Baraka Blog

NYUAD Hackathon pics!

lamasaleh — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:45:20 +0000

The NYUAD Hackathon event last night showed much potential for Arab youth, the winning team being Jordanian, competing with computer science students from across the world programming for social good.

Rama Chakaki, CEO of Baraka Ventures, at the NYUAD Hackathon

To learn more about the event and our role, please view the former blog post.

More pictures are on their way!

Dubai for Acumen’s Social Entrepreneurship Event

lamasaleh — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:41:07 +0000

Social Entrepreneurship: The Social Impact, an event organized by the Dubai for Acumen was a real inspiration, and the team at Baraka Ventures were very happy to have participated in the work leading up to the event, in planning and in kind sponsorship, and during the event.

Rama Chakaki, CEO of Baraka, moderated the panel of speakers, while Mahmoud Abu Wardeh, General Manager of Baraka, introduced his revolutionary idea of Limbuilder.

The ambiance of change makers was exhilarating and the speakers/ panelists gave very rewarding talks and discussions. The event initiated dialogue around ideas and platforms that motivate social entrepreneurship and development in the region, and was a great medium for collaboration amongst established entrepreneurs, social leaders of the region, and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Our contributions in planning and in kind sponsorship:

Connected Dubai for Acumen with numerous social entrepreneurs from the region (speakers and panelists)
Helped brainstorm the points for discussion at the panel and instigate the talk
Suggested organizations that would like to exhibit and showcase their businesses

For pictures of the event, check out the following link http://zd.ly/JL

For more information about the event, the panelists and speakers, and organizers, check out Social Entrepreneurship: The Social Impact on Facebook.

Leadership Bridge Programme updates!

lamasaleh — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:23:55 +0000

The Leadership Bridge Programme, organized by the YAL Bahrain and 3BL Associates brought together over 50 Bahraini youth representing public and private schools to address challenges within their society.

Rama Chakaki, CEO of Baraka Ventures, who helped the students brainstorm their own social action projects, was ‘amazed by their creativity and imagination,’ as she shared on her facebook wall. ‘Bahrain youth ROCK!!’

The teams of students designed strategies to address the following:

supporting the Down’s syndrome community
listing issues of water pollution, women’s rights, bullying
engaging youth with preserving cultural heritage
encouraging interaction with the older generation
reviving traditional outdoor games with modern electronic games

Please read through the following articles for more information about the success of the event

http://www.ameinfo.com/279103.html

http://www.dt.bh/newsdetails.php?key=160611183818&newsid=241011235439

2011 NYUAD International Hackathon

lamasaleh — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:22:01 +0000

The universities in the region are surprising us with a growing interest in their youth’s exposure to entrepreneurship practices, innovation and collaboration through a series of highly creative events, a very promising sign.

The 2011 NYUAD International Hackathon, an event for social good in the Arab world will bring together computer science students with academics and technology experts from the region and beyond between October 27-30, at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus.

A team leader from the academic and technology experts will guide and mentor the students, who will compete through creating mobile and web applications dedicated to social good in the region. A panel of judges which includes Rama Chakaki, cofounder and CEO of Baraka Ventures, will then review these applications. Rama will also speak in an Q&A session about entrepreneurship in the Arab world, Baraka Ventures and other startups for social good.

To learn more about the event or to participate (nominate a student, mentor, lead a team, or apply as a judge or speaker), please visit the following website http://nyuad.nyu.edu/institute/hackathon-2011.html

Youth Leadership Bridge Program

lamasaleh — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:16:18 +0000

The Gulf is booming with new social initiatives and programs. There is much opportunity in the region and it is very exciting to be a part of.

Take the 3-day Youth Leadership Bridge Program to be held in Bahrain from 20-22 October, a good example of these types of initiatives.

A group of 50 high school students will be learning about ethical leadership and leading through social impact. Co-organized by 3BL Associates and the Bahrain Chapter of the Young Arab Leaders, the program aims to introduce the students to social enterprise and then help them come up with their own social action project to address local, regional or global social issues.

Our own Rama Chakaki would be speaking about social enterprise and the Baraka ventures. Rama will also help these students brainstorm their own social action projects, engaging and inspiring the young minds.

Great initiative, looking forward to hear the outcomes!

Baraka listed as a useful resource for SMEs

lamasaleh — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:14:25 +0000

Check out this interesting article on the journey taken a decade ago to launch a venture and Baraka being listed as a resources to help SME owners, amongst several others by The National - http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/finance/problems-facing-entrepreneurs-and-smes-in-the-uae

setbacks are there to make you stronger

rchakaki — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:26:50 +0000

A brilliant young lady with immense talent sent me a heartfelt email today. She had been active in social work and dropped off the scene after receiving harsh criticism. The critic, someone in the humanitarian field also turned competitive and broke the young lady’s spirit. She left behind a promising beginning and settled for work without passion.

Too many entrepreneurs are easily put off by setbacks.. not realizing these setbacks are nothing but fitness training.. with each setback, you acquire a new skill to deal with challenges.. and the more setbacks you have the higher your purpose and calling is in life.. acknowledging setbacks and cheerfully moving past them paves the next step for progress. Getting stuck on a setback kills your dreams.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” – Michelangelo

Dubai for Acumen – Social Entrepreneurship: The Social Impact

lamasaleh — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:37:45 +0000

The Dubai for Acumen event pictures are finally published! Check out them out on http://zd.ly/JL and get a glimpse of this inspirational evening.

The video will be out shortly, for those of you who were not able to attend or those wanting to keep a record of the evening.

For more information on the organizer, sponsors, speakers and panelists, please visit the event’s facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149372195131249

Venture Capital in the Middle East and North Africa Report

lamasaleh — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:26:22 +0000

The lack of comprehensive reporting on the MENA’s venture capital scene has left many aspiring entrepreneurs in the dark. With a new report published on the MENA Private Equity Association’s website, many would regard this as a relief. This document highlights the definition of venture capital, mentions some of the challenges, and lists the venture capital players in the region.

Baraka Ventures and two other organizations have been mentioned in this report as social venture capital, along with many other firms, angel seed and investment, incubators and technology parks, etc.

Please view the Venture Capital in the Middle East and North Africa report on http://www.menapea.com/research-association.php

career advice..

rchakaki — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:46:57 +0000

I received an email this week from a young Arab professional titled “Career Advice”. It was a very honest account of his struggles to feel fulfilled, realize his potential.. make sense of his career path.. he has a job he dislikes, he’s always told he’s not realizing his full potential.. he cannot even recall what he’s passionate about.

My response is what follows; if you have an opinion, please share…

as humans, we are not made to work desk jobs for most our waking hours
today’s jobs are too monotonous especially for people with active minds
you cannot survive without hobbies that take you in directions radically different from your routine.
change is good
articulating your passions is essential.. even if just on paper.. write them out.. say them, speak about them to anyone willing to listen.. some will stay with you, other passions will fizzle away.. at least you’d get them out of your system.
don’t plan for a life time.. plan in 3 year increments…
count your blessings every morning.. celebrate the small successes.
be a child in your curiosity and excitement. be happy when things go right… get excited for adventure and new experiences.. even if they feel uncomfortable.. a child is happy running around for hours in a garden, even if they feel exhausted afterwards..
think now.. don’t think future all the time.. you have to be reaching your potential.. today.. wake up feeling great.. maintain the greatness all day.. despite what you hear in your head..
let your inner compass guide you..don’t listen to others.. good, bad, or ugly .. other people’s opinions don’t matter.. they either make us think we have things they see or want to see, or they put us down for not realizing the potential they see in us… you have to be guided from within.