It looks like the Middle East’s first ever Islamic Lifestyle Mini Bootcamp, held at the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Center (DTEC), was a grand success. Ten startups from across the region participated in the five-day event that saw serial entrepreneurs and international trainers walking each participant through the main pillars of entrepreneurial success. Extensive hands-on training was provided in the following disciplines:

• Lean startup and business model design

• Customer development, minimum viable product, and product experiment

• Fundraising

• Growth hacking, traction and metrics

• Pitch practice

The organizers, a consortium comprising of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center (DIEDC), Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), Rainmaking Innovation, and Dubai Culture (DC), wrapped up the event by issuing certificates to all 10 participating startups from the region. These included (in no particular order):

• Islamic GPS

• Khair Keys

• Happy Brain Education

• Innoras

• Salaty

• Bismillah Babies

• The AJALA Project

• Brewing Potions

• The Muslim Class

• Qirtas

The event was mostly about empowering emerging businesses in Islamic Architecture and Design, Islamic Arts and Culture, Family-friendly Halal Tourism, Communication and Media, and Modest Fashion sectors.

Speaking on the core objective and success of the event, Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General of Dubai Culture said:

“We are delighted to support the Islamic Lifestyle Mini Bootcamp as the cultural partner, allowing us to demonstrate our commitment to establishing Dubai as the global capital of the Islamic economy, in line with the vision of our wise leadership. As mentioned in our latest book – ‘Global Perspectives on the Islamic Creative Economy’ – the Islamic lifestyle sector is a major part of our government’s economic diversification strategy, and contributes to achieving the Dubai Plan 2021.”

Peter Gould, the winner of the 2015 Islamic Economy Award in the Islamic Art category, had a few words to share with the participants about the ideal approach to entrepreneurial success. He hosted a discussion that touched upon various topics such as design, branding, and innovation in the thriving Islamic economy. [Source]