A workshop hosted at NYU AD exploring women in computing in the arab world. The challenges & opportunities.

1. a vision
Women Entrepreneurship in the Arab Word
March 4 2012
rama chakaki
rama@baraka.ae
Sunday, March 4, 12

2. A personal account
• Fundraising
• USA
• Keybridge - $60 Million
3 weeks (VC)
• MENA Fundraising
• zeedna - $500,000
3 years (F&F)
Sunday, March 4, 12

3. Tech Venture Landscape
• consumer internet & mobile apps
• OTHER
• infrastructure
• software
• hardware
• services
Sunday, March 4, 12

4. connect.communicate.collaborate
CONSUMER INTERNET: eCommerce & Augmented Reality
Sunday, March 4, 12

5. connect.communicate.collaborate
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT - Gaming
Sunday, March 4, 12

6. MOBILE: Application
Sunday, March 4, 12

7. connect.communicate.collaborate
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT - Science & Education
Sunday, March 4, 12

8. connect.communicate.collaborate
MOBILE: Messaging Application
Sunday, March 4, 12

9. connect.communicate.collaborate
SOFTWARE: Social Media Platform
Sunday, March 4, 12

10. Challenges
• entrepreneurs - Humility & poor self-promotion
• investor profile
• risk averse
• accustomed to brick and mortar model
• lacking industry knowledge
• underdeveloped eco system
• insufficient seed & angel investment networks
• Majles recommendations
• global pressure to invest in developed markets
• family & society
• advocating stability
• time & priorities
• social bias (cupcake business or if you are really
serious.. graphics design)
Sunday, March 4, 12

11. Opportunities
• An eco system - Women centric
everything
• angel networks & vc firms
• consumer internet & mobile
• services
• web design, custom software
development,
• e-education, digital agencies,
• social ventures
Sunday, March 4, 12

12. what we must do..
• enable the powerful through tech
• tell stories & celebrate success & failure
• identify role-models
• push them out to the world..
Sunday, March 4, 12

13. connect.communicate.collaborate
Sunday, March 4, 12