Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and Philips Middle East Announce Winners of ‘Research Innovation Programme’  

Dubai-UAE: 23 August, 2009 - The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and Philips Middle East today announced the winners of the ‘Philips Innovation Programme’, the leading platform for encouraging innovation in the region. 

Two teams of innovators were selected as the inaugural winners of the competition, AbdelKareem Bedri and Mohamed Shagar (Sudan) representing group 1 and Sharbel Maroun (Lebanon) representing group 2. The winners were elected through a panel of judges that comprised representatives from Philips Middle East, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, and Berytech Technological Pole of Beirut in Lebanon.

The three entrepreneurs, who are the first to be selected since the launch of the programme, will be given the opportunity to spend an all expense paid six-month internship at Philips’ high-tech research and development campus to execute their business case from concept to development. The winners will also be given access to venture capitalists with a view to ultimately creating viable businesses. One of the main conditions of the programme is that the concepts must be executed in the Arab world, thereby creating employment opportunities within the region.

Sultan Lootah, Vice-President, Entrepreneurship and Employment Sector, said: “Developing entrepreneurship is extremely important to the Arab world. There is a large unexploited potential within the region’s youth that we, as socially responsible organizations, should help foster. We believe the world needs leaders who create solutions to problems being faced by us, and entrepreneurship is one of the key areas of leadership and social transformation.”

Louis Hakim, Vice President of Royal Philips Electronics and CEO of Philips Middle East, added: “We share a similar vision with the Foundation to assist young entrepreneurs become future business leaders in their communities. Our endeavor will eventually result in the creation of new employment opportunities and add value to the economic development of the region.”

Launched in February 2009, the ‘Philips Innovation Programme’ aims to promote entrepreneurship in the Arab world and contribute to future sustainable economic growth through fostering the creation of new employment opportunities.

As part of the ongoing programme, Philips Middle East and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation will jointly offer access to sophisticated technology facilities and cultivate innovative concepts from the Arab world while providing access to facilities and technical assistance of their local incubator partner, Berytech.