Injaz Qatar, a non-profit organisation and member of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, has concluded Mubadara 2017, the Annual Young Enterprise of the Year Competition, at the Hamad bin Khalifa Student Centre. The Best Company of the Year Award, sponsored by ExxonMobil, was presented to ‘Vend Machine’ from Qatar University and ‘Parky’ from Al Kawthar Secondary school for girls.
The Most Innovative Product/Service Award, sponsored by Hamad Bin Khalifa University, was presented to ‘Notati’ from Qatar University and ‘Awsal’ from Awsaj academy.
The Best Marketing Plan Award, sponsored by Muntajat, was presented to ‘Kinecto’ from Qatar University and to ‘Roznam’ from Al Bayan Education Complex.
“Injaz Qatar’s Annual Young Enterprise of the Year Competition is a space where young entrepreneurs who have an idea can build a team and work to turn it into reality. I would like to thank Injaz Qatar for organising this award ceremony, and for bringing these outstanding and charismatic individuals and their creative business ideas to light,” said Alistair Routledge, president and general manager of ExxonMobil Qatar.
He added: “We work closely with local education partners like Injaz Qatar to support programmes that develop human capabilities, particularly among our youth. By providing young people with the tools and means to achieve their full potential, we’re helping to fulfil HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s vision of a thriving, knowledge-based society that can achieve a more prosperous and sustainable future for Qatar.”
Mubadara 2017 is a competition for student enterprises established through JA’s globally-recognised ‘Company Programme’. Student teams were offered the opportunity to establish and run a real business over five months with the guidance of professionals from leading businesses across Qatar.
“At HBKU, innovation and entrepreneurship are integral parts of the academic experience, and critical components of student learning. The university is committed to facilitating new ideas through breakthrough research and promoting an entrepreneurial culture, empowering our students to thrive in and outside the classroom,” said Maryam al-Mannai, HBKU vice-president of Student affairs.
The winner from Qatar University was also awarded seed funding of QR35,000 from Boeing to help support their enterprise in addition to ongoing support and incubation award by Qatar Business Incubation Centre.
“Educating and inspiring young people across the region are a critical focus for Boeing in the Middle East. Governments are looking to diversification and economic sustainability, and our partnership with Injaz in Qatar and across the region will help develop the future entrepreneurs that bring to life this long-term strategy.
“This programme gives young Qatari entrepreneurs the perfect catalyst to turn their ideas into reality,” added Bernard Dunn, president of Boeing Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Both winning teams of the Best Student Company Award from university and high school will now represent Qatar at the Regional Injaz Al-Arab Young Enterprise of the Year Competition in Egypt in November 2017.
Additionally, the Best Social Impact Award was won by ‘RRB’ from Al Resala Independent School for girls and ‘Vitality’ from Carnegie Mellon University.
Winners of the Mubadara 2017 competition.
