bt group plc ( trading as bt ) is a holding company which owns british telecommunications plc , a british multinational telecommunications services company with head offices in london , united kingdom .

bt 's origins date back to the founding of the electric telegraph company in 1846 which developed a nationwide communications network .

in 1912 , the general post office , a government department , became the monopoly telecoms supplier in the united kingdom .

the post office act of 1969 led to the gpo becoming a public corporation .

british telecommunications , trading as british telecom , was formed in 1980 , and became independent of the post office in 1981 .

british telecommunications was privatised in 1984 , becoming british telecommunications plc , with some 50 percent of its shares sold to investors .

the government sold its remaining stake in further share sales in 1991 and 1993 .

bt has a primary listing on the london stock exchange , a secondary listing on the new york stock exchange , and is a constituent of the ftse 100 index .

bt controls a number of large subsidiaries .

bt global services division supplies telecoms services to corporate and government customers worldwide , and its bt consumer division supplies telephony , broadband , and subscription television services in great britain to around 18 million customers .

bt announced in february 2015 that it had agreed to acquire ee for £ 12.5 billion , and received final regulatory approval from the competition and markets authority on 15 january 2016 .

the transaction was completed on 29 january 2016 .

bt group

bt group plc ( bt . a ) ordinary 5p share price | bt . a
headquarters of bt group , hou . . . - bt office photo | urltoken
british telecommunications plc ( bt ) is a wholly - owned subsidiary of bt group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the bt group . bt group plc is listed on stock exchanges in london and new york .
this new landmark partnership with bt will see bt group and bt sport promoted at scotstoun stadium and murrayfield stadium .
prior to joining bt financial group , brad led the merger of st . george and westpac as the westpac group’s chief transformation officer .
bt group is a leading provider of communications solutions serving customers throughout the world .
a bt group was incorporated in the uk in march 30 , 2001 as newgate telecommunications limited . the company changed its name to bt group plc on 11 september 2001 . following the demerger of mm02 from bt in november 2001 , the remaining activities of bt were transferred to bt group plc . bt group shares started trading on the london and new york stock exchanges on 19 november 2001 .
bt group plc ( bt . l ) today announced its results for the first quarter to 30 june 2017 .
* dividend has not yet been paid but has been declared by bt group plc .
bt group plc annual report and form 20 - f 2018 ( 10 . 2mb )
if separation of openreach harms bt group there is clearly a problem as openreach shouldn’t be subsidising the rest of the group its presence confer advantages .
in june the vodafone group foundation is launched . in 2002 , the group and its subsidiaries plan to contribute £20 million to community programmes , guided by the group social investment policy .
vodafone airtouch is created out of the merger between vodafone group and the us group airtouch communications inc on 30 june 1999 .
daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the recent attacks in the iranian capital of tehran , site intel group reports on twitter .
while openreach will become a distinct company , it will remain within the wider bt group .
the last ic recommendation on bt group shares was sell at 206 . 00 on 13 jun 2018
does bt group plc’s ( lon : bt . a ) 6 . 50 % earnings growth reflect the long - term trend ?
linda was appointed chief information officer at bt financial group in march 2017 . her team’s role is to provide technology leadership and deliver it solutions which enable bt financial group to meet its strategic goals .
principal operating units : bt ignite ; btopenworld ; bt retail ; bt wholesale ; btexact technologies .
bt asset management sai is a specialized asset management company , member of the banca transilvania financial group .
mr . dan fitz is a group general counsel , company secretary of bt group plc . he joined bt in april 2010 as group general counsel and was appointed company secretary in november 2012 . dan previously spent six years at misys and 12 years at cable & wireless .
2003 : a group - wide partner network agreement is signed with mobilkom austria group to introduce vodafone’s global services into austria , croatia and slovenia .
bt financial group ( btfg ) has been helping australians protect , manage and grow their wealth since 1969 .
the name bt financial group came from one of our group heritage brands , bt funds management . bt funds management was originally part of bankers trust australia which opened its doors in 1969 and is considered one of the pioneers of the australian funds management industry .
the name change will eventually spell the end for the variety of brands currently controlled by the bt wireless group .
we continue to expect bt group revenue to grow for the full year . however because of the reduction in profitability in bt global services , group ebitda2 is likely to show a small decline in the current financial year . ”
therefore , comparing the nps score of bt group plc with your own without any further context is not that useful .
regarding the surveillance of u . s . citizens , the review group recommended :
bt ' s overall group - wide revenues for the year to 31 march 2009 rose 3 % to £21 . 4bn .
what hasn’t changed under the legal separation , as opposed to a structural one , is where openreach’s profits go , with shurmer noting they
will flow back to the bt group” . the group ' s budget will also be controlled by bt .
telecoms giant bt is in exclusive talks to buy ee - britain ' s largest mobile network group - for £12 . 5bn .
our passionate bt financial group executive team have the combined experience and business acumen to drive a strong customer focussed culture of excellence .
ben verwaayen stepped down as group ceo in june 2008 , to be replaced by ian livingston , previously ceo of bt retail . sir michael rake replaced sir christopher bland as non - executive chairman of bt group in 2007 . see full profile for current activities
sue is also a member of the fsc life insurance board committee and an executive director of the bt financial group insurance boards .
between 1980 and 2006 , he held various management positions with the panalpina group in africa , asia and switzerland . in 1998 , he was appointed ceo of the panalpina group .
sue houghton commenced a role in march 2016 as general manager of insurance for bt financial group . previously , sue was finance director at wesfarmers insurance and held a number of roles at insurance australia group ( iag ) .
bt group ' s takeover of mobile phone network ee has been given final clearance by the competition and markets authority ( cma ) .
bt financial group’s history of combining and acquiring great heritage brands has ensured we have become one of australia’s leading and expert wealth providers .
for general information about bt group properties please contact our helpdesk on 0800 223388 . for enquiries relating to the purchase of a bt property please contact telereal on 020 7710 4200 .
bt extols the strengths of the current arrangement . according to gavin patterson , openreach is able to draw on the balance sheet and know - how of the wider bt group .
ofcom and bt have announced that openreach will become a legally separate business within bt .
carolyn hoy joined the westpac group in 2005 . a lawyer by profession , carolyn ' s roles within the group have included head of group corporate legal for westpac , head of compliance for the australian financial services division and most recently chief of staff to the westpac group ceo brian hartzer . carolyn commenced her role in btfg as chief risk officer for btfg in august 2017 .
andrew walker was appointed chief operating officer , bt financial group in december 2015 to develop centres of excellence and drive horizontal connectivity across bt and westpac group . andrew is an experienced executive with knowledge of all parts of the wealth value chain and deep expertise in delivering transformational change .
if you haven’t heard of openreach you won’t be alone . but you will have heard of bt , bt broadband and bt infinity .
in recognising the work of this fantastic group i would like to highlight two particular people roley walton and wilma shearer who have been the driving force of the group since it was established .
yvonne was appointed as chief financial officer , bt financial group in february 2016 . yvonne first joined westpac group in 2007 , and has held a number of executive roles including acting deputy cfo , cfo group services , general manager enterprise investments & delivery , cfo st george integration / gm finance transformation and general manager productivity & process excellence .
openreach is a huge division of bt , or british telecommunications plc , now known as bt group . bt openreach was established in 2006 , owns the telecommunications pipework and phone cables in the uk , and employs 32 , 000 people .
document for member of applicant’s applicant group or bidder group who is not an associate ( pdf ( pdf , 27 . 4 kb ) ) ( rtf ( rtf , 604 . 6 kb ) )
the nsa must stop undermining the security of the internet , according to the president ' s review group on intelligence and communications technologies . the group issued 46 recommendations that include reforming the nsa to ensure the protection of americans ' privacy and civil liberties . regarding global communications , the review group recommended :
andrew joined bt financial group in 2013 as senior head of strategy , leading westpac ' s wealth strategy and the business strategy for bt financial group . andrew has broad experience across multiple industries ( and regions ) including corporate development , strategic analysis , m & a , capital raisings and turnarounds .
bt is one of the world ' s leading providers of communications services and solutions , serving customers in more than 170 countries . its principal activities include the provision of networked it services globally ; local , national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home , at work and on the move ; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed / mobile products and services . bt consists principally of four lines of business : bt global services , bt retail , bt wholesale and openreach . british telecommunications plc ( bt ) is a wholly - owned subsidiary of bt group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the bt group . bt group plc is listed on stock exchanges in london and new york .
it is the first report by the british infrastructure group ( big ) set up by mr shapps .
culture is your target group interested in culture , well educated and with a medium to high income ? if so , the culture category is the right choice . if desired , this target group can be combined with the wealth targeting category , for example , in order to increase the target group reach .
for the year ended 31 march 2015 , bt group ' s reported revenue was gbp17 , 979m with reported profit before taxation of gbp2 , 645m .
bt group plc does not currently have any hardcopy reports on annualreports . com . click the button below to request a report when hardcopies become available .
but bt’s own consumer business with 10 million customers , bt mobile , will keep its brand .
• bt funds management limited • bt funds management no . 2 limited • westpac securities administration limited
bt funds management limited & bt funds management no . 2 limited & westpac financial services ltd .
