The First Social Innovation Camp

The First Social Innovation Camp organized by the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region brought together entrepreneurs, creative minds, developers, and social innovators to come up with web / tablet – based solutions for social problems in Lebanon and the region- over two and a half days.

The Social Innovation camp which was the final event of The Global Entrepreneurship week in Lebanon started out with 26 ideas. After the ideas were rated a total of 14 teams where formed to start working on developing a prototype of their social idea. Over the past two and a half days the teams worked day and night in order to design their business model, think about their financials, marketing, competition and everything related to their social enterprise. The teams received one-to-one coaching provided by experts in addition to sessions on how social entrepreneurs can make money and how social change by social media is possible.

The final day of the camp was concluded by having the 14 teams pitch their ideas to a panel of judges which included, Ziad Abi Chaker, Omar Christidis, Professor Rima Nakkash (Health Promotion and community health department , faculty of Health sciences AUB) and Sami Tueini whom selected 4 winning teams instead of 3 due to a tie in the third place. Teams were judged based on their value proposition and social impact, target market and competition, the readiness of their prototype, the business potential and the team

The first place winners received a $1000 cash prize in addition to training opportunities from various entrepreneurial institutions such as Amideast. Second and third place winners also received a cash prize and training opportunities.

The first place was won by Job Pinner, TouchLife won the second and Sniper Shot & E4Waste won the third place.

More about the 14 Teams:

Team 1: E4 Waste

All of us have piles of paper lying around in the office and we always wonder what to do with it? E4Waste is an online platform that links waste stakeholders in Lebanon to one another. Users can identify where waste is being produced and where they can drop off their waste to those interested in collecting it.

Team2 : Zboun.com

Like many customer review sites Zboun.com aims at providing customers with accurate information about local stores such as their price range, their services and what customers think about the store. The portal also reviews users requests for specific stores .

Team 3: Chaplin “ Get Discovered”

Chaplin is an online platform that links talented people to their local talent hunters. The website creates opportunities for talented individuals by increasing their chances of being found by other user’s who might be interested.

Team 4: TouchLife

A keyboard application specifically designed for blind people that allows them to learn, write and text on smartphones.

Team 5 : Bala wala Shi -Garage Sale

An online Garage Sale Portal where users showcase items which they no longer need and are connected to potential buyers. The site also allows users to “ rent” items as well.

Team 6 : Bio-lemonade

Gathering youth around a lemon tree to pick lemons while receiving training on peace building and dialogue is what Bio-Lemonade aims to achieve. By interacting outdoors rather than a closed space participants have the ability to better express them and become more accepting of one another.

Team 7 : EntoCraft

An online platform for the Lebanese handcraft society that displays items ranging from jewelry to food to clothing and aims at supporting local handcraft producers by marketing their products and expanding their potential markets.

Team 8 : Meen Awafar

Meen Awfar is a website that allows users to compare the prices of the same products throughout different supermarket chains hence allowing users to save both time and money before going to the supermarket.

Team 9: Job Pinner

Job Pinner is a location based online platform connecting working individuals from various industries with potential clients through direct contact.

Team 10 : Sohati “ Answers you can rely on “

Sohati is an Arabic medical health portal that provides updated and professional medical information, the latest industry news and the ability to interact with other patients.

Team 11: Hub4Good

An e-commerce/crowd-funding online platform for NGO’s and Social enterprises to showcase their initiatives and products while allowing them to connect with potential donors.

Team 12 : Zeina Spoke

Zeina Spoke aims at breaking the silence about child sexual abuse through an interactive and secure website that connects victims to one another in addition to providing them with professional support from doctors and psychiatrists.

Team 13: Beehive

Beehive is an online community that connects potential flat mates to one another. Users can submit their profiles after which they will be matched with a roommate who fits the user’s requirements. The site also provides tips and contact information for companies that help users move to a new home .

Team 14 : Sniper Source

A mobile application that detects the exact source of a sniper shot.