The third phase of the program set the frame for the participants to develope their projects to become working prototypes and products. They worked independently, supported by the two facilitators and expert mentors to guide them towards realizing their goals and present their work during the final exhibition. Only two workshops created some formal structure in this phase.
The final phase consisted of 3 parts:
9: Business Visioning
10: Small Business Finance
11: Prototyping
9. Business Visioning
During the business visioning workshop, participants explored possible business models and project missions. Particular focus was given to the mission, vision, project values, marketing channels, and business modelling. This workshop gave an impulse to build a bridge to the market and set a foundation for the participants to build on afterwards.
Maya Karkour is an Environmental and Circular Economy Specialist, an Eco-Entrepreneur, and the Managing Director of EcoConsulting, a specialized sustainability consultancy which she founded in 2003 in the UK and in 2007 in Lebanon. Maya has directly worked on numerous projects aiming at reducing their environmental footprint. She has been a keynote speaker or moderator at various sustainability/environmental conferences in Lebanon and other countries; and has organized and conducted numerous sustainability, green building, circular economy and environmental seminars & workshops. She has been coaching environmental start-ups with innovative entrepreneurial solutions and is mentoring eco or social entrepreneurs to help them establish themselves and scale up. Maya has been actively promoting the Circular Economy and sustainable practices in Lebanon, more recently by launching the Circular Hub. Maya holds an MSc in Environment & Sustainable Policies from LSE, she is a Circular Economy Specialist with the Circular Economy Club, and holds the Permaculture Design Certificate, first level.
10. Small Business Finance
The business finance workshop looked at the fundamentals of small business accounting and the aspects that must be considered to set up successful structures. Topic areas addressed fixed and variable costs, different costing strategies, and the all-time crux of how to reduce costs effectively.
Mohammad Obaidat is a technology startup adviser with experience in developing technology products and helping startups in the market entry; he is currently serving as the executive director for Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship. Obaidat holds BSc. In business and financial economics, and MSc. In Innovation and Technology Management.
11. Prototyping
For the rest of the development phase, the participants are paired with their mentors to refine their prototypes by bringing all they learned in the last two and a half months together in order to produce successful and innovative solutions to some of the everyday problems that we experience in preparations for their final exhibition in Beirut in October 2022.
The Mentors
Alaa Ali
Hello,
I'm Ala’a a UX/UI designer; over the last decade, I've worked with a wide range of clients, including Al Jazeera, Fada'at Media, TRT, and JICA to create insight-led, human-centered digital experiences. I am rather comfortable in abstract and strategic thought, but I am also very grounded by organization and concrete details. I believe that technology can revolutionize how people learn, communicate and create. I'm passionate about shaping products and services that help people focus on what they do best. In my free time, I've begun exploring new artistic approaches for my design solutions.
I really really love what I do.
Aya Shaban
Aya is a food designer, wild forager, and architect. She uses her fluency across diverse creative industries to introduce innovative food products and multi-sensory learning tools to help reshape the food culture of tomorrow. In 2012, she co-founded Namliyeh, the pioneering food and design brand based in Amman, which offers immersive culinary experiences and interactive workshops that focus on traditional farming and wild ingredients, inspiring an alternative path back to the land.
Claudia Simonelli
Claudia is an italian Industrial Designer currently based in Amman, Jordan. Since 2013 she has been developing her passion crafting projects between photography, digital art and design, including interactive design products, personal photo exhibitions and installations. Her experience at Fab Lab Toscana in 2016 allowed her to get digital fabrication skills and co-found Fabctory - recipes for innovation; a lab spin-off, focused on training, setting labs, co-design and prototyping for companies. During the last few years, she has co-organized workshops and crafted training programs for students, professionals and makers all over the world, being a speaker at international events. Since 2017 she is part of the core team of the Fabricademy and the local instructor of the Program at the Fab Lab Techworks in Amman.
Farah Hourani
Farah Hourani is a fashion designer that lives in Amman Jordan. She graduated from London College of Fashion. Finalist of Fashion Star Arabia by the breath-taking, American-libanese designer "Reem Acra" in Dubai.Starting at the age of 15, and at 17, She had her own fashion show held in Jalouse in London. Farah has studied at one of the most reputable fashion colleges; London College of Fashion. Hourani has chosen a certain style and redesigned it to create her own in an Arab modern way using a good dose a transparency and laser cuts.
Jannis Kempkens
Jannis is a designer and material researcher working on the intersection of design, science and activism. He is co-founder of Circology, a circular design and material research studio supporting companies in their journey towards circularity and in his role focussing on the design and materiality of the products we create as well as the systems that come with them. He is creator and director of the Circular Economy program at Terra.do, the world’s largest online climate learning platform and community for professionals looking to pivot their career towards climate solutions. Additionally he works with the Precious Plastic community on driving bottom-up development of new techniques and materials for a world with less plastic pollution.
Joumana Medlej
Joumana Medlej is an artist from Beirut best known for her work with the Kufi scripts. After an early career in graphic design and illustration, her deep connection to this tradition was awakened during her years assisting master calligrapher Samir Sayegh in his studio. Since moving to London in 2013, she's been dedicated to reviving this large family, along with the art technology of this early period. Joumana has done work for the Royal Mint, Apple, Amnesty, BBC Arabic, and the Royal Hashemite Court. She teaches at the Arab British Centre and the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. She's a member of the Society of Authors and has recently published books on early Islamic art technology and natural materials.Joumana has done work for the Royal Mint, Apple, Amnesty, BBC Arabic, and the Royal Hashemite Court. She teaches at the Arab British Centre and the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. She's a member of the Society of Authors and has recently published books on early Islamic art technology and natural materials.
Katrin Krupka
Since 2014, Katrin is working independently in the field of design and universitary teaching with a special focus on new sustainable materials and processes for product design. Her studio is based in Berlin, she teaches at different Universities like UDK Berlin, Burg Giebichenstein, Berlin International and Bauhaus Universität Weimar. She is furthermore Co-founder of German design Graduates. As Project Leader she is working on Strategy and operating business. The initiative supports young graduates with Awards & Support formats funded by German Design Council.
Image credit: Mirja Zentgraf
Guillaume Credoz
