Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), a UAE based, independent, non-governmental and non-profit organisation established to promote the development of science, technology and entrepreneurship in the Arab world, announced today (15 March, 2005) at a press conference in Kuwait that it is organising the “Fourth International Forum on Investing in Technology”. The forum will be held in Kuwait City from April 10th – 11th 2006 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of Kuwait.
The biennial forum aims to engage the fledgling Arab Venture Capital (VC) industry in the region's economic and technological development. This fourth forum titled “Developing an Arab Venture Capital Industry” also seeks to establish a network between technology leaders, corporations, investors, VC funds, and other financial institutions to stimulate further investment in new technologies in the region. In addition, the winners of the "Arab Technology Business Plan Competition", instituted by the ASTF, will also be announced at the two-day event. The significance of this competition lies in the fact that it is the first competition of its kind on a pan-Arab level.
Commenting on the technology investment forum, Dr. Abdalla Abdulaziz Alnajjar, President, ASTF, said, “Venture capital plays a key role in technology entrepreneurship. The region is diversifying at a rapid pace, highlighting the need for developing alternative streams of growth for economic development. The capital inflows into the region are at an all time high and the role of the forum is to identify and address the strategic need of investing in new companies in fields such as information technology, communication, transportation, biotechnology, medical instrumentation, engineering, and oil and gas services.”
The forum will be attended by an exclusive audience composed of VC funds, private equity funds, investment banks, leading technology corporations, individual investors and businessmen, incubators and technology parks and technology leaders from the Arab region. The forum will also accord CEOs and founders of about 20 start-up companies in the region, the chance to present the achievements of their organizations and to seek investment opportunities.
“The importance of the forum lies in the implementation of the new approach in the Arab world that aims at encouraging investors and businessmen to provide finance for the technology start-ups and projects, and establishing other funds like ‘Arab Technology Ventures Seed Capital Fund’, one of ASTF's recent initiatives” said Alnajjar. “The experience of other countries has shown great economic improvement in the last few decades, which means that the only way to improve is through investing in technology and the active involvement of the private sector to implement these projects.”
The forum is co-sponsored by the National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC), Abdul Latif Jameel Co Ltd (ALJ), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
ASTF was formed in 2000 as an initiative by 400 Arab scientists and the support of the Ruler of Sharjah, H.H. Sheikh Sultan Al Qassimi. ASTF's mission is to promote science and technology in the Arab world, and today it boasts a network of more than 3000 scientists residing in Middle East, Europe and USA, and working in a wide spectrum of disciplines. As a result of its dedicated efforts, ASTF has been acknowledged as an international and regional development organization -- like UNESCO, UNDP, TWAS, KFAS, KACST, and others -- as a driving force in bridging the technology gap in the region.
ASTF programs include, among other things, a wide array of activities to encourage more investments in technology. It supports technology startups through strategic, financial, and marketing advice and by seeking for them financial and strategic partners. It also organizes the "Investing in Technology Forum", which is held twice a year in different cities around the Arab world. ASTF also supports various initiatives to set up venture capital funds focused on the Arab world, and assists large Arab corporations to expand their technological capabilities.
Over the past few years, ASTF has had several successes in providing funding for projects in IT, communication, water desalination, engineering, and pharmaceuticals. It has always outlined to investors the high returns realized from technology investments, which may exceed 50% per year. It minimizes the investor's risk by conducting extensive technical and financial feasibility for the projects it sponsors, and supports investors in overcoming financial, managerial, and technical problems through its international network of members.