on 19 november bt group plc was formed as the demerger of mm02 ( formerly bt wireless ) was completed with shareholders receiving one bt group plc share and one mm02 plc share for each existing british telecommunications plc share . on demerger mm02 comprised bt ' s mobile activities in the uk ( o2 uk , formerly bt cellnet wholly owned since 10 november 2001 ) , the netherlands ( telfort mobiel ) , germany ( viag interkom - wholly owned since february 2001 ) and the republic of ireland ( o2 communications , formerly known as esat digifone wholly owned since april 2001 ) , manx telecom and genie ( bt ' s mobile internet portal ) . bt group plc was principally structured through four lines of business : bt retail , bt wholesale , bt ignite and btopenworld focused around markets rather than geography .
london ( reuters ) - britain’s biggest telecoms group bt group plc has begun informal talks with representatives of its retired staff about a plan to cap their pensions and ease one of the biggest challenges facing the company , the daily telegraph newspaper reported on friday .
on monday , bt group ( bt . a : lse ) closed at 232 . 35 , 15 . 45 % above the 52 week low of 201 . 25 set on may 17 , 2018 .
bt financial group provides a range of wealth services . view our history , philosophy and culture , executive team , awards , our brands and additional disclosure .
consider an example : if bt group plc sends out nps surveys immediately after purchase , they are tracking their customers ' initial excitement and the checkout experience .
people with general enquiries should contact the bt group headquarters switchboard on + 44 20 7356 5000 . shareholders should call the shareholder helpline on 0808 100 4141 .
a separate strategy and control over budget allocation . openreach will develop its own strategy and annual operating plans , within an overall budget set by bt group .
in just the third quarter of its current financial year , bt group generated £6 . 1bn in revenue , and made a profit of £526m on that .
c all 152 from a bt land line or 0800 800 152 from non bt lines or mobiles .
if you choose to use the services of prosearch in respect of your 02 plc shares , it will not affect any bt group plc shares you may hold .
the chief executive of bt financial group , brad cooper brings his passion for customers and his experience of over 20 years in business leadership roles to the organisation .
glassdoor office photos give you an inside look at employers , such as bt . this is bt office photo was submitted anonymously . shown in this photo : headquarters of bt group , housed in bt centre , located in london ( photo attributed to martin addison - licensed under the ccl attribution - sharealike 2 . 0 )
techradar is part of future plc , an international media group and leading digital publisher . visit our corporate site .
london ( ap ) — british telecommunications company bt group says its ceo , gavin patterson , will step down this year amid shareholder discontent about the lagging share price .
fast forward to today and openreach is undergoing change – bt group agreed in march 2017 that it would spin openreach off as a legally separate company . this was , once again , in response to a demand from ofcom . this is happening because the arrangement – where openreach was owned by bt group – wasn’t working wholly well .
westpac combined bt funds management with its previous wealth acquisition - the rothschild asset management business - and its own financial services operations , to form an expanded wealth management division of westpac - bt financial group ( btfg ) .
examining bt group plc’s ( lse : bt . a ) past track record of performance is a valuable exercise for investors . it enables us to understand whether the company has met or exceed expectations , whichread more . . .
bt want to merge openreach and wholesale . great idea . merge them then divest them from the rest of the group . doing so to ntt hasn’t exactly harmed japan .
the following are the top stories on the business pages of british newspapers . bt group plc is braced for a shareholder revolt over the choice of kpmg as its new auditor after damning reports about the big four accountancy firm . the appointment of kpmg has to be approved by bt shareholders at the group ' s annual meeting on july 11 .
here at fxpro , we’re excited to offer our clients the chance to invest in the king of the communications market : the bt group . incorporated in 2001 , the bt group is a leading international supplier of managed networked it and consulting services to corporate and public sector customers , as well as a popular provider of everything from broadband to call handling and control room services . with its solid history and sterling reputation it ' s an attractive investment for many a shares trader . trade bt group shares with fxpro .
with our focus on improving the performance of global services , continued cost savings and control on capex across the group , we expect group free cash flow , before any pension deficit payments , to be over £1bn next year . ”
mr . sean williams is chief strategy officer of the company . he has led bt’s group strategy , product portfolio , regulation and policy since 2011 and previously for bt retail . before joining bt in 2008 , sean was an executive director on the board of the oft , of ofcom , a partner of the strategy consulting firm lek consulting llp and a non - executive director of williams lea group .
s & p global ratings on tuesday cut its credit rating on bt group , citing strict oversight by british telecom regulator of its broadband networks . bt ' s openreach network has come under the scrutiny of ofcom , . . .
mr . luis alvarez serves as chief executive officer - global services of bt group plc . he was formerly president of the european , middle east , africa and latin america operations of bt global services serving some of our biggest global customers . luis also led bt global services telecom markets unit , managing business with carriers and operators outside the uk . before joining bt , luis worked at ericsson , ibm and group santander . luis has a telecommunications engineering degree .
gavin patterson , ceo of bt group plc and co - chair of the cyber growth partnership said :
bt is delighted to support the work being undertaken by the cyber growth partnership to promote uk business selling cyber abroad .
the proposed acquisition would enable bt to accelerate its existing mobility strategy ,
bt said in a statement .
bt today : bt has been sharing its long - term plans to make ongoing improvement part of its dna .
a the confirmed official opening prices for bt group and mmo2 shares for capital gains tax ( ' cgt ' ) purposes , were 285 . 75 pence and 82 . 75 pence respectively . this means that , of the total value of 368 . 50 pence , 77 . 54 % is attributable to bt group and 22 . 46 % to mmo2 .
openreach will be able to consult with customers such as sky and talktalk on large - scale investments . it can have these conversations confidentially , without disclosing details to bt group .
this means openreach will have the
greatest degree of independence from bt group possible without . . . structural separation or the sell - off of openreach to new shareholders
.
are your products or services aimed at an elite audience with high purchasing power ? you can use the adwebster bt wealth category for campaigns that need to reach this target group .
homemakers homemakers make up a very important target group with respect to a wide range of fmcgs ( fast - moving consumer goods ) and other everyday products . they are also very suitable as a target group when you want to address parents .
bt group plc , or british telecom , is a london based company that offers telecommunication services worldwide . it currently operates in over 170 countries , and is the largest telecommunication services provider in the world . [ 2 ] the british telecommunications group is structured in a number of divisions , which include :
principal subsidiaries : bt australasia pty limited ( australia ) ; bt cableships limited ; bt cellnet limited ; bt communications management limited ; bt ( hong kong ) limited ; bt ignite gmbh ( germany ) ; bt ignite gmbh & co . ( germany ) ; bt ignite nederland bv ( netherlands ) ; bt north america inc . ( u . s . ) ; bt property limited ; bt subsea cables limited ; bt telecomunicaciones sa ( spain ) ; bt ( worldwide ) limited ; bt wireless limited ; clear communications limited ; esat digifone limited ( ireland ; 50 . 5 % ) ; esat group limited ( ireland ) ; farland bv : manx telecom limited ; syntegra groep bv ( netherlands ) ; syntegra sa ( france ) ; syntegra ( usa ) inc . ; telfort mobiel bv ( netherlands ) ; viag interkom gmbh & co . ; tell limited ; yellow book usa inc . ; yellow pages sales limited .
historical daily stock prices for bt group since 1984 adjusted for splits and dividends . open , high , low , close ( ohlc ) data as well as percentage changes for multiple date ranges . display 20 , 50 and 200 day moving averages and export charts as images to use in articles and blogs . the latest closing price for bt group ( bt ) as of july 06 , 2018 is 15 . 40 .
consumer group which ? has also written to the european commission to express concern about the planned merger of o2 and three .
continued improvement in customer experience metrics ; group nps up 5 . 5 points and right first time up 3 . 6 %
continued improvement in customer experience metrics ; group nps up 3 . 8 points and right first time up 2 . 3 %
jane started out her career at westpac and her roles included general manager of human resources for westpac’s retail financial services group .
it is a tribute to the strength of the team he has built that the board has been able to recruit his replacement internally . ian livingston has delivered brilliantly for bt both as group finance director and as the ceo of bt retail .
the new model will be supported by careful , continual monitoring to ensure it is effective . as part of this , bt will provide ofcom with additional transparency on the nature of interactions between the new openreach and the rest of bt group .
bt denies its involvement and insists the cables were a “general purpose fibre - optic system” . but the human rights group reprieve argues bt has breached guidelines on responsible business behaviour drawn up by the organisation for economic co - operation and development .
accordingly , for cgt calculations , the base cost of your bt group shares is calculated by multiplying the acquisition cost of your bt shareholding by 77 . 54 % , and the base cost of your mmo2 shares is calculated by multiplying the acquisition cost of your bt shareholding by 22 . 46 % .
table 4 . examples of repeat - dose toxicity studies with bt microbial formulations , cry proteins , and bt crops .
the group also worked in partnership with groups in bellsquarry and murieston on wide - ranging improvements at bankton mains , bellsquarry and murieston greenway under the livingston south blue green network project . the group also has been supported by a number of council services .
bt group plc will appear in a new york federal court on monday to try to enforce a patent it says covers all hyperlinking . bt claims it invented the hyperlink in 1976 , and anyone who uses the world wide web owes them money .
we have estimated the net promoter score of bt group plc based on the publicly available information including the sentiment of the company - related tweets , 3rd party reviews , and alexa ratings .
back to bt . will its penalty pay prompt the sort of investment required to fix openreach , which ofcom has made a legally independent part of the group ? it’s an open question .
the independent entity would remain part of the bt group but would
have control over its branding and budget allocation
