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Summary of Competition Rounds and Grades:
The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region is the organizer of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition. This competition is modeled after the famous MIT 100 K Competition and accepts entries from all Arab countries. The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is made possible through a generous donation from the Abdel Latif Jameel Co. LTD. The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region also uses local sponsors from the countries it operates in. Local sponsors are BADER and Banque Libano-Française for Lebanon.
The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is organized in 3 rounds:
- In Round 1, teams are required to submit an application form. 30 teams are selected from among all entries and proceed to the next phase. Applications reflecting the best thought of proof of concept ideas/projects are selected. Special attention is given to innovation and technology projects.
- In Round 2, teams are required to present a full business plan. 9 teams are selected from among the 30 entries. Solid business plans of innovative, scalable, and impactful projects are rewarded. Business Plan grade accounts for 50% of the final grade.
- In Round 3, teams are required to present in front of the jury. 3 winning teams are selected. Inter-personal skills are rewarded; the winning teams need to convince the jury of their passion for the project and their ability to sell their idea and carrying it through. Presentation accounts for 50% of the final grade.
Eligibility :
The MIT Arab Business Plan Competition is a non-discriminatory, open competition. Individuals and newly established companies are both invited to apply. Additionally, the competition does not discriminate on gender, age, nationality, etc..
The eligibility rules are as follows:
- At least three team members per application entry
- At least two of the 3 team members must be Arab nationals
- Companies submitting cannot have previously been funded or making substantial revenues from sales
Entries not complying with the above conditions will be eliminated by the organizing committee .
The organizing committee reserves the right to disqualify any entry at any stage of the competition.
Team Composition
The team composition takes an important share of the grade of the composition. In this respect, the MIT Business Plan Competition requires continuity between the rounds of the competition. Usually the team composition declared in the application of the first round could be adjusted but not radically changed while preparing for the business plan in round 2.
All persons whose names are mentioned as part of the competition team and/or management team of the business plan (round 2) must sign the “intent of incorporation” form.
As seen in the “Eligibility” section, at least 2 members of the team must be Arab nationals.
Disbursement of winning prize:
The top 3 winning prizes of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition consist of award money that will be granted to the winning teams. In order to claim the award money, the winning teams need to present a proof of the incorporation of the team into a registered company. All shareholders of the new company need to have been identified previously in the “Intent of Incorporation” form submitted with the business plan. MIT Enterprise Forum for the Pan Arab Region will then write the check in the name of the newly established company.
The winning team may be short of money to establish a company. In this case, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region will advance USD 5,000 from the award money towards the establishment of the new company. The balance will be received by the newly established company upon completion of the incorporation papers.
Round I:
1- Submitting Applications:
All applications must be submitted electronically through the web site. Teams willing to enter the competition must sign into the website and secure a username and password. The application contains 18 questions that summarize the business idea and the means of implementing it. The Application is available in English only. Using the username and password, it is required to fill the application on-line. The user may save the application as many times as necessary to fill it. Once finished, the application is entered into the competition by pressing the “Submit” button. Only those applicants who have submitted their applications before the deadline will be part of the competition.
2- Grading Round 1:
Every application is graded three times by a jury of business professionals. Grades are given on a per question basis as published in the application form. Two or more blank questions disqualify an entry, as well as answers that are obviously not serious and not well thought of. We estimate that it takes at least two weeks to compose all answers, so we advise applicants to take their time to thoroughly think about their business project in as much detail as possible. All grades are given electronically, and graders do not see the names of the applicants. Only the system is able to sort and process the best applications.
3- Deliberating Round :
Around thirty applications will qualify for round 2. The MIT Business Plan Competition team will convene for two days to review the graded applications and ensuring that the grades received are consistent. The jurors and/or the qualifying teams may be interviewed by the organizing committee during deliberation. The applicants that qualify for round 2 are announced in a press conference or in the offices of the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition.
Round II:
4- Grading Round 2:
The qualifying teams have until the deadline to submit their full business plan. Submissions are accepted in English only. It is estimated that a typical business plan comprises around 30 pages. The second jury is composed of experts in finance and venture capital. Attempts will be made to have the business plans graded by industry experts; however the organizers will not guarantee that this will happen. In the worst case scenario, business plans will be randomly distributed on jury members. Every Business Plan will receive three grades from three members of the jury. The final grade is the average of the grades received. The business Plan grade will constitute 50% of the entry final grade.
Please note that all business plans should follow the structure of the template disseminated by the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition. The jury follows the grading template determined by the organizing committee. So any team presenting on its own format of business plan might be disqualified or lose points and be at a disadvantage from teams following the model plan structure.
5- Deliberating Round 2:
The organizing committee meets to ensure that all grades have been received and that no major inconsistencies in the grades received is noted. The organizing committee refers to the grading juror for any modification of the grade.
Round III:
6- Grading Round 3
Teams who qualified to the third round present their project / idea to 3 regionally renowned jurors. The presentation lasts 10 minutes and is followed by 20 minutes of Q&A. The judges are looking for credibility, command and knowledge of the project. Over all, the jurors look for inter-personal skills and the ability of the team to sell its idea and carry it through to fruition. The presentation should reproduce real life situation when entrepreneurs face bankers and other financial sources to seek funding for their project.
The grade of the presentation accounts for 50% of the final grade.
Round 3 jurors are given the full business plan for their review and evaluation ahead of time. Some jurors find this necessary. Others prefer relying on their experience and internal senses in recognizing and evaluating talent.
Any and all of the persons listed in the management team presented in the full business plan of round 2 is eligible to present in front of the jury.
7- Deliberating Round 3:
The members of the third jury will convene for 15 minutes after every presentation to deliberate and give their combined grade. Winners are announced during a gala dinner that same day.
Application Form Example 1
Application Form Example 2
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About the MIT Arab Business Plan Competition
