Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) alumna and Senior Lab Instructor at the Department of Electrical, Computer and Communication Engineering – Faculty of Engineering (FE), Dr. Nisrine El Turkey, has won the regional round of the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) 2019, and has been nominated one of the Top three Women Entrepreneurs in the Arab World by the free women entrepreneurship program, Hadafi by potential.com, with her startup the Internet of Trees (IOTree).
IOTree is a series of smart traps connected to a wireless network which help farmers keep track of which of their crops are in need of the most pesticides, with the goal of limiting overall pesticide use on Lebanese farms. The traps use a deep learning algorithm and machine vision designed for the early detection, classification, and counting of different types of harmful pests. Farmers can then receive real-time reports from the IOTree app, on which crops are most affected by pests, and get updated on the best agricultural practices to deal with these invasions.
After winning second prize at the Lebanese Industrial Research Association’s (LIRA) 14th forum, IOTree went on to partner up with Lebanese mobile telecommunications and data operator provider touch. IOTree will be the first organization in Lebanon to deploy Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) technology, as well as receiving a golden pass allowing the startup to join the touch innovation program (TIP) cycle 3 starting in April 2019.
For her achievements as Co-founder and CEO of IOTree, El Turkey has been invited to the TiE Dubai Summit 2019, an event that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders and key government stakeholders, with participation from more than a dozen countries throughout the TiE global network. El Turkey will also be representing Lebanon at the GSVC 2019 finals at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in Berkeley, California, from April 3-5, 2019.
Congratulations to Nisrine El Turkey and best of luck.