and
a duty to treat all of its customers equally
.
it comes as the telecoms group prepares to enter negotiations with pension trustees about the future funding of the scheme from next month .
the position of bt’s pension scheme was also raised during our inquiry . bt pointed out that the returns from openreach contributed to the overall group profits which themselves funded bt’s historic pension liabilities and that many of these liabilities arose from past openreach employees . gavin patterson told us that bt’s pension fund had a significant pension deficit that ran—depending on how it was valued—into billions of pounds . he argued that if separation were required then the scheme’s trustees would be likely to find the covenant for openreach would not be as strong as the one currently provided by the bt group .
in conclusion , it is now a fact that bt group is constantly deregulating which makes competition out there for other telecom companies a bit harder . it is also a fact that bt is enabling uk consumers to access reliable and cheap packages choosing options .
the confirmed official opening prices for bt group and o2 ( mmo2 ) shares for capital gains tax ( ' cgt ' ) purposes , were 285 . 75 pence and 82 . 75 pence respectively . this means that , of the total value of 368 . 50 pence , 77 . 544 % is attributable to bt group and 22 . 456 % to o2 ( mmo2 ) . accordingly , for cgt calculations , the base cost of your bt group shares is calculated by multiplying the acquisition cost of your bt shareholding by 77 . 544 % , and the base cost of your o2 ( mmo2 ) shares is calculated by multiplying the acquisition cost of your bt shareholding by 22 . 456 % .
bt group plc is a holding company which owns british telecommunications plc , a british multinational telecommunications services company with head offices in london , united kingdom . it has operations in around 180 countries .
the other point of contention which has been resolved was ofcom’s objection to having
a dotted line of reporting
between the openreach chief exec clive selley and bt group chief exec gavin patterson .
if you are a new employee or non - member employed by bt , please visit the bt retirement saving scheme website .
prior to that , james held a number of senior finance positions at bt plc . , firstly as vice president of corporate finance at bt group and then finance director of bt ' s service delivery division managing a cost base of over $ 1 . 5bn and more than 6 , 000 employees across 36 global locations .
the group’s consumer business unit enjoyed “a standout quarter” as it captured 71pc of new broadband customers and operating profit increased 9pc to £220m .
continued improvement in customer experience metrics ; group nps 1 up 8 . 3 points and right first time 2 up 4 . 3 %
1991 : racal & vodafone demerge . the vodafone group is listed as an independent company on the london and new york stock exchanges .
generally , companies in the utilities sector , such as sse and bt group , often provide attractive dividend yields due to relatively stable earnings as these are considered defensive sectors that canread more . . .
bt group ' s chief executive gavin patterson will step down this year after its chairman said a new leader was needed to restructure britain ' s biggest broadband and mobile provider . kate king reports .
kn group provide a fully managed turnkey solution to bt for the installation of all pstn and llu installations across the residential and business channel . as these are wholesale products this work is carried out on behalf of all telecoms operators that use bt’s fixed access networks .
sky moved into bt ' s telephony and broadband domain in 2006 . now bt has moved into sky ' s sporting territory .
bt ' s ordinary shares are listed on the london stock exchange under
bt . a
. bt shares are also listed on the new york stock exchange in the form of american depositary shares ( adss ) under the symbol of
bt
.
to mark the event and the contribution of the group , a special plaque made of recycled wood was unveiled at the lanthorn community centre .
loujain al - hathloul was picked up at king fahd international airport in dammam on 4 june , the human rights group amnesty international says .
john shuttleworth is general manager , platforms and investments managing the platforms ( bt wrap and asgard ) , distribution , investments and tax and accounting operations . john initiated and leads the bt panorama program , the key strategic investment priority of the westpac group to build a market leading wealth platform designed to support the evolving needs of advisers , dealer groups and investors . john has been instrumental in driving design led innovation and scaled agile work practices within bt and the wider westpac group .
“three of our businesses performed ahead of expectations in the quarter and the group , excluding global services , delivered the best year on year profit growth for five years . however , as previously announced , the group results have been severely impacted by the performance of our global services division .
chris pateman , chief exec of representative body the federation of communication services , noted that the issue of asset control was important ,
although i ' m not convinced about bt group ultimately owning them .
bt financial group is westpac ' s wealth management division and also includes st george bank ' s wealth management division . bt financial ' s operations include investment and superannuation products , private banking , financial planning services as well as life , general , lenders mortgage and bonds insurance .
alibaba group holding ltd . is in talks with bt group plc about a cloud services partnership as the chinese internet giant challenges urltoken inc . ’s dominance in europe . an agreement between alibaba and the it consulting unit of britain’s former phone monopoly could be similar to alibaba’s existing arrangement with vodafone group plc in germany , according to a person familiar with the matter , who asked not to be identified as the talks are private . a bt spokeswoman confirmed by email that the u . k . telecom company is in talks with alibaba cloud and declined to give details .
in january a cross - party group of more than 100 mps , led by the former conservative party chairman grant shapps , supported a split .
the spin - off of bt wireless , which includes uk operator bt cellnet , viag interkom in germany and telfort in the netherlands , will see the firm listed alongside bt on the london stock exchange .
ufindus generates more than 9m searches a month and last year made £14m . the company was sold to bt by the aim - listed iomart group . shares in iomart closed yesterday up 4p at 49 . 5p .
bt group plc is a communications services company . the company is engaged in selling fixed - voice services , broadband , mobile and television products and services , as well as managed networked information technology ( it ) solut
melinda howes commenced in the role of general manager of superannuation for bt financial group in late 2014 . until june 2014 she was the director of product strategy and services for amp ' s insurance and superannuation business .
on friday , the pair said they have reached agreement on a
long - term regulatory settlement that will see openreach become a distinct , legally separate company with its own board , within the bt group
.
before joining bt , andrew was managing director of corporate advisory firm radius capital limited and the ceo of dorchester pacific group , a nz listed multidivisional financial services group with operations across finance , insurance , funds management and advice . prior to this andrew was associate partner with investment banking and venture capital firms clavell capital ( nz ) and fremont partners ( us ) .
this has been a challenging year in which bt has had to tackle some significant issues ,
said bt chairman sir mike rake .
london - bt group has named jan du plessis as its new chairperson , selecting an experienced businessman who has guided rio tinto for eight years and helped engineer sabmiller’s $ 104 billion ( r1 . 35 trillion ) sale .
despite finally scoring for england at a world cup in 2014 , rooney was unable to prevent a torrid group stage exit under roy hodgson in brazil .
conservative mp grant shapps , the chair of the parliamentary cross - party british infrastructure group , said that the separation agreement should now benefit internet customers .
fxpro group limited is the holding company of fxpro financial services ltd , fxpro uk limited , fxpro global markets mena limited and fxpro global markets limited .
fxpro group limited is the holding company of fxpro financial services ltd , fxpro uk limited , fxpro global markets mena limited and fxpro global markets ltd .
but bumper profits at bt’s openreach service , a bt subsidiary , comes days after a politicians have demanded bt should be forced to sell off the service . openreach , which bt operates at arm’s length , saw operating profit grow 13pc to £359m in the three months to december 31 .
a bt spokesman said the report recognised bt had taken measures to ensure its infrastructure was secure . “security is at the heart of bt and it will continue to be so in the future , ” he said .
bt group plc chief security technology officer bruce schneier logs long hours trudging through airports to attend conferences and speaking engagements on a wide range of security issues . by his own count , he will take 170 flights this year .
under the plans , bt will demerge mmo2 , formerly known as bt wireless , and float it as a separate business on the stock exchange .
for key information and guidance on the ethos of procurement in bt and how we work with our suppliers visit our selling to bt web site .
ms . alison wilcox serves as group human resources director of the company . she was formerly regional hr director for vodafone europe and prior to that , regional hr director for vodafone’s africa , middle east and asia pacific footprint . alison joined vodafone in 2006 as group director of leadership following a career in consulting .
please note this page is for feedback on the purposeful business section or bt ' s delivering our purpose report only . please do not use this site to register complaints regarding bt services or network . using the appropriate channel enables bt to deal with your comment , query or complaint quickly , follow it up and keep you informed . bt general enquiries and complaints home - call 150 from a bt landline or 0800 800 150 from non bt lines or mobiles business - call 152 from a bt landline or 0800 800 152 from non bt lines or mobiles or complete the online web form
bt acquired a patent for the technology in the us in the 1980s , but has until now made no attempt to exploit the patent . bt ( bt . a ) has now engaged scipher to rectify that situation .
q : under section 4 ( b ) on page 3 of the application form we have been asked to include “the names of all other members of the applicant group ( as defined in the regulations ) in respect of which the applicant has completed a document . . . ” . further to this , in the schedule 5 document for member of applicant’s applicant group or bidder group who is not an associate we have been asked to “ [ insert name of person to be included in applicant or bidder group who is not an associate ] ” and the document should be signed on page 3 on behalf of that “person” .
increased functional separation could involve openreach becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the bt group , with its own board of directors and an independent non - executive chair and other non - executive directors . openreach could in effect be an incorporated subsidiary in which the bt group is a passive investor . the independent openreach board would need to have the capability and resource to draw up its own strategy , budget and investment plan , possibly publishing its requests for funding to the main bt board so there was absolute clarity over its determinations and requirements .
