As the lack of access to finance remains the main obstacle for innovative companies in the MENA region, THE NEXT SOCIETY, through EBAN and BANC, introduced the 1st Investment Academy, a special 16-hour coaching event on “Preparing for due Diligence” on October 3rd-4th 2019 in Barcelona. The event took place on the premises of Foment del Treball in central Barcelona. And along with the participating startups, the Flow team has attended the event as part of the continuous capacity building and in aligning with the promotional partnership between Flow and the Next Society.
Flow has kicked off its Youth Led Growth initiative with MedTech Bootcamps in Ramallah on September 21st and continued in the following weeks in Nablus and Bethlehem. Professionals in the medicine industry, students and interested youth joined the bootcamps to learn more about entrepreneurship and its implication in their work.
The initiative aims to bridge the gap between traditional methods of creating a business and creative startup innovations, thus the bootcamp’s structure included Unlocking entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, the rationale behind some aspects of a startup business, and addressing the different types of MedTech companies, Insights on MedTech startups and an ideation workshop.
In a very fruitful experience, Flow has engaged in providing intended advisory support in the first of its kind event in Palestine – the International Conference on Entrepreneurship (ICEP). The team has advised on best practices and implementation, speakers’ recruitment, the flowing agenda and others. ICEP was organized by the Global Shapers Hubs in Palestine and in partnership with the Ministry of Entrepreneurship & Empowerment and in cooperation with Hubert Burda Media in Germany. The conference provided the opportunity for Palestinian entrepreneurs, startup companies, technology companies and business entities from finance to technology to network with 200 high powered CEOs of Technology Companies,
In collaboration with Gaza Sky Geeks, fifty MBA students from London Business School with professional experience across a multitude of sectors has visited Flow and Yamsafer and got engaged in different activities to learn more about the Startup environment and support entrepreneurs. With 20 diverse nationalities, cultures and experiences, the MBAs students got introduced to Flow and GSG business models and participated in rotation basis discussions with both entrepreneurs and key players in the Palestinian entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Eight directors from different global offices of Google has visited Flow to hear more about the Palestinian Startup Ecosystem and its challenges. In the delegation’s quest which was organized by Leaders’ Quest Organization, Flow team shared their mindset and conceptualization of entrepreneurship though a stimulating and inspiring discussion with high-end experts in the field.
With a common aim to mobilize investments and create employment opportunities in the West Bank and Gaza, Flow has signed an agreement with Finance for Jobs, a World Bank funded project, during a ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Finance. This cooperation aims to financially support startups in business development aspects and ultimately encourage the development of a mature Palestinian startup ecosystem.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation coordinated a visit for Rainer Mathheisen, a German politician and a member of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Being the parliament’s innovation spokesperson, Mr. Mathheisen’s visit focused on entrepreneurship in Palestine, its challenges, related regulations and public policies and most importantly identifying potential avenues of support and cooperation.
In an attempt to exhibit entrepreneurial initiatives in Palestine and present the challenges facing them, Flow hosted a KAS delegation from Germany along with Gaza Sky Geeks and Build Palestine who helped portray the successes and challenges of these Palestinian entrepreneurs.
From running a 20-million-dollar company, founding three startups, working at a Fortune 500 company, to mentoring and coaching startups across the globe; Chistian Vezjak, a serial Dutch entrepreneur, was invited to meet with many startups from the community to provide constructive feedback and guidance on the business strategy aspect of their work.
Palestinian businessman and angel investor, Mr. Zahi Khoury, visited Flow to meet promising entrepreneurs, learn about their innovative work and ideas and discuss ways of support.
Flow welcomed to its offices Eng. Usama Sadawi, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment. The team shared a closer look at the work done to support Palestinian startups and has opened up the opportunity for startups to share their ideas, visions, achievements and challenges.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Jerusalem is happy to announce the new cooperation agreement with Flow Accelerator in Ramallah under the project title “Youth led-Growth” which provides Palestinian entrepreneurs with a one stop shop to develop their skills, resources and networks needed to shape a sustainable startup ecosystem in Palestine.
In the six-month timeframe, the project aims to spread awareness among professional and experienced unemployed youth in the West Bank in a series of events held in the north, center and south. Joint efforts and partnerships will help maximize the impact that will introduce new themes and methods related to the untapped sectors previously mentioned.
