TEAM

TEAM from Silicon Valley

Zino Chair, Ph.D., co-founder of Cortina Systems
Kamel Ounedjela, Ph.D., c0-founder of Calisolar
Krimo Salem, co-founder of If & Then
Ghazi Benothman, c0-founder of Minah Venture
Yacine Rahmoun, founder of Capture Doc
Belgacem Haba, Ph.D., CTO at Tessera and co-founder of SiPipe

LOCAL CHAMPIONS
In Algeria
Support from around the world
Algerian Start up Initiative
First initiative of a kind in Algeria
Create an ecosystem for start ups to grow
Mentoring the companies until reach
maturity
Education on how to create a viable
business plan
Initiative
Open to receive any business plan from across the country
Target fields : telecom, web, mobile, services, green tech,
At least one person in the business plan team resides in
Algeria
3 business plans would be selected
Free equipped offices where to operate for a fix time
Free software and support from Microsoft
$15,000 donation per team to get them started
Continuous support and mentoring of the Algerian Startup
Initiative Team
Chronology of events
Kick start conference in Algiers in October 2009
Web site www.algerianstartupinitiative.com
Business plan models
“How to” links and information
Respond to 15 emails daily
Business plan boot camp
Business plan education
Videoconferencing: Skype, Webex, etc…
Contacted 12 universities and institutes covering the entire
country
Numerous contacts with meetings with local champions
Business Plan Boot Camp
Outcome of the 2010 initiative
Received 143 business plans
Some 20 solid business plans
Covering
Telecom, web, software, mobile, e-government, services, healthcare,
banking, green technologies, etc…
65% new entrepreneurs, 35% existing entities
Mixed teams mostly from Algeria, France, Canada and USA
Selection
Team selected 3 business plans
Telecom , healthcare, and web
Leaders of 2 of 3 business plans are women
Closing of 2010 business plan in May 2010
Clock starts ticking for 2011 initiative
Conclusion
Found great will and enthusiasm among young
entrepreneurs
Gave hope to a lot of young people
Found no shortage of local champions
Funding seems to be the biggest obstacle
A lot need to be done to create an ecosystem for
startup to flourish
Expect 2011 initiative to be even bigger as 2010 bears
fruit