our super - fast broadband network has now passed over 5m premises and the customer base has almost trebled in the last six months . bt global services is making further progress in high growth economies and secured its largest ever contract in latin america , ” said ian livingston , chief executive , bt group .
but the majority of its subscribers are existing bt broadband customers , who can sign up and stream bt sport for free on their pc or mac .
without a vested interest from bt , the hope is that there will be more independent consideration regarding investment in the network . bt dragged its heels over the situation in early 2017 , but suddenly ceded to ofcom’s demands before the regulator had chance to take the case to the european commission . however , it’s worth noting that bt group will still own openreach but it will have independence .
the new openreach will have the greatest degree of independence from bt group possible without incurring the delays and disruption – to industry , consumers and investment plans – associated with structural separation or the sell - off of openreach to new shareholders .
mr scudamore praised espn for its involvement and said he believed the group would be back at the bidding table the next time the rights were up for auction .
we continue to invest for growth , having now passed 1 . 5m premises with our ultrafast network and securing 40mhz of 3 . 4ghz spectrum suitable for 5g mobile services . we are improving our customer experience across the group , with our key metrics of group nps 1 and right first time 2 both strongly up .
bt was founded by ivan lundquist in 1946 in sweden . import of equipment for the construction and transport sectors was bt’s original business . production of hand pallet trucks began in 1947 , and in the 50’s electric trucks were introduced . in 1949 the revolutionary pallet was introduced , which together with the hand pallet truck became bt’s breakthrough . later known as the eur pallet , it became the standard in much of europe . bt and raymond became toyota group in 2001 .
mr . gavin patterson serves as chief executive , executive director of bt group plc . he joined bt in 2004 as group managing director of bt retail’s consumer division . prior to this , gavin spent four years at telewest ( now virgin media ) latterly as managing director consumer and also nine years at procter and gamble , rising to become european marketing director . gavin says that one of the reasons for moving to bt in 2004 was because it was an organisation with a rich history and an exciting future – which is even truer today . gavin was appointed chief executive , bt retail in may 2008 and joined the bt group plc board in june 2008 . under his leadership bt retail launched bt infinity super - fast fibre broadband , drove growth in it services and built the largest wi - fi network in the uk and ireland . he also led bt’s involvement in the evolution of digital tv services . this includes being a founder partner in youview and the creation of bt sport which launched in august 2013 . gavin was appointed chief executive officer , bt group plc in september 2013 . in addition , gavin is a non - executive director of british airways and a trustee of the british museum . from 2010 - 2013 gavin sat on the advisory board of the cambridge judge business school and from 2011 - 2014 he was president of the advertising association . gavin graduated from cambridge university with a degree in chemical engineering , is married with four children and is a passionate liverpool fc fan .
mr . ed petter is group corporate affairs director of the company . he was previously deputy director of corporate affairs at lloyds banking group and prior to that had held corporate affairs roles at mcdonald’s europe , mckinsey & company and the blue rubicon communications consultancy , having previously worked as a news producer and editor at the bbc .
jane joined bt financial group as general manager , westpac private bank in december 2010 . in october 2011 , her role expanded to general manager , bt private wealth which comprises westpac private bank , st . george private and bank of melbourne private . in october 2017 , jane’s role expanded again to incorporate the bt advice business . her expanded role forming a broader business unit focused on financial advice and tailored private banking for high net worth clients - bt advice & private wealth
the group will argue that although the legal separation of openreach – the highly profitable division that manages the national telecoms network – has delivered falling prices and rising speeds for consumers , bt has been allowed to restrict competition in the business market .
today , competition is very high due to presence of many telecommunication companies that are periodically releasing of exciting and attractive offers to their customers . the most popular industry players among uk residents are bt group , virgin media , bskyb and talktalk .
bt group reported a 5 percent decrease in revenue at â£4 , 764 million for the first quarter ending june 30 , 2011 . the company’s adjusted ebitda increased by 3 percent to â£1 , 436 million reflecting the continued delivery of cost reductions .
most consumers won ' t be bothered whether or not ' a bt group business ' is written on the side of openreach vans , what matters is the uk ' s digital infrastructure actually getting better in practice ,
he said .
securicor shareholders can now expect a direct payment , while the deal effectively creates a new securicor group whose shares will be distributed to the company ' s existing shareholders .
vodafone ' s enlarged group is now the largest mobile telecommunications company in the world and one of the top ten companies , by market capitalisation , in the world .
this page provides you with electronic access to the pdss for financial products and services that are identified on this website and that are issued by entities within the bt financial group of companies , together with electronic access to the fsgs for these entities .
if bt acquired o2 it would be a huge step back to the future . bt launched o2 , then named cellnet , in a joint operation with securicor in 1985 , just after bt was privatised . it bought out securicor in 1999 when nokias were the best selling handsets - and renamed the business bt cellnet .
bt has enjoyed a
standout
third quarter as sales grew 4 . 7pc
bt posted losses of £1 . 3bn for the first three months of the year
telecoms giant bt has bought online electronic products retailer urltoken for an estimated £30m .
your views on corporate responsibility in bt are important because they help us improve .
( 1 ) the bt microbial formulation was applied to broccoli shortly before harvest .
table 3 . acute toxicity studies in mice with cry proteins and bt microbials .
enquiries about this news release should be made to the bt group newsroom on its 24 - hour number : 020 7356 5369 . from outside the uk dial + 44 20 7356 5369 . all news releases can be accessed at our web site : urltoken
“we are on track to deliver reductions in operating costs and capital expenditure of well over £1bn and to generate group free cash flow 3 of over £1bn this year . ”
‘think money group and hublot made significant contributions and of course manchester united football club were exemplary hosts to over 60 , 000 fans at old trafford on the night . ’
bt’s commitments also include reforms to how bt works in northern ireland , where openreach does not operate . these will extend the benefits of the openreach changes to bt northern ireland – including greater independence , confidentiality , and independent branding . bt northern ireland will also remain able to take account of specific local circumstances and opportunities . 2
“we have made a solid start to the year against a background of challenging trading conditions . bt global services is making progress although there is still much to do . the rest of the group continues to perform well generating ebitda 2 growth of 6 % .
mci communication corporation , the second largest carrier of long distance telecommunications services in the united states of america , together with the bt group , launched a company named concert communications services in 1994 . the value of this newly founded company was $ 1 billion us dollars . the newly formed company was the first to offer a large portfolio of communications services to customers worldwide . as a part of the deal , bt group bought 20 % of mci communication corporation . later , mci communication corporation and concert communication services were bought by world com for $ 7 billion us dollars . in the transaction , which took place in 1997 , bt group received $ 465 million us dollars to break the merger with mci and an additional $ 2 billion us dollars for their shares of mci .
the bt - ee deal is expected to be finalised by march next year , subject to approval by shareholders of bt and scrutiny from the competition and markets authority .
bt advisers are representatives of westpac banking corporation abn 33 007 457 141 afsl & australian credit licence 233714 ( westpac ) . bt advice is a division of westpac .
bt share price rises ( lon : bt . a ) as it agrees openreach solution after
long and challenging
debate with ofcom | city a . m .
now the chief security technology officer of bt , schneier worked at the department of defense and bell labs before founding counterpane internet security , which was acquired by bt .
in 2000 , bt sued prodigy , the oldest isp in the us , over alleged infringement of a patent that bt said covered the basic hyperlink technology underlying the web . on that occasion the court decided that bt ' s patent did not apply .
in connection with the acquisition of ee limited , on 29 january 2016 bt group plc issued and allotted a total of 1 , 594 , 900 , 429 new ordinary shares ( the consideration shares ) to t - mobile holdings limited and orange telecommunications group limited ( the sellers ) as part of the consideration for the purchase of ee limited from the sellers . because the number of consideration shares was greater than 10 % of bt’s issued share capital , bt was required to prepare and publish a prospectus in accordance with the prospectus rules of the uk financial conduct authority . this prospectus is dated 26 january 2016 .
group turnover up 3 per cent , excluding the impact of mobile termination rate reductions , at £4 , 584 million . turnover was marginally up including the impact of mobile termination rate reductions
group turnover up 2 per cent , excluding the impact of mobile termination rate reductions , at £4 , 602 million . up 1 per cent including the impact of mobile termination rate reductions
vodafone and china mobile ( hong kong ) ltd ( chmk ) sign a
strategic alliance agreement
. the group completes the acquisition of a 25 % stake in swisscom mobile .
during the last 10 years , the group has been instrumental in progressing and completing several major environmental improvements to the dedridge corridor between the a71 and its confluence with the river almond .
bt and ee in customer service set - back as £12 . 5bn deal is cleared
bt boss gavin patterson confirmed back office and management jobs would be “simplified” across both businesses amid a number of high - profile departures at bt and ee ahead of takeover .
bt : sees fiscal year 2019 revenue , ebitda hit by new accounting sta . .
the deal sees bt buying all ee shares currently held by orange and deutsche telekom .
while bt is rumoured to have looked at alternative ways of spinning off bt wireless , mr varney ' s statement indicated that a straight demerger was still the favoured option .


