Egyptian “AStarApps” has been selected as one of the semi-finalist teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Start-Up Competition for the Start-up Track

AStarApps is a crowd sourcing platform for the beta testing of mobile applications, where early adopters, testers and app developers can meet and contribute to the amelioration of the latest apps.

Lebanese “SHARED” has been selected as one of the semi-finalist teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Start-Up Competition for the Start-up Track

Mohamed Watfa a computer science professor and his team are on a mission to revolutionize the classrooms of today through the use of a patented technology that shares a single laptop between as many students as possible. Mohamed Watfa the mind behind “SHARED” spoke to us about the inspiration behind his project and what encouraged him to apply to the competition.

Tunisian “Famissima” has been selected as one of the semi-finalist teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Ideas Track

Idea Inspiration

Moroccan “Markoub” has been selected as one of the semi-finalist teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Ideas Track

Five months ago Mounia Dimane and Zakaria AlKabbab  founded their company “Malayca”. Malayca is a Moroccan startup focused on developing innovative technological projects, training and consulting in new technologies such as web 2.0 and digital marketing. Today the company is developing a new idea called Markoub. Markoub is a multi-service community network combining innovative solutions for Passenger and Goods.

Jordanian “Madfoo3atCom” has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Start-up Track

After 16 years of working in the technology and business industry Nasser Saleh had had enough and was ready to venture into the entrepreneurial world and start his own business. The father of four was taking one of the biggest risks in his life but something inside of him said that “it was time to make the move” he says.

This column is part two of the Seeqnce start of year series on Entrepreneurship in Lebanon. In this column, we look back at some startup stories of 2012.

2012 was a difficult year for Lebanon’s entrepreneurs. On the one hand there was a steady buildup and growth in the sector in the preceding years and the sector seemed poised to leap forward. Yet socio-politically, it was a difficult year. Strikes, demonstrations and road closures were the backdrop to increasing political tensions, and the Syrian crisis weighed heavily on the country.

Egyptian “Integreight” has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Start-up Track.

When Amr Saleh an electronics and communication engineering student graduated from university the only thing he could think about was the amount of time he and his friends had spent in the electronics lab completing tasks that took so much time and gave little results.

Jordanian Taqetna has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Start-up Track

In 2010 the cost of Jordan’s imports of energy was estimated to be U.S.$3.6 billion which is equivalent to 13.5 % of the country’s GDP.

Saudi “Touching Care” has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Start-up Track.

When Rawad Sheikh Al Shabab’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease she realized how challenging it is to be a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient. With time Rawad and her family felt that they lacked both emotional and social support and as the disease progressed so did the amount of time that they spent taking care of their loved one.

Jordanian Dancing Pillow has been selected as one of the semi-finalists teams for this year’s MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region Startup Competition for the Start-up Track.

When Anwar Almojarkesh, an electrical engineering student, struggled to wake up to attend his classes each day he decided to throw away his alarm clock and replace it with his own invention, a vibrating pillow. Almojarkesh's passion for electronics started at the age of 14 when he received his first patent and began working on various inventions which he still uses today.