Young entrepreneurs get QR6mn award from EQ

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development Company - Enterprise Qatar (EQ) - has awarded a total of QR6mn in prize money to six teams at the Al Fikra Business Plan Competition Awards ceremony.The ceremony was held under the patronage of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce and EQ chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani. The event marked the end of this year’s Al Fikra Business Plan Competition, which was held for more than four months in partnership with Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), Qatar Development Bank (QDB), ExxonMobil, Sasol, Qatar University and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ). The Al Fikra initiative reinforces EQ’s philosophy of encouraging the establishment of SMEs to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Qatar. During the competition, applicants underwent business plan development training and were coached in financial statement analysis.Their final business plans were submitted and subsequently evaluated by a panel of experts. HE Sheikh Ahmed said the Al Fikra Business Plan Competition aims to ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship and inspire the youth to choose a “unique career path that reflects their creativity”.“Through this competition, we want our future leaders to acquire the skills needed to showcase their innovative ideas and add value to our society. The hope is that we can depend on our new generation to diversify our national economy,” he stressed.EQ acting chief executive officer Ali al-Khulaifi said the competition received 178 business proposals from people seeking to “creatively express themselves while serving society”.The winners in the professional category included Q Talent by Maryam al-Subaiey and Maryam al-Emadi (ICT sector) - first; Al Galayel Simulator Game by Mohamed Doumir and Mohamed Jassim Ahmed al-Kuwari (ICT sector) - second; and LeFreej Café by Abdulaziz al-Sulaiti, Eman al-Sulaiti and Issam Alameh (food and beverage sector) - third. The winners in the student category were F8 by Ali Abbas, Saad Ahmed, Sabih bin Wasi and Noorul Huda Admaney (ICT sector) - first; Smart Cart by Amna Ahmed Mabrouk, Maya Hamed, Noora al-Muhannadi and Asil al-Bardawil (ICT sector) - second; and LifeSpan+ by Daniel Cheweiky and Sultan al-Jaber (ICT sector) - third.Aside from cash prizes, the six winning teams were awarded up to two years of business incubation services and professional development under the guidance of QBIC. The prizes also include managerial and technical advisory services to help the teams establish their business from within EQ.QBIC vice-chairman Amal al-Mannai said QBIC is looking forward to steering the winners through the lean start-up methodology via the action-oriented teaching programme that will be presented to the entrepreneurs during the incubation period.QDB executive director of Strategy and Business Development Hamad al-Kubaisi said QDB remains committed to encouraging all areas of business development in order to assist the growth of Qatar’s SME community.On his part, ExxonMobil Qatar national development manager Abdullatif al-Naemi said “a thriving enterprise sector serves as a building block for the larger value chain of companies, industries and sectors to contribute to sustainable and long-term growth of the local community”.Sasol corporate affairs manager Jack Saba added that the innovative entrepreneurial spirit was what inspired Sasol to support the competition for a second year. As an active member of the community, Saba said Sasol was pleased to work with EQ and other agencies to contribute to the development of Qatar’s future economy.Professor George White from CMUQ said, “In Qatar, we endeavour to encourage entrepreneurship through our classes and by supporting and promoting Al Fikra. We firmly believe this competition will make a significant contribution to realising the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.”For more information about the winners of the 2014 Al Fikra Business Plan Competition or details about EQ’s courses and workshops, visit www.eq.gov.qa