On September 18, 2015, Berytech welcomed Mr. Regis Ferron, Head of Innovation & Business Development at the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD). On a professional trip to Beirut, Regis wanted to meet with the PACEIM Laureates of previous years to enquire about their growth and business development.
PACEIM or “Programme d’Aide à la Création d’Entreprises Innovantes en Méditerranée” https://paceim.ird.fr/ aims to accompany and support the creation of innovative businesses from the public research in the South and East of the Mediterranean. It is supporting initiatives promoted by the scientific and technical diaspora, trained or working in France, in all sectors of industrial activity which includes a technological component: studies, doctoral students, post-doctorals, research workers, engineers and technicians. Berytech and the CNRS are the Local Partners in Lebanon for such an initiative.
As part of this innovative program, the winners receive individualized support by both the IRD and Berytech for 15 months to perform the basic steps of creating their business, technical and financial support (ranging up € 35 000) in France and Lebanon where the maturation of their project is the most viable. Berytech supports and accompanies the companies, provides mentoring sessions for the development of the business, as well as access to its network and partnerships.
During his visit, Regis visited the Berytech Technology Pole in Mar Roukoz and met with Mr. Khaled Dassouki 2012 laureate and Ms. Nour Tohme 2014 laureate.
Khaled Dassouki developed “Ubility Net” https://ubilitynet.com/ which is specialized in providing innovative end to end policy solutions for mobile operators to increase their revenues and enhance their customer experience. After earning its recognition, in the French PACEIM award, which recognized the Mediterranean innovation of research and engineering students in France. Ubility Net was also qualified as top 10 in the MIT Arab Business Competition 2013. Since then Ubility, has worked on developing its prototypes and on their marketing strategy. In 2015, Ubility was part of the UKLTH accelerator.
Nour Tohme is the creator of “Draw Me a Song” https://drawmeasong.com/ an experimental project that explores the fusion between music and visual art. Through a colorful mix of illustration and hand-drawn typography, the project aims to blur the boundary between music and art, and visually bring to life some of the world’s most famous songs. Initially a small personal project started in 2011, Draw Me a Song found its way on the internet where it quickly gathered an enthusiastic following from music and art lovers around the world, who greatly contributed to the development of the project. It later won the Deutsche Bank Creative Award, was selected as a semi-finalist in the MIT Business Plan Competition, and won a grant from the PACEIM program. Currently working closely with music publishers, the Draw Me a Song team creates art prints and products illustrating iconic songs in a variety of genres.