of this opportunity they first need to contend with a market that is very much geared towards promoting Spanish and Italian olive oil as superior. Also for the most profit to be made the entire production process would have to take place on home turf. “We buy almost all our bottles and stoppers from Italy and that pushes up the price, we should be making our own,” said expert Mounir Ouhrani of Slama Huiles.

While there may be some hurdles along the way, Tunisia can rest assured on the product they have to offer. A country that is covered with 1.7 million hectares of olive trees, almost 20 percent of the olive tree orchards worldwide, they are no small fry. The uniqueness of the olive oil they produce is remarked upon internationally; a particularly rich flavor that due to its high fat content is able to withstand high temperatures while still maintaining its notable nuttiness. Pair this with the traditional way in which the olives are harvested and you have two solid reasons why the North African country could make a successful breakthrough onto the global olive oil market. Given the chance and an audience who are willing to look beyond the norm, olive oil could soon be Tunisia’s number one industry.

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Algeria seeks to boost its tiny stock market

7 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

Challenges include lack of knowledge of stock investment in the domestic market, lack of liquidity in investments and competition from more traditional investments.

Algerian officials are looking for ways to boost investment in the country’s stock exchange, which is one of the world’s smallest.

The relatively young exchange, based in Algiers, lists only four companies and has a capitalization of less than $140 million.

Officials hope to increase the capitalization to $1 billion in 2016 by listing additional companies.

The stock exchange faces several challenges, including lack of knowledge of stock investment in the domestic market, lack of liquidity of investments and competition from more traditional investments.

Biopharm offering attracts little interest

A recent initial public offering by the Algerian pharmaceutical company Biopharm had a lackluster start, raising only $6 million in its first week, far less than the $5.5 billion, or 20 percent shares in the company, on offer.

According to experts, Biopharm has clear advantages as an investment. It operates in the health sector, which is expected to grow as the population ages. It has a solid record of financial results, including net revenue of $32 million in the first three quarters of 2015 and promises a return of 14 percent.

Stock market is seen as a novelty

Investing in the stock market is a relative novelty in Algeria, which only established the exchange in 1999. Instead consumers favor more traditional investments, such as real estate, which are seen as more stable and safe. Another popular investment is to convert Algerian dinars to Euros, which in recent years has yielded higher returns than the Algiers-based stock market.

Another problem is the lack of liquidity of stock investments. Given low consumer interest in the exchange, it can be difficult for those who want to sell to quickly find stock buyers.

The stagnant Algerian exchange contrasts with the largest stock exchange in the region, in Saudi Arabia, which is also the largest economy in the region.

Saudi market capitalization is $570 billion

The Saudi market capitalization is $570 billion, or about one percent of the world stock market and larger than the main market in Russia. The exchange is highly liquid, with a daily trading volume of $2.5 billion, making up 65 percent of the trading in the entire region.

Saudi stock exchange

Saudi stock exchange

The Saudi exchange, which has issued several initial public offerings, opened to foreign investment in 2015. The exchange is primarily geared to larger foreign investors in order to promote stability.

Other large exchanges in the region are in the United Arab Emirates, with a market capitalization of $245 billion, and in Qatar, where the stock market is capitalized at about $200 billion.

Algeria’s neighbors also have active stock exchanges. Morocco’s exchange is capitalized at approximately $48.8 billion with 77 companies listed. Tunisia’s exchange has a market capitalization of $9.2 billion with more than 70 listings.

Algerian government seeks to boost exchange

Some have said the Algerian government should be doing more to promote that nation’s stock exchange.

Algerian Finance Minister Abderrahmane Benkhelfa recently met with representatives of the stock exchange, bank managers and other key players to explore ways to “boost the stock market.”

Benkhelfa stressed “the need for synergy and dialogue among the organizations to give more credibility to the financial market.”

The minister said the stock exchange needed to be modernized with improvements in company transparency, including regular publication of their financial statements, and efforts to improve competitiveness. He appealed to Algerian companies to join the market to fuel their growth.

He said the upcoming listings of Biopharm in April and of Aïn Kbira of Sétif, a cement company, in May, would help boost the market’s value significantly.

