Major telecom operator Umniah recently signed a partnership agreement with Oasis500, the MENA region’s premier early stage and seed Investment Company. Under the agreement, Umniah will support both idea-stage entrepreneurs and established startups participating in the 7th wave of Oasis500′s Start-Up Boot Camp. Umniah aims to assist participants in establishing their own projects within the ICT, mobile and digital media fields.
Commenting on the occasion, Umniah CEO Ihab Hinnawi said that he is pleased at partnering with Oasis500: “We feel that it is our responsibility to support ambitious and creative young Jordanians. We also firmly believe that investing in telecom-related start-ups will help establish a knowledge-based economy in Jordan and will aid us in making telecom technologies available to all members of the Jordanian community”, he added.
In turn, Dr. Usama Fayyad, Executive Chairman of Oasis500 and former Executive Vice President of Yahoo! Inc., thanked Umniah for supporting Oasis500, saying, “The invaluable role that Umniah play in helping start-ups expand their operations and reach their goals is a promising indicator of the maturity of the Jordanian business sector, which is a hotbed for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship”.
“Our training boot camps are very popular among Jordanian entrepreneurs, whose ideas we endeavor to incubate and transform into viable projects. Through our six previous boot camps, we provided training and guidance to over 200 participants and incubated more than 23 start-ups that have joined our Angel Network and have successfully managed to raise their initial valuation by three to eight times in only three months. During the 7th wave of the Oasis500 Boot Camp, we are committed to providing entrepreneurs with high-level training and mentorship, enabling them to market their ideas and attract potential investors, thus achieving their goals. The 7th wave of the Boot Camp will commence on 24th September, 2011, marking Oasis500′s second year since the launch of its operations in 2010″, Dr. Fayyad added.
Umniah‘s keenness to belong and sponsor innovative initiatives stems from its ongoing interest in broadening its partnerships with local organizations, and is in line with its CSR programs.
Oasis500 is the first development and investment company of its kind in the MENA region. It aims to support entrepreneurs by providing them with funding and training in an effort to accelerate the transformation of business ideas into start-up companies in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), mobile and digital media. Oasis500 aims at accelerating the launch of 500 start-up companies within the next five years, which is in itself an incentive for aspiring entrepreneurs and creates job opportunities within the fastest growing sectors in the world.