seeqnce is a startup accelerator based in beirut , lebanon .

it was founded in 2010 by samer karam , who remains its chairman and general manager , transforming it over the years into a key pillar in lebanon 's startup ecosystem .

in july 2011 , seeqnce launched its state-of-the-art space in the heart of beirut ( hamra ) .

in 2012 , it successfully launched lebanon 's 1st startup accelerator program , with 436 entrepreneurs from 30 countries .

on august 24 , 2012 , seeqnce announced its investment in 8 startups .

startup accelerators design programs through which entrepreneurs can apply with or without an idea ; go through a selection process and eventually the best ones are accelerated for a defined period of time .

the accelerated startups are provided with cash investments , in return for equity , along with unique services such as mentoring , access to facilities as well as exposure to investors for their startup upon completing the program .

all these high added value services increase the valuation of the startup rapidly .

seeqnce

speaking to samer karam , one of the key co - founders seeqnce , he was quick to point out that seeqnce is not an incubator , but an accelerator .
seeqnce , an award - winning internet . . . - lebanese american university – alumni | facebook
difficulties meant that activity through seeqnce gradually decreased and eventually , samer karam started up ‘alice’ – a virtual accelerator .
seeqnce based : in beirut , lebanon . launched : july , 2011 , by samer karam , co - founder at think green . model : web and mobile startups can apply to receive mentorship from seeqnce , which provides incubation from the idea stage to the growth stage . seeqnce also offers co - working spaces for tech entrepreneurs generally . alumni you may know : monaqasat , cuevox
more than 150 aspiring entrepreneurs have made it to the 2012 seeqnce accelerator program ( sqp2012 ) shortlist , after successfully passing the one - on - one interview round and moving on to group working sessions and team - building events , known as the seeqnce shuffles .
seeqnce is a highly acclaimed internet startup accelerator based out of beirut , lebanon . ranked in the top 5 accelerators of the mena region , seeqnce has successfully advised & accelerated over 20 startups in 24 months , establishing a 25 , 000 - strong community across 6 continents .
seeqnce accelerator program 2012 might have spent a lot of time doing outreach , but this brought them strong candidates who developed several great projects .
seeqnce is a highly acclaimed internet startup accelerator based out of beirut , lebanon . recently ranked in the top 10 accelerators of the mena region , seeqnce has successfully advised & accelerated over 20 startups over the course of 18 months , establishing a community of over 3000 entrepreneurs along the way .
“seeqnce took cinemoz from idea to concept to funding to team to product in less than 9 months . now that’s what i call acceleration ! ”
prior to founding startup megaphone , karam founded seeqnce , which started off as a founder collective providing advisory events and organizational workshops . however , due to its immense success , in 2012 seeqnce opened its accelerator programme and is now the advisor to the central bank of lebanon’s $ 400m sovereign startup fund .
the seeqnce mixers are highly - energetic applicant - only parties that allow them to network and interact with one another , thereby helping them find their ideal team - members and cofounders . completing one’s team is an essential step before the seeqnce challenges begin as the future entrepreneurs race for the final 8 spots .
each of the 150 will participate in the seeqnce shuffles and mixers throughout the month of july , to develop entrepreneurial skills that lie beyond their own curiosity .
but seeqnce succeeded in creating 8 startups that will capitalize on ideas that have been kicking around the startup scene in lebanon for awhile . and they generated energy that surpassed the geek population ; young sparkly party - goers continued to trickle in , teetering in heels up to the front seeqnce door after the final pitch ended .
along with our scs is the seeqnce lounge . our unique lounge allows people to bring their own food , relax , and rub shoulders with seasoned seeqnce professionals . this grants the innovative person the ability to work and avoid over priced coffee shops or unhealthy fast food restaurants , and a chance to mingle with people of the same caliber .
even though seeqnce discontinued its offline acceleration program , it continues to lead many startup ecosystem initiatives including an online acceleration program , and advising corporations and governments on early stage investment .
in the first year ( 2012 ) of the seeqnce accelerator , 8 companies were accepted to the six month programme , and 3 companies went on to get further investment , 37 % success rate .
seeqnce has a number of options for the use of its space . the seeqnce league , an exclusive application - based membership for hackers , geeks , inventors , and technologists , provides monday - friday access to the seeqnce community space from 6 pm to 10 : 30 pm for only 20 usd / month . web & mobile entrepreneurs , startups , et al can become seeqnce residents for 525 usd / month ( discounts available for three and six months paid in advance ) , getting monday - friday access to the seeqnce accelerator space and ideation chamber from 8 am to 10 : 30 pm and saturdays from 8 am to 2 : 30 pm . daily walk - in coworkers pay 20 usd / day , 90 usd / week ( paid in advance , otherwise the rate is 100 usd / week ) , 152 usd / 2 weeks ( paid in advance , otherwise the rate is 180 usd / 2 weeks ) , and get access to the seeqnce community space monday - friday from 8 am to 10 : 30 pm and saturday from 8 am to 2 : 30 pm ( discounts apply for saturdays ) . all forms for applying to residency , daily coworking , or the league can be found at urltoken
join us to hear the stories of people from seeqnce who started companies , the mistakes they made and what they learned . find out how successful startups do it . discover what it takes to win .
according to fadi bizri , a seeqnce founding member and program director , “with the current roster of applicants , sqp2012 is shaping up to be the largest web and mobile accelerator program in the region . ”
the excitement in the colourful offices of seeqnce , a business incubator in beirut , is palpable . in one room disembodied entrepreneurs pitch their ideas over skype to a three - judge panel . in another fadi bizri , one of seeqnce’s founders , scrawls business plans on a wipeable desk . so far mr bizri and his colleagues have considered 433 applications in their hunt for eight winning teams that will spend six months in the incubator creating internet and mobile companies .
livingsocial ' s recent exit made for good small talk , but hardly daunted budding web entrepreneurs in lebanon this past saturday night , as a crowd of over 300 gathered on the seeqnce rooftop to watch the finale of its 2012 accelerator program .
last week we invited antoine abou - samra , the founder of app & above ; , to seeqnce space . he told us more about his company , including its business culture , the company’s purpose of existence as well as its business model .
seeqnce is a game - changing startup accelerator space in hamra . it takes internet startups from idea to team to funding to product to growth . all of it in record time before your competitors catch up . that’s what startup acceleration is all about .
seeqnce is a premier startup accelerator for the arab world . located in the heart of beirut , in the hamra neighborhood , seeqnce aims to help develop the knowledge economy in lebanon . our dynamic and interactive seeqnce community space ( scs ) allows for a broad spectrum of students , inventors , tech geeks , free lancers , professionals , and aspiring entrepreneurs from all over the mena region to collaborate and exchange new ideas and information . we are the first in lebanon to have a space for coworking and hacking . the scs gives people the opportunity to work in a clean and safe shared environment , giving them space to develop their creative ventures . it also allows for a number of high profile workshops and events to take place weekly . our scs is also used for high profile events that have discussed important platforms such as ruby on rails .
the month of june was dedicated to having one - on - one interview sessions with each entrant , in order to shortlist over 150 high - potential developers , designers , and business persons . seeqnce believes it has selected excellent candidates , the best of whom will go on to create eight successful startups .
an accelerator is like any startup ; it requires the right timing , team management , funding , cashflow , and an understanding of the competition . but sometimes , even though they offer a great service , things just don’t align . this was the case with accelerators seeqnce accelerator program 2012 , meydan , and tahrir 2 .
these final 8 teams succeeded through sheer tenacity and being strong - willed . what we put them through was intense ,
says fadi bizri , co - founder at seeqnce , describing the first session of one - on - one interviews , the series of random team shuffles and 5 - hour projects they had to complete .
they all have good potential , and cover a wide variety of themes ,
says bizri .
we ' ve worked hard to bring them to an investor - ready level .
he says seeqnce itself injected $ 76 , 000 into each startup , a number we can only assume is part in - kind mentorship donation .
during a healthy delay , we browsed booths where the 8 startups were set up , showcasing their products with flat screen tvs arrayed along the seeqnce roof . many of them had just finalized their ideas in the last few weeks if not days , having just completed a rigorous 48 hour hackathon as the capstone to a summer of project development .
if you were going to choose an interesting place to run an accelerator program for startups , beirut would probably be one place you’d pick . i recently travelled to the city to meet with seeqnce , a unique project which hopes to woo the lebanese diaspora – spread throughout the world after beirut’s notorious war - filled history – to a newly peaceful lebanon .
seeqnce is part of another arab spring . incubators are trying to do for cairo ( flat6labs ) and jordan ( oasis500 ) what seeqnce is doing for beirut . private - equity firms such as abraaj capital and citadel capital are investing in high - growth companies . arabnet helps techies to network . new ventures are popping up everywhere . cinemoz , in beirut , allows access to the arab world’s biggest online library of films and soap operas . diwanee , in dubai , provides online articles in arabic for women . ekshef links patients with doctors in egypt . linda rottenberg of endeavor , a networking group for entrepreneurs , says the arab world resembles latin america a few years ago when it comes to start - ups .
the new seeqnce programme invests $ 75 , 000 for 30 % equity with 10 % buyback option based on performance . follow on rounds have the right of first refusal . the large amount of equity is structured on the basis that they are skipping a round based on the fact they are going through series a . but “we are not adamant that it will always work this way , ” says karam .
the seeqnce accelerator program , recently ranked in the top 10 accelerators of the mena region , brings together promising individuals or teams from the business , design , and engineering fields , who want to create the next big startup . collaboration between entrepreneurs and skilled individuals – even those coming from completely different industries – can help create the new spin ideas and talent need to grow into a healthy , young business .