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Keeping In Step: Competition for Anghami Music App in MENA

6 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

anghami

Anghami, a recently launched Lebanese music listening platform, is facing fierce competition from the French company Deezer, which recently announced an expansion into some Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Mobile music listening platforms have rapidly become the norm, and with an ever-expanding variety of services, competition is fierce between geographically isolated competitors. Anghami, a newly launched Lebanese mobile music platform, gained more than half a million users in its first three months on the market, leaping to the top of iOS app lists in 12 MENA countries. A reported 30% of Anghami subscribers use the app daily, indicating strong staying power, and the app has already been shortlisted for a variety of MENA technology start-up awards.

While Anghami has burst into the scene as a regional leader, it is now being threatened by French music platform Deezer. Deezer, which boasts more than 7 million active users, announced that it would be putting $130 million towards an expansion into the MENA region. Deezer will soon be available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen, encroaching very seriously on Anghami’s territory.

Not Missing A Beat

While Deezer may have more experience than Anghami, Anghami was specifically created for Arab users. Anghami’s founder, Elie Habib, was very conscious of his demographic’s needs: consumers in the MENA region prefer mobile music that can be easily shared with friends, and so Anghami is only available on smartphones. Anghami is widely available on most smartphone platforms to cater to its clients’ varied phone plans.

Unlike Anghami, Deezer is available both on smartphones and through the web, but is more limited in terms of platform compatibility because its current, mostly European users have a smaller variety of phones.

Anghami is also conscious of its users’ interest in learning about new music through the app. To meet this need, Anghami has a personal DJ function that enables users to discover new music. Deezer has no such function. While currently in English, Anghami is reportedly working on an Arabic version to drive home its local focus. Currently, 75% of Anghami’s users’ phones are set in English, and 25% are in Arabic. Creating an Arabic language version would create a better sense of inclusion for 25% of users and may increase appeal amongst Arabic speakers around the region. Anghami is very MENA focused, and is only available in 15 countries. Habib points to this as one of their strong points: they are focused on a very niche group, and can better tailor the app to meet their needs and changing demands, unlike Deezer, which is now expanding for a more global reach.

The Customer is Always Right

In keeping with its regional focus, Anghami not only provides its users with access to international music, but has specific sections for Arabic music as well. Users with premium access can download songs from Anghami to their phones and listen when there is limited or no internet available. This is especially important for a region that does not have 100% internet coverage. For users in, say, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, being able to download music would be incredibly important.

Anghami’s premium service enables users to share downloaded music with friends on social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, and is ad free.

While Anghami boasts many intriguing aspects, Deezer’s global reach and larger consumer network has made it much more globally attractive. Not only does Deezer provide a similar new-music service, but the app tracks listening trends and personalizes playlists. Users with the premium app can opt to see the lyrics of their favorite songs in real-time, thus preventing the age-old embarrassment of belting out nonsense. Since Deezer is available across language barriers, this may be a very interesting feature for people whose first (or second) language is not English. Anghami has not specifically addressed this feature, but it seems as though it would be a good opportunity to incorporate into their Arabic language platform.

Welcoming The Big Fish Into A Not-So-Small Pond

Co-founders Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib did their due diligence before launching Anghami, securing deals with key regional and international labels. Several Arab artists have released their albums only through Anghami, making the appeal of new music even greater. Deezer has similar contracts with one major exception: Anghami has an exclusive three-year contract with Rotana, one of MENA’s biggest labels, for streaming in Lebanon, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Not only is Anghami strategically linked with important labels, but it is also working on partnerships with telecom companies. For a platform solely available on mobile networks, this is the key.

The question is whether users will move from Anghami to Deezer once their playlists and preferences have been set. Deezer has a much larger catalog of music (more than 40 million titles), but, as Habib points out, “most people only listen to 100,000 songs. What you really care about is the core catalog…by May or June we’ll have 5 or 6 million songs.” As demonstrated by their soon-to-be dual language platform that caters specifically to smartphone users, Anghami is focused on regional appeal, rather than the number of songs available.

Entry Power VS Staying Power

Habib has a very positive outlook for the future of Anghami in MENA, even after the arrival of Deezer. “We’re pretty excited to have Deezer coming in. It validates that we are in the right place at the right time. We’re looking forward to having a healthy competition. At the end of the day, the user benefits from it,” says Habib.

Anghami is shiny, new, and specifically designed for an Arab clientele; Deezer is nearly a decade old and has millions of followers from most regions of the world. Anghami’s website features popular Arab artists as well as internationally known musicians, and has photos that are likely a more accurate representation of their users. Perhaps Deezer has plans to use some of its $130 million commitment to design an Arab-friendly website as it expands into MENA, but Anghami’s specific design will, hopefully, give it a boost.

