Excitement doesn't stop at Istikana

These are really exciting times at Istikana, and so much is happening it’s hard to know where to start.

Great new shows keep on coming to Istikana!!

As promised, we are continually adding new shows to our library of classic content. Please stay tuned as we have much more coming!!

Calimero

A few days ago we added the amazingly cute Calimero series. Calimero follows the adventures of a hapless, cute and hilarious little chicken (with an egg on his head!). Great light hearted cartoon! You can watch it here(http://istikana.com/ar/tv_shows/calimero)

Lawrence Al Arab

An exciting, moving and intriguing re-telling of the classic Lawerence of Arabia story. What makes this series so compelling is that it is told from an Arab perspective, which makes it very rare in the wide lexicon of shows about the controversial T.E. Lawrence.

The whole series can be watched here (http://istikana.com/ar/tv_shows/lawrence-alarab)

We have the honour of being selected to present at the Startup Demo ArabNet 2011

ArabNet 2011 is really important for us and we were ecstatic to hear that out of over 70 applications, we and nine others were selected to present our products to the conference in the Startup Demo program. (http://blog.arabnet.me/)

We are really excited and can’t wait to dive into the sea of energy and ideas that is ArabNet.

Hopefully see you there!!

Habib Haddad is now an advisor to Istikana

We are just as excited to report that Habib Haddad (Tech entrepreneur; Founder & CEO, Yamli.com; Founder & CEO, YallaStartup) has joined the Istikana family as an advisor. Habib not only brings his experience but also his energy and charisma and we are proud to have him join us.

New press page

We would really like to thank all who have given us coverage over the past couple of weeks, namely ArabCrunch, The Next Web, and several others. We really appreciate your support!! You can check out our press page here (http://istikana.com/en/press)

Samer Abdin (samer@istikana.com)

Co-Founder

Lebanon - Digital Hub

Hello,

I’ve yesterday to the Arabnet Beirut conference. Interesting!

First, I’d like to tell you that it’s always interesting to participate to a conference. Some people say sometimes “Oh, it was empty” or “Oh, nothing interesting” or other… I don’t understand these people!!!!

No, it’s never un-interesting to participate to a seminar, a conference, or whatever. The problem is not the event itself, it’s your expectations!

For me, there is always an interest to participate to such events. First you get to meet new people (and therefore new opportunities). Second, you get to learn from the experiences of the speakers and demo players (whatever their experiences and backgrounds, knowing how they built their company or approached their careers or a certain issue on the market is always interesting…). Third, you get inspired by one, two or more things you see, listen to. It can be part of the conference or simply a discussion during a pause… So, please whatever the output of a conference, think it’s positive, think it’s interesting. Because it is.

To take my example yesterday… I set small expectations for myself: saying hi to few people I know they’d be there and meet 2 to 3 new people, and of course getting new ideas and insights. And I’m happy! I achieved all my objectives. 

I’m happy we’re doing such events in Lebanon. I also truly believe in the potential of Lebanon as a Digital hub for the region, and beyond. If we have the infrastructure and a certain level of political stability, we have all the ingredients to succeed this objectives: creativity, skills, brains, business development skills, communication skills, low costs, …

So YES, I believe in the potential of Lebanon as a Digital Hub. Moreover, I believe it’s the only way to grow our economy and therefore our society, and prevent brain immigration. Our market is small (4 million people), with big discrepancies in the level of income which concentrates the purchasing power in more limited part of the population. We need to extend our reach, without necessarily immigrate. Therefore the Digital Hub is KEY!

Yalla, I’m confident and optimistic about the future this morning!

I will tell you more about the conference soon…

Cheers