Page 24 - SAMENA Trends - November 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Etisalat Celebrates Entrepreneurship and

Innovation at a Live Awards Ceremony

The Small and Medium Business (SMB) their pitch. Two more pitching sessions journey.” YallaGive won first place for a
sector plays a key role in the UAE economy were conducted and the jury selected the brilliant pitch and will receive AED150,000.
in driving innovation, job creation and top three winners, who were announced by The second-place winner Key2enable
disruptive business models. Given the Etisalat at a live awards ceremony viewed Assistive Technology will be awarded
importance of this segment, Etisalat has by the business industry around the globe. AED120,000, while App4Legal placed
been working closely with businesses Salvador Anglada, Group Chief Business third in the competition and will walk
across all sectors to cater to their Officer, Etisalat, commented: “Small and away with AED80,000 for their respective
requirements, ensure a successful a digital medium businesses are a backbone of the creative pitches. Esam Mahmoud, Senior
journey and facilitate business continuity UAE economy, accounting for 86 percent Vice President, SMB, Etisalat, said:
during these unprecedented times. of the total private sector workforce and “It is my pleasure to congratulate the
Etisalat’s ‘Hello Business Pitch’ is one of more than 60 percent of the country’s entrants, shortlisted candidates and
Etisalat’s strategic initiatives that aims current GDP. This year’s ‘Hello Business winners of this year’s ‘Hello Business
at supporting entrepreneurs and start- Pitch’ has indeed succeeded in attracting Pitch’. This competition showed the
up businesses by providing them with an high-potential start-ups and harnessing strength of the UAE’s future business
opportunity to pitch their business ideas in the potential of aspiring entrepreneurs leaders and their passion for innovation
front of an expert panel of judges who will who are bringing innovative ideas to and entrepreneurship. Our initiative is in
be assessing their business model through the market. I have witnessed first-hand line with Etisalat’s continuous efforts to
the strength of their pitch for a chance to the thoroughness and the quality of the support SMBs and start-ups in the UAE
win grand prizes that help in growing their content of their pitches, and look forward and position Etisalat as the preferred
business. This platform, in its second year, to hearing about their entrepreneurial business partner of choice for SMBs.”
has received an overwhelming response
and is gaining popularity among aspiring
entrepreneurs. Hundreds of passionate
start-up businesses applied since its
launch in December 2019. After an
intensive and comprehensive assessment
of the applications based on the creativity
of the business models, demonstrative
scalability, and the ability to effectively
portray their potential business growth in a
clear and concise way, Etisalat shortlisted
52 candidates who progressed to the latter
stages of the competition. The shortlisted
businesses were then invited to pitch
their business model online. Twenty-
five businesses were selected, who then
got into a dedicated training session by
Dr. Petar Stojanov, Partner, Innovation &
Future Strategy at Black, on how to perfect

Etisalat Selects Ericsson For UAE 5G Network Rollout

United Arab Emirates (UAE) telco Etisalat Internet of Things (IoT). 5G will also power and overall network performance that our
has awarded Ericsson a contract for new experiences for wireless customers, enterprise and consumers demand. With
the rollout of 5G radio and core network from gaming and entertainment services, a new 5G radio and 5G core network, we
equipment. The deployment will focus to IoT and business applications. Haitham will further ensure high quality, increased
on use cases such as enhanced mobile Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer for capacity, and greater reliability for our
broadband, fixed-wireless access (FWA), Etisalat, said: ‘We are rapidly upgrading customers.’
enabling industrial 5G applications, and the our network to deliver the quality, capacity,

24 NOVEMBER 2020