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Algerian telecom Djezzy sees path forward

5 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

Djezzy

A tax dispute behind it, Djezzy receives approval to expand its 3G network in the fast-growing mobile market.

Djezzy, a long-troubled Algerian telecom, says it is on a path to growth after receiving approval to upgrade its network to 3G nationwide.

The upgrade could put Djezzy on a par with rival companies Mobilis, which offers 3G coverage in all 48 of Algeria’s provinces, and Ooredoo, which offers 3G in 36 provinces.

Djezzy currently has more than 18 million subscribers, almost half the market, but it offers 3G coverage in only 30 provinces. The company, in which the Algerian government has a 51 percent stake, said it would extend service to the remaining provinces this year.

Tax dispute slows Djezzy growth

Algeria’s mobile market is booming. However, Djezzy’s growth has been slowed by a lengthy dispute over back taxes that culminated in the Algerian government’s purchase of a majority share in the company in 2014.

VimpelCom, owned by Telenor ASA of Norway and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, retained the remaining 49 percent of the Djezzy, and continued to operate Djezzy through their Optimum Telecom Algeria.

VimpelCom recently reaffirmed its commitment to the Algerian market.

Company will expand 3G nationwide in 2016

Vincenzo Nesci, executive chairman of Optimum Telecom Algeria, said in March that the company had received government authorization to deploy 3G services in all provinces of the country and would implement the expansion during the during the ‘first months’ of 2016.

The expansion follows a long period of crisis for the company.

The Algerian government barred Djezzy from importing SIM cards and other equipment starting in 2010 and the Algerian central bank blocked overseas transfers of funds – including paying dividends to the parent company – in a dispute over taxes Algeria said the company owed.

The government said Djezzy, at the time the country’s largest operator with 14 million subscribers, owed $600 million in back taxes.

Government buys share of company

Algerian regulatory hurdles also derailed a proposed sale of Djezzy to MTN, a telecom based in South Africa, for $7.8 billion.

Instead, the Algerian government bought a majority stake in Djezzy in 2014, in a deal that provided the parent company with $4 billion in cash and dividends after paying a fine of $1.3 billion to settle the Algerian tax claims.

Djezzy faces competition from two other major mobile network operators, Mobilis and Ooredoo, seeking to serve Algeria, which has a population of about 40 million.

Djezzy leads market, lags in 3G

According to an August 2015 report by Algeria’s Post and Telecommunications Authority, Djezzy leads in the total number of subscribers with 18.6 million, nearly half of the market. Mobilis has 13 million subscribers and Ooredoo has 11.7 million.

However, Mobilis leads in 3G subscribers, with 3.8 million, followed by Ooredoo with 3.4 million. Djezzy brings up the rear in 3G with only 1.25 million subscribers.

The regulatory agency said the market grew by 22.7 percent in 2014, compared to 2013. The total market generated revenues of about $3 billion in 2014, 8 percent higher than in 2013.

One study found that Algeria was one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the region along with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while the market was stagnant in Egypt, Kuwait and Israel.

Mobile revenue in the Middle East and North Africa was expected to grow from a total of $50.4 billion in 2013 to $59.1 billion in 2018. As more people consume information on their mobile devices, the study said primarily spending on handset data would drive growth.

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MIT in MENA: Bringing Arab Minds Together for Change

4 April 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

MIT brings MENA’s smartest minds together for a universally beneficial competition.

On April 14, the smartest technology-oriented minds from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will meet in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the third and final round of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab competition. Organized by the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this forum brings together innovative minds from 21 Arab countries to change the way we think, learn and access services.

In its 9th year, this competition brings together MENA’s smartest innovators in four tracks: ideas, social entrepreneurship, start-ups and The Silicon Valley Program. This year, more than 5,000 applications were received from 21 countries in French, English and Arabic. All finalist teams will receive top tier coaching from leaders in their respective fields; networking opportunities with budding and well-known specialists and the opportunity to learn from others in their category. The top three finalists will receive, in order, US$15,000, US$10,000 and US$5,000 to turn their ideas into tangible reality.

Ideas Track

20 teams are short-listed for the “ideas” track. In order to be eligible, candidates must form a team of at least two people including at least one Arab national; are not required to have a working prototype of their invention; are forbidden from having any current sales; and are not required to be registered or incorporated in any way, but are required to incorporate a company in one of the Arab countries in order to win prize money; applicants may not have received any previous funding for their idea; and the idea can be in any industry–technology, food security, health delivery or otherwise.

