Dubai Internet City to Host Venture Capital Information Sessions at GITEX 2008

World’s Largest Managed ICT Cluster Cites Venture Capitals as Drivers of Region’s IT Industry

Dubai: 18 October, 2008 – Dubai Internet City (DIC), one of the world’s largest managed ICT clusters and a member of TECOM Investments, today announced its schedule of discussion panels on the role of venture capital (VC) in the ICT sector at the GITEX Technology Week 2008.

The daily presentations will take place at the DIC stand in concourse 2, between Exhibition Hall 8 and the Sheikh Maktoum Hall at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 19 – 23 October, 2008.

Offering attendees valuable insights into the use and benefits of raising private equity, the awareness sessions will highlight what venture capitals look for in small and medium sized companies (SME) and analyze value-added benefits beyond the financial and emerging technologies.

Key venture capital companies in the UAE, including ABAN (Arab Business Angels Network), Intel Capital, New Enterprise East Investments, and BVIG (Business Value Investment Group) Capital, will lead the sessions.

Malek Sultan Al Malek, Executive Director of DIC, said: “As part of our endeavour to contribute to the transformation of the regional ICT industry, Dubai Internet City aims to foster a business environment for small and medium enterprises  to thrive. Venture capital is a key tool in achieving this growth as it allows SMEs to better understand the requirement for successful entrepreneurship.

“This initiative, along with our recent announcement of the DIC White Paper identifying specific market opportunities in the IT sector, aims to assist the regional industry to succeed in other markets. At the same time, it establishes DIC as the leading platform for the development of the IT sector.”

Walid Hanna, CEO of ABAN, added: "Through facilitating networking opportunities between start-up businesses and local investors, ABAN plays an integral role in augmenting the regional flow of capital into new ventures, and contributing to the presence and growth of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in the Middle East region. As part of our mandate, we aggressively seek start-up investment opportunities, specifically in the ICT industry.

“This collaboration with Dubai Internet City will allow us to source new entrepreneurial ventures in the high growth sector, taking forward our strategy that matching smart money with innovative projects will further drive our rapidly emerging knowledge-based economy.”

DIC’s exhibition partners at GITEX 2008 will additionally host a series of key discussion panels. Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, will focus on ‘Emerging Trends in Mobility’, while Google in its debut participation at GITEX will elaborate on ‘Maximizing Your ROI with AdWords’. eHosting DataFort (EHDF), the region’s leading IT consulting and outsourcing provider, will throw light on ‘Disaster Recovery’ and an introduction to SmartCity’s upcoming Malta and Kochi projects based on the success of the DIC model will also be provided.

Dubai First, the first consumer finance company from Dubai Holding, is a key sponsor of the DIC pavilion that will also see Intel exhibiting the region’s first processor prototype. Adding an entertainment component to the DIC stand, the DIC gaming zone supported by ‘Games Frontier’,  will engage and entertain trade visitors with cutting edge games, competitions, prizes and gadgets.

GITEX 2008 will see global brands, multinational corporations and technology leaders converging in Dubai for a week of product launches and key industry meetings.

Coinciding with GITEX 2008, the Dubai Internet City White Paper will be officially launched at a gala dinner on 22 October, at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina.