National Technology Enterprises Co. (NTEC) announced yesterday inaugurating the Leading Projects Services Unit - LPSU (Technological Incubator) subsidiary of the Technological Entrepreneurship Center (TEC)The said unit is the predecessor of its kind in the Middle East. The unit is sponsored by a number of local leading companies headed by Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), Microsoft Company and Jiblah Holding Company, in the presence of a cluster of their officers and representatives.

In a press statement made on this occasion, Dr. Adnan Ali Al-Sultan, NTEC's Vice Chairman and Managing Director, pointed out that the real leap of TEC of the Company has started with this unit deemed the predecessor of its kind in the Gulf region in terms of the distinguished services it will provide to the initiators and creators in the modern technology fields.

The LPSU represents the ideal starting point for projects towards setting up private companies via marketing their technologies, together with providing strategic and logistic services for such project holders, paramount among which are the administrative work package and its supporting services, in addition to safeguarding the project infrastructure to ensure the realization of their growth and constancy, together with the utmost risk minimization, Al-Sultan added.

On his part, Eng. Anas Mirza, TEC Senior Manager of NTEC, made it clear that the LPSU will start its action by 7 technological projects in various fields, e.g. information systems, software, mechanical engineering, electronics and electrical appliances.

He also referred to the fact that the seven projects to access the LPSU had successfully passed four phases the first of which was selecting the projects pursuant to the TEC approved technologies. The second phase constituted the technical assessment of the selected projects, whereas the third phase included a training programme to develop the business plan of the approved projects. Meanwhile the fourth phase included the delivery and evaluation of business plans of such projects.

The projects, ideas and inventions to be sponsored for a maximum period of 18 months in the LPSU will be periodically assessed in terms of their action pursuant to the functions and tasks assigned thereto, together with assessing the economic feasibility of such projects, in order to ensure their culminating towards their final phase focused on evaluating the investment volume required for each project, together with setting up its relevant company, Mirza added.

Mirza concluded his statement saying that since its inception on June 12^th 2006, TEC received around 72 projects in different technological, industrial and medical sectors, all of which have been assessed based on the previously mention phases, where seven out of which have been oriented towards the LPSU and other three towards direct investment. Mr. Mirza thanked the initiators and inventors for their cooperation, wishing them more success.

Kuwait Microsoft Manager, Mr. Ramiz Dandan, expressed his delight with the inception of the leading Technological Incubator project supported by Microsoft based in its commitment towards the community with its institutions and individuals, and on sharing this community in giving momentum to Kuwait's economic development in which the technological sector occupies a considerable volume. Mr. Dandan added that we believe in the importance of upgrading the personal skills and competencies of individuals and enriching the initiation made by NTEC, due to the fact that this Project directly pours into the river of realizing individual potentials through sponsoring distinctive ideas in need of support and guidance, together with providing opportunities for creativity which will in turn play a major role in servicing the society and will in the process provide benefits to the local institutions and national economy.

On his part, MTC's General Manager, Mr. Barrak Al-Subaih, pointed out that MTC's sponsorship to that important project stems from its keenness on supporting the initiations and ideas that can contribute in the development and growth of the Technological Sector in Kuwait, which will in turn contribute the development and growth of the other economic, service and production sectors, referring to the fact that the obvious link between the Communications and IT sectors encouraged the Company to take that decisions which will result in projected benefits on the Communications sector and the national economy as a whole. In this context, Jiblah's CEO, Mr. Mahmoud A'shour Al-Ja'far said that, based on following up the developments witnessed throughout the world, the Company is stressing the fact that the technological development is deemed the corner stone of any economic progress experienced by any country, referring to the major role played by technology in the economic renaissance experienced by South Eastern Asia over the last few years.