Since the goal of this competition is to bring fresh ideas into the global marketplace, much of the judging criteria for this track is based on the feasibility of an idea. Teams are judged on three criteria.

Experience: the value each member adds to the team and the relevance of each team member to the incubation and development of the idea

Innovation: the creativity of the idea and whether or not it improves upon an existing solution/business process or introduces a new solution to a current challenge in any field

Scalability: the relevance of the idea to the global marketplace is judged on whether markets outside of team’s community would find the product useful. At a minimum, teams are expected to be relevant on a national scale, and should be replicable on a global scale.

Social Entrepreneurship Track

The Social Entrepreneurship track is similarly judged for eligibility. Teams must have a minimum of two members with at least one Arab national, the team must have a registered social enterprise either for or non-profit, the core product/service must address a specific social challenge faced by marginalized/disadvantaged peoples, and the enterprise can be in any industry.

The 20 finalist teams are judged on similar criteria as above, but with different details.

Innovation: the product/service must provide a new way to tackle the specific social challenge the team is addressing

Scalability: the social enterprise should not be limited to a local market, but should be scalable to the national level at a minimum. Preferably, the model could be expanded and replicated as the enterprise grows, where relevant.

Social Impact: the team will be judged on the efficacy of the project, and the extent to which it benefits the targeted population

Financial Sustainability: the team must prove that their enterprise is financially sustainable in the long-term for both for-profit and non-profit enterprises

Startups Track

30 teams will be selected for the second and final round of the Startups Track competition. These teams must be comprised of a minimum of two members, one of whom must be Arab, must have a working prototype of their startup, must already generate more than $500,000 in revenue, must have been in operation for no more than 5 years, must be legally registered in any Arab country and the start-up may be in any industry.

The teams will be judged on the following:

Team: judges score teams based on their individual experience, the value added by each person and the relevance of each role

Innovation: the start-up will be assessed for creativity, and whether it replicates an existing product/service

Scalability: the start-up must be relevant outside of the local context and should be easily replicable in other relevant fields, regardless of location.

The Silicon Valley Program

Unlike the above tracks, the Silicon Valley Program competition will finish in September, when finalists receive a much more comprehensive and hands on package than the other finalists. The Silicon Valley Program brings entrepreneurs from 20 start-ups to Silicon Valley (in northern California, United States) for a week-long immersive program. Finalists will attend and participate in conferences and workshops with some of Silicon Valley’s most successful start-ups and learn how to successfully “pitch” ideas to funders. Mentors include current industry leaders as well as members of the Arab diaspora who are better able to speak to the specific challenges entrepreneurs from the MENA region face.

This program accepts a higher-level of start-up teams than the other tracks. Start-ups must have been in operation for more than two years, must have global or regional reach/presence, must have successfully completed one round of fundraising and must have more than $500,000 in revenue per annum.

The Rising Tide

Competitions like this provide an incredible opportunity for young, successful and intelligent people to gather and share ideas. Not only do they have the potential to receive funding to scale up their operations to the global level, but they receive invaluable exposure and mentorship opportunities. Previous winners include Visualizing Impact, a Lebanese social enterprise that operates a citizen data laboratory to share science, design and technology data for social justice outside of formal channels; Kotobna, an Egyptian team that provides alternate means for young Arab authors to publish and monetize their written work and Screen DY, a Moroccan team that created a platform for users to quickly build complex, culturally relevant apps for all mobile technology platforms.

This competition is an important hallmark for young Arab entrepreneurs. Benefitting from the experience of others while gaining exposure to other like-minded people can invaluably change the way people in the MENA region and beyond access knowledge, share information and obtain products.

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Iran’s video-gaming industry poised for action

2 April 2016 Comments (1) Business, Featured, Middle East

garshasp

With international sanctions lifted, a burgeoning industry looks beyond its domestic market of 20 million gamers.

Iran, known mostly in the West for its grim political and religious restrictions, has a   burgeoning video game industry that is poised for growth as international sanctions are lifted in the wake of the international nuclear deal with Iran.

Iran has about 20 million video gamers, which represents about a quarter of the total population, according to the Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation. It’s notable that 60 percent of Iran’s population of 80 million is under 30 years of age.

With more than 38 million Internet users, more than half of them gamers, Iran “is the largest growing video games market in the Middle East,” the foundation said.

