A press conference was held at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, during which the details of the second edition of the "Arab Entrepreneurship Rally" competition, organized by the "UAC", "LAS", "AASTMT", "UNIDO" & “BCCI” were announced. The competition will be held within the framework of the “4ht World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum 2022”, which take place from March 26-30, 2022, as part of the activities of Expo 2020 Dubai.
Dr. Khaled Hanafy, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, praised the role of the League of Arab States, which works to promote economic and social development, especially in terms of empowering the Arab youth to overcome unemployment, which represents a great concern not only on the shoulders of governments, but on the Arab family and the Arab citizen. Pointing to "the importance of the Arab Entrepreneurship Rally, which is a title for integration, alliance and collective action for Arab and international organizations under the patronage of the League of Arab States, and under the umbrella of the Association of Arab Universities, which is the first stop for young people's dreams and melts them into a scientific crucible to become a tangible reality."
Hanafy affirmed that "the support of the Union of Arab Chambers for this competition stems from the belief in the role of the private sector in economic development," noting that "the Arab private sector has the ability to compete, by investing in entrepreneurship and innovation, which enables it to catch up with progress and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and to achieve ambitions that everyone aspires to.
Hanafy called on all young people to participate in this competition, which is a golden opportunity for young entrepreneurs to present their ideas and start-up companies to the whole world through the pavilion of the League of Arab States at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, emphasized in his speech the keenness of the League of Arab States to sponsor the competition because of its impact on empowering the Arab youth and its great return on the economic development of Arab countries, noting that the “Arab Entrepreneurship Rally” competition is of great importance as it is an initiative for distinguished Arab and regional cooperation, and aims to support Arab youth as they are the agent of change, indicating that this competition derives its strength through the strategic partnership that brings together a number of joint Arab action organizations such as the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, the Union of Arab Chambers and the Association of Arab Universities, in addition to a major international organization, such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO-Bahrain), and the private sector represented by the Bahrain Chamber, thanking everyone for their support and solidarity to make this version of the competition a success.
Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghafar, the President of AASTMT, said that “the competition comes based on the great success of the first edition hosted by the Bahraini capital, Manama, in 2019,” noting that “the Academy has great experience in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation promotion, and it was one of the first Arab universities that have been interested in developing entrepreneurship and the spirit of innovation and creativity among their students through the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Center, which celebrated its five-year anniversary earlier this year, and which includes under its banner a number of business incubators and accelerators, such as: the Logistics Incubator, which is the first incubator of its kind, Tourism incubator, which is implemented in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism to support tourism in Egypt, and Youth incubator for students from the Academy, in addition to establishing new incubators in the fields of agriculture, industry, technology and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Hashim Hussein, the Head of United Nations Industrial Development Organization - Investment and Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO-ITPO), stated that "Entrepreneurship has witnessed a great development during the past twenty years, and what we are in under the umbrella of the League of Arab States is a form of integration between the institutions and bodies of joint Arab action," considering that "there is a significant increase in the contribution of the private sector to economic and social development in the Arab world" and there is also a lot of maturity in this role.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Dakli, the Vice-President of the Association of Arab Universities, confirmed that "the Association, as an umbrella grouping 320 Arab universities, puts all its capabilities to the success of this competition, as it is the largest umbrella that brings together Arab youth in a real way", pointing out that the Association works with its member universities to promote the thought and culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among the students, through a number of initiatives, including teaching entrepreneurship courses, adding that the Association and in cooperation with Cairo University, launched the “Business Clinics” initiative to help young entrepreneurs overcome the challenges facing their startups and overcome obstacles by providing guidance and training by specialists.
