????雄心勃勃的初創企業為了贏得認可和資金參加創業大賽，捉對展開廝殺，這樣的情形并不鮮見。但今年，兩個全球最大的創業大賽項目卻都在中東地區，為當地創業者舉辦專場比賽，讓許多人感到驚奇。而且，這兩個項目的贊助商麻省理工學院（MIT）和谷歌（Google）在全球科技領域都赫赫有名。如今中東地區依然動蕩不堪，充滿了不確定性，所以，投資者可能會問：“為什么是現在？”

????谷歌埃及及北非地區經理、Ebda2（阿拉伯語意為“開始”）創始人韋爾?法克哈拉尼稱：“實際上，現在時機已經成熟。今天，世界上有許多動蕩的地區都顯示出非凡的創新能力。”Ebda2是谷歌首個針對埃及創業者的區域性比賽。他分析了埃及的基本人口資料：有1,700萬在校生，在科技行業任職的埃及人超過230萬人，互聯網活躍用戶超過3,500萬人，手機用戶則超過9,000萬人。他說：“我們相信，下一波發展浪潮必將出現在這里。”

????這也證實了哈拉?法德爾在中東地區看到的勢頭。哈拉?法德爾是巴黎與貝魯特的一名全球投資人，同時也是MIT泛阿拉伯地區創業論壇（MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan-Arab Region）的創始人。今年的MIT創業計劃大賽（ MIT Business Plan Competition）在中東地區已經是第五個年頭，大賽的合作伙伴是來自沙特阿拉伯的阿卜杜勒?拉提夫?阿爾?賈米爾社區行動計劃（Abdul Latif al Jameel Community Initiative），該計劃旨在提高企業社會責任感。整個中東地區的創業者均可參加大賽。哈拉?法德爾稱：“2006年，大賽首次舉辦的時候，我們預計整個中東地區會有200人報名，結果最終報名人數卻超過了1，,500人。今年參加比賽的共有4,500多個由三人或三人以上團隊，這意味著創業者的人數超過13,000人。”此外，她還表示，今年，約一半團隊中都有女性成員。“知道嗎，我們甚至收到100多份來自敘利亞的報名申請。”

????MIT的計劃包括解決當地和區域需求，以及為希望與全球一流科技初創企業一較高下的創業者們提供幫助。獲得第一名和50,000美元獎金的是Butterfleye公司。該公司發明了一款智能泳鏡，可以監控游泳者的心率，跟蹤其健康狀況。

????獲得第二名10，000美元獎金的是Qabila 媒體制作公司（Qabila Media Productions）。在埃及動亂期間，該公司的眾包視頻服務得到廣泛傳播。第三名得主Silgenix公司同樣來自埃及。它發明了一款集成電路設計，專門用于提高移動電子設備的電池使用壽命。其他入圍的創業項目包括區域社交網絡、電子商務平臺、在線教育課程，以及提高互聯網連接速度與可靠性的新功能等。從沙特阿拉伯到巴勒斯坦，參賽者遍布中東地區的各個角落。

????總計超過4,200名創業者參加了谷歌在埃及舉辦的Ebda2大賽，經過為期九個月的數輪培訓、指導和評判，最終有20組選手入圍決賽。為了提高活動知名度，Ebda2和谷歌員工租了一輛巴士，圍繞整個埃及進行了巡回路演，以召集參賽者、提供培訓。他們訪問了二十座城市的二十所大學，其中既有開羅和亞歷山大港這樣的大型中心城市，也有像坦塔、法尤姆、塞得港這樣的小城市。他們接觸了1,500多名創業者，收集的創業理念從消費性網絡到醫療保健，五花八門，創意百出。

????There's nothing new about ambitious start-ups duking it out for the recognition and money that comes with winning a prestigious start-up competition. What might be surprising is that two of the largest such competitions this year were hosted in the Middle East solely for Middle East entrepreneurs. And their sponsors, MIT and Google, are among the most vaulted names in global technology.

????In a region dominated by instability and uncertainty, any investor might ask, "Why now?"

????"In fact the time is ripe now," notes Wael Fakharany, Google's Regional Manager for Egypt and North Africa, and founder of Ebda2 (Arabic for "Beginning"), Google's first regional competition focused on Egypt entrepreneurs. "There are many unsettled places in the world showing remarkable innovation today." He points to the basic demographics of Egypt: More than 17 million enrolled students, over 2.3 million Egyptians working in the technology sector, over 35 million people actively using the Internet and over 90 million mobile users. "We believe that one of the next waves of impact and growth will emerge from this part of the world," he says.

????This confirms the momentum that Hala Fadel, a Paris and Beirut-based global investor and founder of the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan-Arab Region, has seen in there recently. This year's MIT Business Plan Competition, done in partnership with the Saudi corporate social responsibility effort Abdul Latif al Jameel Community Initiative and covering all of the Middle East, is her fifth. "During 2006, our first year, we expected 200 applications from around the Middle East, but received over 1,500," she says. "This year over 4,500 teams of three people or more competed – that means over 13,000 potential entrepreneurs." She added that nearly half of the teams this year included women. "We even received over 100 applications – get this – from Syria!"

????MIT pitches ranged from addressing local and regional needs to aspirants looking to compete with world-class global technology start-ups. First place, along with a $50,000 prize, went to Butterfleye, which has created a smart goggle for swimmers that monitors their heart rate and tracks their fitness.

????Winner of the $10,000 second-place prize, Qabila Media Productions, took off when its crowd-sources video services went viral during the Egyptian uprising. Third place Silgenix, also from Egypt, created an integrated circuit design company specializing in increasing the battery lifetime of portable electronic devices. Other finalists created regional social networks, eCommerce platforms, online education courses, capabilities to increase internet connection speeds and reliability among others. Competitors came from every corner of the region, from Saudi Arabia to Palestine.

????More than 4,200 entrepreneurs competed in Google's Egypt-focused Ebda2, culled down to twenty finalists over nine months of multiple rounds of training, mentoring and judging. To create awareness, Ebda2 and Google staff chartered a bus and travelled throughout the country on a road show to gather participants and to offer training. Visiting twelve universities in twelve cities as widely diverse as the large urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria to the smaller cities such as Tanta, Fayoum, Port Said, they met more than 1,500 entrepreneurs with ideas in areas ranging from consumer internet to health care.