this summer it plans to create 8 new startups drawn from lebanon and the rest of the arab world . each startup will get investment , mentoring and offices . so far they’ve had over 275 applicants from 17 countries apply for the program which starts in september and ends in march 2013 . located in the the cool hamra district of beirut , in an office that was converted from a derelict apartment , seeqnce plans to accelerate beirut’s startup scene .
at the beginning , seeqnce accelerator program 2012 ' s startups were spending two hours a week with each of their two mentors , but soon , the founders ended up spending all of their time helping the startups . “this was beneficial , ” says bizri , “but then we noticed we were spending most of our time with the startups that were progressing the least . if this startup is underperforming , you realize you shouldn’t be putting more time into it . ”
seeqnce was , in typical fashion , hyping every element of its team and event , but its bravado generated an optimism that was needed in an ecosystem gaining confidence . they launched the accelerator program with a great deal of fanfare , and here was their moment to deliver . they did - the ideas presented were not revolutionary , but several showed promise . it was , as one vc pointed out , a similar caliber to those at oasis500 , a much larger accelerator in jordan .
once launched , the accelerator quickly made a reputation for being intense , even by typical accelerator standards , with entrepreneurs staying in the office late at night , and the organization team being really engaged . “we had to succeed , ” says bizri , “because it was a first time , and we [ the accelerator and the startups ] had to raise money . ” seeqnce accelerator program 2012 invested $ 76 , 000 usd ( half in cash , half in services ) in each startup .
the four managers agree : it is difficult for startups to raise money , so accelerators need to engage investors from day one . kaddoura explains that you need to arrange funding deals with partners from the beginning . and seeqnce accelerator program 2012 ' s el meouchi adds that you need to let the investors know how the startups are doing so that when the startups are looking for money , investors already know and trust them . the challenge , he says , is that you don’t want to saturate investors or bore them with updates .
back in 2011 , in lebanon , building a team was a huge challenge . so seeqnce accelerator program 2012 decided to integrate team building in their process in order to get teams that would work well together and have all of the necessary skills ( development , design , and business development ) . they gathered the candidates a few times to do mini - hackathons , giving different groups three hours to work on project . this way , candidates had the chance to size each other up and choose with whom they would work best . “back then , i don’t think there was any other way , ” says the entrepreneur .
2 ) be transparent : vcs can be more transparent in simply explaining what they are looking for . by putting out sample term sheets , similar to what fred wilson of union square ventures posts on his blog , companies will get a sense of what they are signing up for . similarly , vcs can include templates for the types of presentations and information they are looking for in pitches along with sample financial models . “they also need to talk about the investments they have made and how they are doing , ” comments samer karam of seeqnce , one of the few accelerators in lebanon . by being more transparent about their requirements and their performance , both vcs and entrepreneurs can save a lot of time .
the first pre - accelerator to step forward was altcity . ( seeqnce closed its accelerator after graduating its first class ) . the central bank hopes this dual approach will seed the ecosystem with growing companies that can boost the national economy . “we think in the coming two years the circular can generate 1 % economic growth and create thousands of jobs indirectly and directly , ” predicts marianne hoayek , the executive director of the central bank’s executive office , and the lead of the circular 331 initiative . since fully getting off the ground last year , the circular 331 has directly benefitted and funded 4 - 5 companies already [ 4 ] . in order to meet their mandates , banks need to deploy between $ 30 - $ 50m a year into startups : so we can expect to see more and more investments ramping up in the coming months .
as more and more startups pop up on the scene today , this rational thinking echoes across lebanon’s startup ecosystem . you see bankers , consultants , engineers , alike , somewhat gloriously quitting their jobs to try their hands at entrepreneurship and the chance to create the next facebook . ten years ago , however , very few lebanese were starting high - risk , fail - fast , profits - after - 5 - years companies like their present - day entrepreneur counterparts . “we didn’t have this culture of entrepreneurship , ” reflects samer karam , founder of startup megaphone and seeqnce , lebanon’s first accelerator [ 1 ] . whatever flickers of activity existed were not cohesive , and thus could not build momentum . samer recognised this lack of support for funding , advisory , training , etc , firsthand when he started one box , his first tech company similar to the concept of google wave , in 2007 . after closing the company a few years later , samer decides to coax the entrepreneurial community out of isolation and rents out an apartment in downtown beirut .
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as my flight out of beirut reached cruising altitude , and the seat buckle lights flickered off , i leant back in my chair and wondered if i had , in fact left the country just in time . admittedly , it wasn’t quite an ‘argo - esue’ escape from another middle eastern country , but labelling a controversial government minister on a conference stage as an “idiot” maybe wasn’t the wisest of moves . beirut is not a town known for its placid history , after all . furthermore , my comment had made the front page of the beirut daily star the next day . perhaps it was just as well that i left the next day .
but the trip was worth it . beirut is rapidly shaping up to be a powerhouse for startups in the middle east . it has many of the key elements : a highly entrepreneurial culture ; incubators and accelerators ; venture capital ; some gradually favourable government policy and access to growth funding . the exits and the ‘paypal mafias’ may be a ways off but its a beginning . in part because it is the most liberal state in the mena ( middle east and north africa ) region , and has a western - style banking system bequeathed to it by the french a long time ago , lebanon is uniquely poised to generate startups which aim both at the arab world and the wider world at large .
last week a new $ 71 million mena - focused vc fund was announced by leap ventures , based out of beirut . and the lebanon central bank “ circular 331 ” initiative promises to put up to $ 400 million into the local startup economy . in addition , this year , the uk government is supporting a scheme to bring lebanese startups to the uk and to the attention of london - based investors . furthermore , late last year the country saw the launch of its very own disrupt - style startup - focused conference .
banque du liban accelerate wasn’t the first conference about technology in lebanon , but it was the first to focus exclusively on startups , and specifically , the beirut tech startup ecosystem . it therefore benefitted from that far more laser - like focus , and even managed to attract over 50 international speakers from over 20 countries and 1 , 000 attendees ( video of the event here ) . given that a civil war in syria is raging on the border , this was no mean feat . some parts of beirut are awash with syrian refugees , and yet delegates were treated to a startup conference close to any other they might encounter in the us or europe .
one of the attractions of the tech scene in beirut is the city itself . the city’s restaurants , bars and nightclubs , equal anything you might find in san francisco , new york or london . the safe areas of beirut are well documented and patrolled by armed soldiers . personally , i have never felt in danger in beirut .
the conference was also a leap of faith . banque du liban governor riad salameh green - lit the sizeable event , while director marianne hoayek put the project into gear . she in turn brought in samer karam ( pictured above ) , who was previously involved in beirut’s first attempt to create a valley - style accelerator .
the conference was also attended by some heavy hitters from the financial and political world including marianne hoayek , director of the executive office at banque du liban , riad salameh , governor of the central bank of lebanon , francois bassil , chairman of the association of banks in lebanon , mohamed choucair , chairman of the federation of the chambers of commerce , industry and agriculture in lebanon , and tom fletcher , ambassador of the united kingdom in lebanon .
but one heavy hitter that didn’t attend was abdel menhem youssef . and perhaps it’s best that he stayed away . let me explain .
unfortunately , it’s his policies which stand in the way of beirut motoring ahead .
the current average internet speed in lebanon is 3 . 11 mbps , far lower than the gulf countries such as the united arab emirates , which enjoys an average 27 . 9 mbps .
it’s been estimated that doubling lebanon’s bandwidth could improve gdp by 0 . 6 percent . that’s a healthy amount for an emerging market economy which currently has a war on its doorstep and a refugee crisis .
to improve the speed , in 2011 the country was connected to the india - middle east - western europe ( imewe ) maritime cable . but while an improvement was felt . , lebanon still sits at 177th out of 200 countries on the ookla list for internet speed .
the reasons for this are simple . it’s entirely due to local politics . youssef , the head of the public - private organisation ( ogero , set up by the late rafik hariri ) has blocked the utilisation and distribution of the imewe and other cables that have been hooked up .
as of today , less than 10 % of the available capacity of the already operational internet cables is made available to the market . it’s scandal which ought to have those at the highest levels of government fuming with anger .
even former telecommunications minister nicolas sehnaoui ( pictured above ) estimates it would take only a year to organise fibre to the home to every lebanese citizen . if they could just connect up the imewe .
the finger has therefore been pointed at ogero , run by youssef . the company is responsible for distributing the boosted internet capacity enjoyed from the imewe to different internet service providers as well as building the network . it also sells internet access direct to consumers . but , in a bizarre twist , ogero’s chairman is not only the state regulator of the telecommunication industry , but also in charge of ogero itself .
so the body charged with widen gin broadband internet , is directly hindering the development of lebanon’s internet economy and ultimately the development of the country .
indeed , marwan kheireddine , the chairman and general manager of al - mawarid bank , has been quoted as saying that there is a conflict of interest within the telecommunications ministry , given that the general director is also the chairman of ogero . “that doesn’t work . it is designed to fail , ” he recently told the beirut daily star .
certainly the implication is that youssef is either incompetent ( hence my ‘idiot’ remark ) or worse .
all this , despite a law drafted in 2001 which recommended that lebanon fully privatize its telecoms industry .
