Celebration of Entrepreneurship starts November 8

More than 1,500 entrepreneurs, innovators, business leaders, finance providers and creative professionals from across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region and beyond are expected to gather in Dubai starting tomorrow (November 8, 2010) for a “Celebration of Entrepreneurship.”

This two-day event, which will take place on November 8-9, 2010, at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference Centre in Dubai, UAE, is being hosted and organised by Abraaj Capital, the region’s biggest private equity firm.

The Celebration programme will feature workshops and inspirational talks by more than 200 high-profile speakers from across the region and beyond; comprising 45% from the GCC, 37% from the rest of the MENASA region and 18% from the rest of the world.

In addition, one-on-one mentoring sessions will be conducted with regional and international entrepreneurs and angel financiers, offering budding start-ups the opportunity to access both experience and capital, both essentials for successful business growth.

Attendees at this event will also have the opportunity to interact with policy-makers, institutions, finance providers and professional service providers. They will also have access to the ‘Spot-me’ interactive mobile device that will customise and enhance their experience.

More than 60 knowledge partners from a wide range of businesses and organisations are mobilising their resources to share their expertise at the event and help the entrepreneurial movement in the region gain momentum.

These include educational institutions, like CERT in Abu Dhabi and the American University of Beirut; global multinationals, such as Allen & Overy, Intel and Cisco and local organisations such as Khalifa Fund and Mohamad Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development.

A number of announcements are expected to be made at the Celebration, including the formal launch of Riyada Enterprise Development (RED), a $500m investment platform exclusively dedicated to supporting SMEs across the region.

The firm will also unveil Wamda, a comprehensive interactive online portal dedicated to the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The site will allow entrepreneurs, innovators, mentors and other stakeholders come together to facilitate entrepreneurship in the MENASA region.