This workshop was organized by MENAinc in cooperation with ASTF (Arab Science and Technology Foundation). The third MENAinc Board Meeting was held at this workshop to discuss and plan future activities of the MENAinc network, with a special focus on financing start-up firms, university and technology based entrepreneurship, and experience with rural business and women incubation.

Working groups were held on the following topics - conclusions and action plans from these working groups can be read from the attached document.

• Technology Commercialization (Facilitator: Laith Kassis)
• University Based Incubation Entrepreneurship based on Technology and Innovation (Facilitators: Uwe Seidel & Amjed Al-Faroum)
• Financing Incubators and Start-Up Companies (Facilitator: Dr. Wissam Rabadi)
• Building National Networks (Facilitator: Ilyas Azzioui)
• Cross Network Cooperation (Facilitator: Sophia Muradyan)
• Rural Business Incubation (Facilitator: Ola Al haj Hussin)

The 6th MENAinc workshop was held under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Abdullah Al-Dardari, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. In his opening speech, Mr. Al-Dardari emphasized the importance of innovation in the quantitative growth of any economy, especially economies in the transient phase like the Syrian economy. He also directed the attention to the variation of subjects on the agenda of this workshop, and the richness of subjects tackled, especially micro financing and venture capital and the important role that financing plays for stimulating the creation and growth of SMEs.  

The aim of the workshop was to exchange knowledge, experience, and ideas regarding the role of incubators in the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship and their impact on emerging economies. This event was divided in two main parts:

• Open forum for anyone interested with presentations and discussions that aimed at raising awareness about the impact of technology commercialization and university based entrepreneurship, the Syrian experience in incubation programs, women incubation and rural area development programs, micro financing programs, and the synergies between venture capitals and incubators in the MENA region
• Working groups for discussing the above mentioned topics and agreeing on plans for concrete activities in these areas.

Highlights - Day One

• In the conference opening keynote session, Dr. Rakan Razouk, Chairman of the Syrian Computer Society, emphasized the importance of such an event to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the society, and to draw attention to the importance of technology commercialization and university based entrepreneurship. The Keynote presentation by Ms. Ellen Olafsen, infoDev program administrator, was titled "The Global Experience in Business Incubation", highlighting the objectives and mission of the infoDev program, and the impact this program has achieved on the societies where grants have been offered. She described the role of business incubators on the economies of developing countries, and on the creation and nurturing of SMEs in different societies. Mr. Omer Oz, the coordinator of the MENAinc network presented the growth of this network since its birth two years ago, and the role of the programs launched to share the knowledge and know-how between the incubator managers in this network.
• The first session titled "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy Frameworks" included presentations from Syria, Iran, Turkey, Tunisia, and Jordan: the experience of the incubator of SEBC (Syrian Enterprise and Business Center) and the Syrian policies and frameworks concerning innovation and entrepreneurship, comparing these policies and frameworks with the ideal standards; a survey about innovation and entrepreneurship support in Turkey; the  Jordanian System for Promotion of Innovative Entrepreneurship; the Innovation and Entrepreneurship support system in Tunisia; the Iranian experience regarding the importance of frameworks and regulations that rule the establishment of business incubators in Iran.
• The second session "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support in Syria", provided an overview of the organizations involved in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship development in Syria: the activities of the SHABAB program (Trust for Development) to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit among the Syrian youth; the experience of JCI in promoting entrepreneurship in Syria;  an overview of the experience of MAWRED in the domain of Women Business Incubation, especially the importance of women incubation in developing societies; insights into rural area development programs with the experience of FIRDOS Village business incubator; and the experience of The Village incubator of  Harran Al-Awameed, supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
• The third session "Financing Incubators and Young Enterprises" covered different financing schemes for SMEs, for example the micro financing program supported by the committee of SME development in the Syrian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The role of NGOs to finance startups was presented through BIDAYA, a Syrian NGO that offers micro financing programs for startups, accompanied with business mentoring and coaching; the experience of IV Holdings, a Jordanian venture capital was presented by the fund and one of the companies that received invesment from the fund. Furthermore, the activities led by ASTF (Arab Science and Technology Foundation) to finance startup companies in the field of technology in the Arab world was presented by Dr. Wissam Rabadi, Investing in Technology Program Manager of ASTF.