but this never happened . it never happened because the government at the time completely destroyed the telecom infrastructure in the hope of privatising it cheaply to cronies , and then reaping the benefits a couple of years down the line . for example , dsl deployment in lebanon was actively stalled until 2006 in the hope that this privatisation would occur . this would partly explain why ogero behaves in the way it does .
the current uk ambassador to lebanon ( pictured above ) and former private secretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister , tom fletcher , is powering a new initiative – a uk lebanon “tech hub” would be formed to bridge the startup communities between lebanon and the uk .
the private sector initiative begins this year , with the support of lebanon’s central bank . as the ambassador says , the idea is to bring “british expertise and investment and connect them with lebanon startups . ”
but time is a - wasting . lebanese startups need access to regional and international markets , as their success depended largely on their ability to sell products and services abroad . in that respect their fate matches many other smaller middle eastern countries . on lebanon’s side however is it’s relatively liberal culture , it’s multi - language society and its reputation as a cultural engine of the middle east .
so far three venture capital firms have established funds that have raised decent amounts of money . middle east venture partners ( mevp ) , berytech fund and leap ventures have each raised at least $ 50 million .
mevp has $ 75 million in capital and is growing . so far it’s invested mainly in lebanon - based startups , but also in jordan , saudi arabia , the emirates and egypt . one of the first vc firm across the arab world , it’s been investing since 2010 , putting between $ 200 , 000 up to $ 5m per startup . in addition , wamda capital ( recently spun out of a company best known as a media site , wamda platform ) has also built a $ 55m fund . a newer player is y venture partners ( yvp ) , a new , early stage investment and advisory firm created by brothers abdallah and ghaith yafi , who founded lebanese ecommerce site scoopcity as well as canadian ecommerce site thevolts .
henri asseily ( above ) , managing partner at leap ventures , a growth fund , is amongst the biggest supporters of the lebanon tech scene and a former founder of shopzilla which was sold for $ 500m . ( he also happens to be a cousin of alexander asseily the co - founder of jawbone ) .
and these investors have been boosted by circular no . 331 . this announcement was issued by lebaon’s central bank in august 2013 , and it encourages commercial banks to invest in startups . the central bank now guarantees up to 75 percent of the value of a commercial bank’s investments into a startup . that move opened up a potential of $ 400 million that could be invested into venture capital funds or directly into startups . over 15 lebanese banks have already taken part in the scheme .
one of the first startups to benefit from this scheme is presella , founded by walid singer and louay al kadri , which is aiming to become the “eventbrite for the middle east” . presella has so far raised in the region of $ 400 , 000 and expanded out of lebanon into dubai , and is rapidly growing its user - based across the middle east .
angel investors are thin on the ground , but are gradually being herded by beirut angels ( an initiative by samer karam and ex - telecoms minister nicolas sehnaoui ) .
in addition there are two large organisations of the considerable lebanese diaspora in the us who are starting to impact the eco - system . there is lebnet ( based in the bay area ) . and then there daher capital , a lebanon - based family office that only invests in the us market and has had a few successful exits and ipos . there’s also lisa ( the brainchild of mark haidar ) and thelist ( lebanese entrepreneurs and investors network ) . other players include hala fadel , chair of the mit ef arab , also angel investor ; fadi ghandour , founder of aramex and chair of wamda capital , also angel investor .
on the debt side , lebanon is home to more than 50 retail banks with $ 140 billion us ( three times its gdp ) in deposits . the reputation of beirut being the switzerland of the middle east is well - earned . these banks are fueling debt financing to tech companies through a subsidised government loan program named kafalat – a very innovative public sector initiative . circular 331 has of course taken that up a notch by encouraging venture financing .
as well as being spaced around the city , beirut’s tech clusters include the “beirut digital district” . this is not state sponsored , but rather is afforded benefits like cheaper internet connectivity , and some favourable legislation around company formation . unfortunately , most of these are not operational as the politicians that supported the creation of the bdd are now no longer in power . in addition the rental prices remain too high for the average startup .
but office space is far cheaper in beirut than in dubai , where sales , marketing and business development offices are often put .
lebanon has one of the best educational sectors ( and engineers ) in the arab world . beirut has more than 18 universities / tech campuses . it places like this which are fuelling the rise of the startup ecosystem .
lebanon is also producing a number of successful entrepreneurs . force of nature entrepreneur hind hobeika ( pictured above ) created the instabeat health tracking hardware and app for swimmers which was a smash hit on kickstarter . elie habib is the founder of anghami — the first to start a music streaming platform in the mena region which now has over 11 million users . paul salameh created pou , a game making millions on the app store .
ayah bdeir ( pictured above ) founded littlebits , an award - winning library of electronics dubbed “legos for the ipad generation . ” karim safiedine founded cinemoz , which is aiming to become the hulu for the middle east .
and lebanon is also sending entrepreneurs to the valley . elie khoury founded woopra , but has since relocated to san francisco . as has paul saber who founded etobb , a q & a platform to allow doctors to meet patients virtually in the mena region . then there is roadie , the automatic guitar tuner and app featured on stage at techcrunch disrupt new york last year , and created by bassam jalgha and hassane slaibi .
beirut is also producing new startups at a lively rate . these include ki an enterprise mobile app that eliminates the need for usernames and passwords . zoomaal is also quickly becoming the arab region’s main - kickstarter - style startup . sohati , a content website and interaction platform providing health information and services to patients across the arab world
feedeed , a marketplace for services that give talented people the opportunity to transform their skills & services into a viable business . and saily a second - hand local marketplace . there is even an app for real - time traffic conditions , not unlike waze , called tari’ak .
the wider ecosystem is also buzzing with accelerators and events . these include co - working 961 ( co - working ) ; startup bootcamp ( pre - accelerator bootcamp ) ; startup megaphone ( international promoter of lebanon startups ) ; sett ( a think tank based out of beirut that is working on a 20 year plan for lebanon’s startup ecosystem ) ; speed lebanon ( a community accelerator ) ; lfe ( ngo ) ; and arabnet ( a large regional digital and tech conference ) .
there’s also the bader young entrepreneurs program run by fadi bizri ( pictured above ) . and altcity , the co - working and startup hub started by david munir nabti has also made waves as an enthusiastic supporter of the scene .
lebanon is also host to many startup events . these include berytech’s yallastartup weekend ; bader’s networking 961 event ; and the mixnmentor events put on by wamda platform , which also has an accelerator , combined with consulting and research arms ) . the mit enterprise forum also organises a huge event for their award ceremony .
so the building blocks are all there . beirut is using its culture of freedom , its diversity , its low - cost high fun living standards and its location to its advantage in the arab region .
hopefully its politicians will begin to realise that its emerging internet startups need and require decent internet access . ( and , that i’ll sail through immigration next time ) .
note : items marked with ( * ) link to content on our global website .
one of mena’s top priorities in the coming years is job creation for a youthful population whose size and energy could either catapult economic activity at home , or be lost to better opportunities abroad .
while capitalizing on the potential talent of the youth generation is no small task , it may prove an essential move for countries in mena if they are to retain said talent for the benefit of the economy . according to the world economic forum , 75 million jobs must be created by 2020—but how can the region , in just nine years , create 40 per cent more jobs than are currently ?
the middle east and north africa ( mena ) has one of the world’s youngest workforces , with more than half of its population under 25 . this situation poses both enormous opportunities and challenges ; a large , motivated generation of young working people can propel grown and prosperity for entire countries , as was seen in the west post - world war ii and is currently happening in china . the challenge comes in providing enough jobs and opportunities to keep the youth engaged and , most importantly , to prevent loss of talent due to emigration . experts from the world economic forum , young global leaders , and booz & company say that one way to tackle this seemingly mammoth task is by nurturing start - ups . these experts have outlined concrete recommendations to accelerate entrepreneurship within the region : 10 imperatives ( detailed below ) that all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem can follow .
“we believe that the key to accelerating job creation will be fostering a business environment in which entrepreneurs can easily start new companies , spread innovation and spur economic activity in general , ” said joe saddi , chairman of the board of booz & company . “to do so , policymakers and business leaders must first identify what motivates people to start businesses ; they must understand the elements of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem , and which of those elements are lacking or immature in the mena region . ”
saddi continues to say that those elements which could be lacking include entrepreneurial culture , regulatory framework , infrastructure , equity investors , financing for small and medium - sized enterprises and formal education about entrepreneurship . an entrepreneur , within this article , is a person or company who starts or owns a new business .
“there are myriad benefits to fostering a start - up friendly environment , ” said habib haddad , ceo wamda . “not only do start - ups employ their owners , but the spillover benefits for the larger economy can be significant . as start - ups mature into small and medium - sized enterprises ( smes ) , they become significant contributors to employment and gross domestic product ( gdp ) . ”
an initial glance at entrepreneurial activity in mena suggests that it is robust ; arab countries average out at 13 per cent of the region’s working population engaged in entrepreneurial activity , which is considerably higher than ( more than doubly so in some cases ) the usa ( 8 per cent ) , uk ( 6 per cent ) or japan ( 3 per cent ) .
