Fonicom, a start-up company, which placed second in the Junior Chamber International (Malta)’s Best Business Plan (JCI BBP) Competition last year, has launched its first phase of operations.

Its capital investment was secured through the JCI BBP programme following a year of research and development.

The JCI BBP Competition was first launched in 2002 and since then it has helped launch several new enterprises. Submissions for this year’s Best Business Plan Competition, supported by HSBC and KPMG, are accepted until 31 March. “The aim behind the competition is to give aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to get noticed and receive the right direction from experts to break into successful business,” said Chris Mallia, JCI Malta 2008 National President. “Fonicom is one good example of how a focused idea can be assisted to blossom into a flourishing company.”

Fonicom creates innovative software platforms and services to meet the complex needs of telecom carriers. Its research and development department is split in Pondicherry, India, and in Malta, from where administrative, technical planning, sales, marketing and finance-related tasks are handled. It operates multiple state-of-the-art communications gateways, in specialised network operations centres based in Florida, US, and Nuremberg, Germany.

The company’s 3-Gigabit Network Access Point infrastructure maintains simultaneous and continuous fibre optic access to Tier One Internet Service providers such as UUnet, Cable and Wireless, Qwest, Verio, Sprint, Global Crossings, Level 3, AT&T, WilTel, and Cogent among others.

Participation in the Best Business Plan competition is open to all Maltese residents aged between 18 and 40. For more information and an entry form, visit the JCI Malta website at www.jci.org.mt, e-mail [email protected] or contact the Project Team on 9989 7036.