UAE: DSOA to host Islamic lifestyle mini bootcamp

“Dubai has been instrumental in establishing a comprehensive infrastructure to develop the Islamic economy ecosystem and DIEDC is keen to accelerate and manage the development of different kinds of sectors within the Islamic economy model. This priority is in line with our efforts to realising the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, through creating and supporting innovative initiatives that stimulate the Islamic economy – particularly the Halal industry – locally, regionally and internationally,” said Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Islamic Economic Development Centre.

Designed for ambitious early stage entrepreneurs engaged in Islamic arts and culture, Islamic architecture and design, family-friendly and Halal tourism, as well as digital Islamic economy, entertainment, communication and media, the intensive five-day programme is being organised at a time when Islamic economy is quickly becoming one of the most recognised and fast-growing economic models globally.

“DIEDC’s redefined strategy dedicates our resources to the development of sectors such as art, culture, architecture, trade, fashion and tourism. We believe these sectors have great potential given The State of Global Islamic Economy Report 2016 forecasted that Muslim expenditure on fashion and tourism is expected to surge to 16 per cent and 18.6 per cent respectively of the global expenditure. Such projections make it imperative for us to focus on start-ups engaged in these sectors,” said Al Awar.

As part of the agenda, international trainers and serial entrepreneurs will provide early stage start-ups with the right knowledge, skills and hands-on tools to accelerate their businesses. Leveraging interactive and practical training sessions, the content will cover the following segments: Introduction, Lean Startup & Business Model Design, Customer Development, MVPs & Product Experiments, Growth Hacking, Traction & Metrics, Fundraising, Team & Culture, Pitch Practice & Industry Day.

For his part, Bader Buhannad, Executive Vice President Strategy, Business Services and Risk Management at DSOA, said that since the launch of the Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy strategy, DSOA has been actively supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs working in the digital Islamic economy and Arabic content fields. “We are pleased today to announce the first-of-its-kind Islamic lifestyle mini bootcamp, which reiterates our commitment to supporting aspiring entrepreneurs, and we look forward to welcoming them to learn first-hand from established start-up founders how to grow and expand their business. We are committed to continue organising events that will support entrepreneurs and boost their business know-how, especially those that contribute to the Islamic economy. We are confident that the event will serve as an important value addition and positively impact the businesses of the participants.”

Carsten Kølbeck, Partner and CEO of Rainmaking Innovation, added it is a pleasure to foster a partnership with DSOA and DIEDC and contribute to the goal of empowering entrepreneurs in the flourishing Islamic Lifestyle sector. As part of the collaboration, Rainmaking Innovation will bring in international expert facilitators and share our knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship education, gained from accelerating hundreds of start-ups through Startupbootcamp and Startup MENA.