however , the statistics are deceptive ; such high percentages are driven by necessity as low - end merchants seek to satisfy their basic needs . this type of entrepreneur deserves government support , but governments must focus their efforts on those high - value entrepreneurs who are truly innovative , or who are able to recognise and seize an opportunity in the market . this type of startup activity has positive spillover on job growth and economy development , and is worth encouraging ; indeed , some governments have established targeted initiatives ( qatar’s science and technology park , oman’s sanad programme and tunisia’s centre des jeunes dirigeants d’enterprise ) to do just that .
“governments in the region must start thinking creatively and active decisively about spurring job creation , ” said soraya salti , senior vice - president , middle east and north africa , injaz . “encouraging entrepreneurship is one way to go—start - ups attract bright , innovative young people , whose determination for success drives economic activity , creates jobs and opens up new opportunities for others . ”
there are 10 imperatives that all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem , including but not limited to governments , ngos , companies and entrepreneurs themselves , should follow to influence and improve the overall atmosphere and create an entrepreneurial culture .
offer a helping hand . established entrepreneurs should give time , advice and seed funding to aspiring entrepreneurs
. a successful predecessor is often the biggest source of inspiration to the next generation of business owners . established entrepreneurs can become involved in a number of ways , including counselling and collaborating with ngos to create conferences and programmes that aspiring entrepreneurs can benefit from . to encourage start - ups , linda rottenberg and peter kellner established endeavour , a non - profit organisation , in 1997 , which is active in more than 10 emerging countries with further plans to expand in the coming years .
change behaviours and evolve the culture . discuss entrepreneurship every day , and generate hype around a handful of success stories
. public figures have the power to promote and even glamourize entrepreneurship , and can use their status to alter popular opinion about the value of launching a start - up . this is especially important in the middle east , where it is more acceptable to maintain a steady government job than to venture into entrepreneurism . those who might be reluctant to explore this path can be persuaded if they are made aware of the benefits to both individual and country that come with being an entrepreneur . the private sector should also play a part by becoming more public in its activities ; ngos should invite the media to conferences and forums , and individuals should grant more interviews to further broadcast their successes .
bring entrepreneurship to the classroom . everyone in high school and university should learn entrepreneurial principles
. ministries of education across mena should collaborate with the arab league educational , cultural and scientific organisation ( alesco ) in a regional joint effort to promote curricula that include entrepreneurship . educating teachers is the first step , so that they are able to pass on their knowledge to their students and encourage the idea of entrepreneurship at an early stage . universities can then create more specific goals to provide students with the desire , skills and knowledge to start a company . for example , they can establish degrees and courses in entrepreneurship that cover the subjects core to creating a successful business ( such as business planning and risk management ) , with coursework consisting of specialised seminars in which students create business plans to be presented to angel investors or venture capitalists . beyond the classroom , universities can offer support to entrepreneur clubs .
bring entrepreneurship to the office . companies should encourage employees to unleash their own talent
. corporate entrepreneurship must ultimately rely on the individual employees for entrepreneurial inspiration , but corporations can help unlock that potential . companies can tap into this by creating an internal process to assess and fund entrepreneurial ideas generated by employees , as well as offering time to work on them—either during the day or as paid leave , with the offer of further support once the start - up is created . saudi aramco , for example , has set up an entrepreneurship centre to provide networking , regulatory facilitation , funding , mentoring and education to saudi start - ups .
. while the norm is to emulate the success that silicon valley has become , governments , ngos and private groups should realise that the inspiration - spawning hub evolved from a series of intertwining factors—and a healthy dose of luck—that cannot be recreated . instead , members of the entrepreneurship ecosystem should focus on the mena - specific advantages , which may not lie in it but in natural resources ( oil and gas , fruits , vegetables , water or fish ) , strategic position ( such as a hub between trade regions , point of access from one region to another , or proximity to a religious or tourist attraction ) , climate ( which could support the cultivation of specific plants , such as coffee or mangos , or be good for tourist activities , such as surfing , snorkelling and diving ) or human resources ( such as date farming expertise in saudi arabia and hospitality training in egypt ) .
. immigration and naturalisation laws hinder the free flow of talent and expertise into the region , which puts local entrepreneurs at a disadvantage and discourages foreign entrepreneurs from setting up shop . streamlined immigration rules should give start - ups access to the expertise that they need . governments should also review rules that restrict real estate , business and stock ownership by foreigners since these also discourage foreign participation in local ventures .
. good ideas can come from anyone , anywhere , any time—not just from the entrepreneurial stereotype of a young , brilliant kid with a hot it idea , which is enforced by the success of the founders of google and facebook , as well as yamli and woopra . likewise , not all start - ups need to be it - related to be a success . governments and ngos should encourage entrepreneurial initiatives that leverage a country’s best resources , without fixating on the it industry ; they would be wise to create non - technology incubators that provide mentoring , financial assistant and support to entrepreneurs in various fields . likewise , venture capital firms should establish funds aimed at non - technology industries , such as consumer goods , retail and education .
. the middle east has been losing talent for years as regional talent seeks opportunities abroad , where stable governments and more developed legal and economic systems exist . however , these individuals tend to retain strong familial and emotional ties to their homeland . mena governments and ngos would be wise to tap this enormous network of business expertise for advice and insight . the lebanese business council is an example of a global business organisation and association ( boa ) that hosts networking events for lebanese communities across the globe .
. governments should centralise , streamline and shorten the administrative steps necessary to set up a business ( and lower the legal costs ) . they can change rules to make it easier for start - ups to get funding , and lend their support to forums where entrepreneurs and investors meet . subsidized management training has proved successful in singapore , with the economy growing by 14 . 7 per cent in 2010 ; mena’s governments can look to singapore’s successor inspiration .
expand the venture capital model . vcs need to go beyond funding and provide a support structure for entrepreneurs
. venture capital firms must proactively seek out likely start - ups rather than waiting for entrepreneurs to come to them . entrepreneurial networks can help to source promising ideas , but there are other creative ways to search for the next big thing—vcs could also seek out young companies that have been denied bank loans , for example . once vc firms have invested in a start - up , they need to take a more active role—for instance , by assign a team of industry experts to mentor entrepreneurs , or providing help with tactical decisions and long - term planning .
ahmed youssef , partner at booz & company concluded ; “creating an entrepreneurial culture will take time , especially in a region where entrepreneurial aspirations are not well understood or , necessarily , respected . everyone with a vested interested in job creation and economic growth must make a concerted , coordinated effort to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem , as success will depend upon everyone taking ownership , taking action on their own , and cajoling others to act . ”
mena is in dire need of a fully - fledged entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide the necessary jobs for its rapidly growing working - age populations , and in order for its society to fully benefit from talent and ideas of people of all ages and backgrounds . the recommendation is for stakeholders to act now to lay the groundwork for the mena region’s youth , so that their full capacity is harnessed to the benefit of their countries .
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donors should reevaluate how best to encourage entrepreneurship in the middle east and north africa .
the arab uprisings have unleashed a new entrepreneurial spirit in the region , particularly among younger entrepreneurs who feel emboldened to launch new small - and medium - sized enterprises ( smes ) . the international donor community has long supported smes as they create jobs , greater domestic income ( especially among lower - income groups ) , economic growth , and social stability in emerging markets . yet , donor activities have sometimes been misguided—however well - intentioned—and the current environment provides an opportunity to reevaluate the best ways to encourage entrepreneurship .
many multilateral programs and international ngos in the region focus disproportionately on female participation in smes . for example , the development assistance committee within the oecd designated over 4 . 6 billion us dollars towards women’s economic and productive sectors between 2007 and 2008 .
the limited involvement of women in smes in the region cannot be doubted ; the sme sector is characterized by low rates of female ownership and few female workers—in stark contrast to the participation of women in the informal sector . in the middle east and north africa , smes comprise the most substantive part the economy : there are 12 million smes , which make up 95 percent of the private sector . even so , only about 300 , 000 of those are women - owned “formal” smes . in egypt , these enterprises account for about 75 percent of total employment and 80 percent of the gross domestic product—yet women own less than two percent . even with that disparity , it is important to remember that this trend is not unique to the middle east ; globally , women own only one - third of smes in emerging market economies ( between eight and ten million ) .
to address this disparity , many programs try to level the playing field through microcredit loans to women . although well intentioned , this focus on unequal access to credit ignores the real difficulties of doing business in the middle east . women’s rights activists in the region often stress this and argue that the core obstacle to doing business in the middle east is the failure of governments to create regulatory environments that facilitate access to institutional capital and knowledge and that are conducive to entrepreneurship for everyone , regardless of gender .