Dubai, UAE – 7^th August, 2008: The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Philips, one of the largest global diversified industrial companies and a global leader across its Healthcare, Lighting and Consumer Lifestyle portfolio, to support and develop innovation and entrepreneurship across the Arab world.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Rima Khalaf, CEO of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, and Louis Hakim, Vice President of Royal Philips and CEO of Philips Middle East.

The agreement is in line with the Foundation’s efforts to build a regional network for Arab entrepreneurs. Under the agreement, the Foundation and Philips will jointly explore and source viable business projects from universities and incubators across the Arab region. The initiative will be executed by both parties in collaboration with select partner institutions across the region. 

During its first year, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and Philips will identify three Arab countries and focus on stimulating their indigenous talent and young entrepreneurs to develop winning business concepts. In the next phase, the cooperation will be expanded to cover all the Arab league member countries and will aim to connect regional universities with their European and international counterparts, while offering necessary support to develop a curriculum promoting research and innovation.

Dr. Rima Khalaf, CEO of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, said: “Philips has a proven record of remarkable achievements in fostering entrepreneurial spirit even among its own employees. We are glad to join hands with such a leading company in promoting entrepreneurial businesses across the region. Our partnership with Philips is in line with the Foundation’s priority to build a network of key stakeholders comprising major corporations, NGOs, associations, and education institutions across the Arab world for the purpose of encouraging and supporting Arab entrepreneurs.”

The MoU mandates Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and Philips to jointly mobilise resources required for achieving the fruition of the best business concepts. Mentoring on sound business planning and the legal protection of selected concepts will be provided to the winning concepts that will be hosted at Philips or any of its affiliate companies research and development sites.

Dr. Khalaf added: “Entrepreneurship has become instrumental to the economic development in both the developed and developing world. Aware of its potential to enhance youth opportunities, the Foundation aims to spotlight the role of entrepreneurship as a new window of hope for tackling the overwhelming issue of unemployment. Entrepreneurship is a key path to unleash the untapped potential of the Arab youth and ensure their contribution to the sustainable development of their respective countries.”

Louis Hakim, Vice President of Royal Philips and CEO of Philips Middle East said: “By joining forces with industrial, academic partners and foundations, we speed up innovation of new concepts which lead to a faster time-to-market for products that improve people’s lives. We call this Open Innovation. Philips is a leader in exploring Open Innovation to enhance the efficiency and success of its research and development.  Our employees touch the lives of millions of people across the globe every day, by enabling Philips to deliver meaningful technological innovations – products and technologies – around the world. Our mission at Philips is improving the quality of people’s lives with the timely introduction of meaningful innovations. We use our expertise to help combat global challenges – energy efficiency and healthcare – by offering business solutions in all markets that reduce our ecological footprint and enhance social equity.”

As part of its role in the agreement, the Foundation will provide Philips and the selected innovators access to its regional network of academic institutions, incubators, entrepreneurs, and potential funding vehicles.