Highlights - Day Two

The second day included two main sessions: a round table on Incubation and Venture Capital: Synergies and Challenges and a session on Technology Commercialization, and University Based Entrepreneurship.

The roundtable session examined relations between business incubators and venture capitalists and the extent to which business incubators and venture capitalists collaborate. The objective of this session was to improve the understanding of the factors influencing the relationship between business incubators and venture capitalists. In addition, by bringing together incubator managers and venture capitalists, the session will contribute to developing a better understanding and improve communication and links between VCs and Incubator Managers in the region. The incubator manager can play a vital role in providing higher visibility of procedures, practices and names of venture capitalists, as well as creating more opportunities to foster relationships between the VC and the incubated entrepreneur.

SANAD Venture Capital from Jordan presented an overview of businesses that the VC fund invested in and discussed the role the VC firm plays in the economic development of the country and in helping entrepreneurs succeed. The presentation also included a list of common weaknesses that hinder the regional progress including: Slow pace of reform in the countries’ education systems, inadequate public awareness of science and technology and insufficient degree of preparedness for knowledge activity, risk-averse approach to investment with regards to venture capital and technology financing, and the lack of regional coordination of investments and scientific efforts.

Other presentations focused on the role of enterprenures and VC as a main pillar at the macroeconomic level, as well as technology financing and the role of incubators in fostering innovation and creating viable companies,  different financing methods (public funding, Friends and Family, business angels and VCs), and good practices the entrepreneur must follow to improve his or her chances for a successful high growth enterprise. Rima Shaban, ITC Incubator Director of SCS (Syrian Computer Society), Syria, gave a presentation about the experience of the ITC Incubator in Syria, and its various methods of financing including: government small loans, micro-loans and non-government programs. She also discussed the particular challenges that start-up entrepreneurs in ICTs are facing, including lack of business maturity, lack of trust in business people and lack of proper legislation to protect IP rights. Mr. Ilyas Azzioui, RFME, Morocco presented the Morocco Incubation & Spin-off Network, which is a public private partnership that works in the fields of Research, Technology Transfer, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He described the challenges facing RFME in Morocco and presented opportunities for entrepreneurship in Morocco.

The last conference session on Technology Commercialization and University Based Entrepreneurship presented the possibilities for using technologies developed in universities and other research facilities as a source for new business ideas. Ways for bringing technology businesses together with potential investors was also discussed in this session. Dr. Assef Diab, head of the higher committee of scientific research, gave a brief overview about the status of technology commercialization in Syria. The experience of the ICT Incubator at Syrian Computer Society was highlighted in particular by presenting the synergy it has with Damascus university. Mr. Uwe Seidel presented Germany's experience in the domain of university based entrepreneurship, and summarized the experience of the EXIST program presented by VDI/VDE – IT. Mr. Ahmad Gdoura from MEDIBTIKAR presented the Initiative of MEDIBTIKAR to Develop Technology Partnership / Transfer and Commercialization, in the MEDA countries. Dr. Ahmed Shawky Moussa, Director of the Incubation Management Unit at the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) of the Ministry of ICT (MCIT), gave an overview about “The R&D Centers of Excellence and  Incubation Programs” in Egypt.

The 6th MENAinc Workshop concluded with the launching of the Syrian Network of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Most of the NGOs working in the domain of innovation and entrepreneurship programs have joined this network, in addition to various government organizations who support and back up programs in this domain.

For further information about MENAinc activities, please visit the iDISC MENAinc pages or contact infoDev's Regional Facilitator for Middle East and North Africa at heinz(at)spice-group.de.