Injaz Qatar, the non-profit organisation and affiliate of Junior Achievement Worldwide held the fifth Young Enterprise of the Year competition, ‘Mubadara,’ at Katara on Saturday.
The winning team, Invenio with officials from Injaz at the Mubadara competition
Executive director of Injaz Qatar, Aysha al-Mudehki addressing guests, said: “We aim to inspire and prepare tomorrow’s business leaders, our ‘Company Programme’ equips students with the skills they need to become successful entrepreneurs. We have seen dedication, good planning, innovation and commitment with all the seven participating teams. We would like to thank our volunteers, companies, schools, teachers, and partners who have made this programme a huge success.”
Injaz Qatar founding board member, chairman of Abu Issa Holding and winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2011, Ashraf Abu Issa presided over the awards.
He said: “We must set an example for the youth of Qatar, inspire them to excel, and place emphasis on enhancing creativity. This year we saw a group of extremely talented and motivated young individuals who presented creative, viable products to the judging panel.”
“Seeing the potential of these young students fills me with great hope for the future of Qatar,” he noted, adding “Mubadara is testament to Injaz’s commitment to the principles of market-based economics and entrepreneurship.”
Nihal al-Saleh, a volunteer from Qatar Shell GTL, mentored Notebooki from Amna Bint Wahab Secondary School for Girls, explaining: “It is important to sew the entrepreneurial seed in a booming environment like Qatar in order to prepare the future generations. Injaz Qatar is truly setting a standard in achieving this in Qatar.”
‘Invenio,’ a ringing device to help people locate valuables such as wallets and keys, designed by the team from Omar Bin Khattab Independent Secondary School for Boys won the ‘Best Student Company’ and ‘Best Public Presentation’ awards. Harmony Rayyan Company, a contemporary henna T-shirt design company from Al Rayyan Independent Secondary School for Girls won the “Best Marketing Plan,” while Hadeel Tariq, the vice president of production from Harmony Rayyan Company was awarded “Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Ishaq Burney and Maryam Mohamed, volunteers from Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority mentored Harmony Rayyan Company.
“The girls were extremely creative and innovative in their approach. The biggest challenge I faced was teaching them to conduct business in a process and planning driven environment. However, the students surprised us with how quickly they picked up the concepts,” said Burney.
“The students at Al Rayyan Girls School have developed tremendously over the past few months and it was extremely fulfilling to contribute to the growth of each student, building their confidence and helping them overcome their fears in order to achieve their goals,” added Mohamed.
‘Invenio’ now goes forward to the regional competition to be held in Abu Dhabi in September, competing against winning teams from 13 countries in the area.