Games feature missile strikes

Iran’s video game industry is best known in the West for propaganda-driven warfare games such as Missile Strike, a 2015 release in which the Iranians break through Israel’s air defense system and launch missile strikes on Israeli targets, and Attack on Tel-Aviv, a 2011 release that simulates an Iranian military mission to the Israeli capital.

Iranian developers have said they created these games in response to a Battlefield 3, a game that simulates an invasion by United States forces in Tehran to search for the leader of a terrorist group and to look for nuclear weapons. Battlefield 3 was developed in Sweden and published in California.

“The reason we explicitly depict an attack on Israel is that they too are explicitly depicting attacks (on Tehran) in Battlefield,’’ Missile Strike developer Mehdi Atash Jaam said.

Popular games draw on Iranian mythology

Such militaristic games attract funding from conservative elements in the country. However, by many accounts, the most popular video games in Iran draw on the country’s rich history and culture rather than its contemporary international posturing.

For example, the popular Garshasp: The Monster Slayer, is drawn from Persian mythology. In Garshasp, released in 2010, the mythical hero with a hand blade fights in a series of epic battles against the evil Deevs who are trying to create an empire.

The game, created at a cost of $400,000 has sold more than 300,000 copies domestically.

A highly acclaimed 2014 release, Parvaneh: Legacy of the Light’s Guardians, features indigenous Iranian culture and promotes an Islamic lifestyle. It sold 85,000 copies in its initial release.

Most gamers are under 24

Iran video gamesClearly, there is an appetite for video games in Iran, especially among young people who make up such a large share of the total population. A survey by Techcrunch found that 67 percent of video gamers on mobile devices were under 24 and 80 percent were unmarried. Two-thirds play mobile games several times a day with the highest interest in action and strategy games followed by sports, racing and puzzles.

Since video game production began in Iran almost a decade ago, nearly 100 game studios have been established.

However, international sanctions have hurt Iran’s fledgling video gaming industry.

Developers have been unable to license their work and have limited ability to market it internationally.

Pirated games undermine domestic developers

While their games are relatively inexpensive, less than $10, the Iranian developers are often undercut by pirated versions of Western-produced games that have better production values yet cost only a few dollars.

When the prices are similar for one product developed by dozens of people at a cost of millions of dollars while another is developed at much lower cost by a small Iranian studio, “this makes for unfair competition,” said Mehrdad Ashtiani, production deputy at Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation.

Foundation provides funding and support

The foundation was established in 2007 with a gold of fostering the video game industry by providing funds and helping developers navigate government censorship restrictions.

Games such as Garshasp might not have been made but for foundation assistance.

The foundation also established a system for rating content and age appropriateness of digital content, including video games.

In January, the Iranian video game industry got some good news. United States and European officials lifted some of the harsher economic sanctions, which should open Iran to more investment from technology companies and video game publishers.

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African Super Sunday: 5 votes in 5 countries

1 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

March 20th marked a large shift in African politics, as 5 countries on the continent voted on key issues.

Citizens of Benin, Niger, Cape Verde, Zanzibar, Senegal, and The Republic of Congo all had the chance to head to the polls last weekend. While some results were as expected, some showed progress towards improved electoral processes.

In Benin, a presidential run-off took place between Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou, and businessman Patrice Talon. Both were seeking to replace the incumbent President Yayi Boni, whose second term in office ends on April 6th. Events progressed well from the first round of the campaign in which there were 33 candidates. Benin has shown great progress in electoral process, and was the first country in sub-Saharan African to transition to a multi-party democracy. After the polls, Lionel Zinsou conceded defeat to Patrice Talon. The victory of the businessman shows a push for change in how the people of Benin wish to be governed.

Denis Sassou Nguesso was elected to his third term in office

In the Republic of Congo, Presidential elections were held under the new constitution which removed both age and term limits for those serving as President. Before the polls, opposition parties had denounced the lack of transparency in the electoral process. Adding to the irregularity, the country experienced a government-initiated communications blackout during the voting. The official statement was in order to avoid illegal leaking of election results. As predicted, the incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso was elected to his third term in office. President Nguesso has already served in office for over 30 years.

In Niger, a Presidential run-off took place between the incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou, and Hama Amadou. Tensions were high before the run-off with the opposition party rejecting the results before the election was even held, and the COPA withdrawing from the campaign stating a lack of transparency in the process. Hama Amadou was arrested earlier in the year on charges of baby trafficking, and had been flown to France recently for medical treatment as it was stated that his health rapidly deteriorated while in prison. President Mahamadou took more than 92 percent of the vote.

Zanzibar was set for a re-run of its elections which were held in October 2015. At the time the Civic United Front claimed victory even before the results had come out, however the election was invalidated by Jecha Salim Jecha (the president of the local Electoral Commission) due to what was claimed as massive fraud. The Civic United Front however, claimed that this was a ploy by Chama Cha Mapinduzi to deny it victory. For these reasons, the main opposition party decided to boycott the elections only 2 days before the polls were held. The incumbent President Ali Mohamed Shein of Chama Cha Mapinduzi was re-elected.

Senegal: Yes or No referendum

In Senegal, voters were called to vote on a yes or no referendum. Among the issues the referendum addressed was reducing the term limit for presidential office from seven years to five years. This was seen as a bold move by President Macky Sall, as other African leaders seek to find ways to extend their term limits. The referendum would also afford official recognition to the opposition leader in the constitution, local councils would be give more power, and new rights would be afforded to citizens regarding the environment and land ownership.

Meanwhile on Cape Verde, parliamentary elections were held which saw the Movement for Democracy win an absolute majority. They will replace the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde which had been in the majority for over 15 years.

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Development bank: ‘High 5’s’ will drive African economic growth

31 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Powering and industrializing the economy of Africa are among key priorities outlined in March by the new head of the African Development Bank.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the bank since September, told about 500 business leaders from 43 countries at the fourth Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan that the continent will rely on private investment as it seeks to advance on “the value chain” from being a source of raw materials to becoming a manufacturing economy.

Adesina said the African Development Bank will focus on five key priorities as it seeks to improve the business climate and quality of life on the continent.

The priorities, which Adesina dubbed the “High 5’s,” are:

  1. Light up and power Africa

This priority is critical to the development of a manufacturing economy, the bank president said.

He noted that more than 645 million Africans do not electricity while energy bottlenecks power shortages cost Africa about two to four percent of gross national product each year, undermining economic growth and job creation.

He said the African Development Bank has launched a program New Deal on Energy for Africa that has investment commitments of $12 billion over the next five years, in addition to public and private partnerships worth about $50 billion.

  1. Feed Africa

With two-thirds of the world’s uncultivated arable land and more than 60 percent of its population involved in agriculture, Africa could become a powerhouse in providing food to the world, Adesina said.

Nevertheless, many on the continent suffer from malnutrition and African nations are forced to import food at a high cost, some $35 billion annually.

Adesina said African leaders must change their strategy from thinking about agriculture as a way of managing poverty to treating it like a business to generate wealth and diversify economies.

  1. Industrialize Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, manufacturing accounts for only 11 percent of economic output on the continent and less than two percent of global output.

However, without infrastructure, power, and a supportive business environment, Africa will continue to import manufactured goods that might otherwise be made in Africa, Adesina said.

  1. Integrate Africa

Adesina said the fragmentation of African economies is holding back progress and integration will be critical to driving industrialization.

He called on African governments to implement regional and inter-regional agreements that would remove barriers to integration.

He said the African Development Bank would continue to invest in regional infrastructure and work with regional partners to facilitate integration of trade and transport.

  1. Improve the quality of life for Africans

Adesina said the bank will accelerate its investments in vocational training and education to help drive economic development.

The centerpiece of this effort is the “Jobs for Africa’s Youth Initiative,” a partnership of the development bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union.

Adesina said the goal of the initiative goal is to reach 50 million young people and create 25 million jobs in the coming decade, to enable young Africans to “realize their economic potential through business incubation and financing.”

Private sector critical to growth

He said the private sector, which accounts for 90 percent of African jobs, must play a major role in the youth education initiative and in the overall development of the economy.

The private sector, he said, accounts for 90 percent of employment on the continent, 80 percent of production and two-third of investments.

He said the bank’s effort to support private enterprise includes investment in private projects. In 2015, the development bank approved private sector projects at a cost of $2.4 million out of a total of $9 billion.

Adesina said the continent is poised for growth in spite of challenges to the global economy and, in Africa, declines in commodity prices and in demand from China.

He said economic growth on the continent will outpace global growth. The global economy is projected to grow by three percent in 2016 while the predicted growth rate for Africa is 4.4 percent this year and five percent in 2017, he said.

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