The Youth Pioneer Society concluded its 3rd edition of its entrepreneurship development program “Chance 2017 at the closing ceremony that was held under the patronage of Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and the attendance of the Undersecretary of Industry Affairs Mr Osama Al Orrayedh. In the presence of representatives of various private and government entities in the Kingdom, the ceremony was held on the 1st June 2017 at Sofitel Hotel.
The Undersecretary of Industry Affairs Mr Osama Al Orrayedh commenced the ceremony with a speech and said “Chance program demonstrates the entrepreneurial culture in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the efforts made by the government, private and civil society sectors to motivate and support the entrepreneurs. We are celebrating the participants and the winners of the first three places in “Chance 2017” program which started in February and contained more than 20 workshops to educate the participants on the basics of entrepreneurship, conducting market research, drafting business plans, as well as presentation and pitching skills, in order to get the best business plan for their business.”
“Chance Program was the first experience of the Youth Pioneer Society in the entrepreneurship programs that support the Kingdom of Bahrain’s vision in entrepreneurship and youth empowerment and translate its vision into reality. Through the program, the society has worked to help young Bahrainis with leading personalities and creative ideas to develop their ideas and start their business journey” Program Director, Ms Amira Mahmood, added.
A short film showing the various stages of the program was also screened during the ceremony, followed by presentations of the business projects by the winners of the top 3 places in the program, and then an announcement of the top 3 winners as best graduate entrepreneurs from the program.
The first place was won by Awatif Al Heriz on her project “Arabian Leather Tanning Factory”, the second place was won by a team of two Fatima Habib and Hasan Abdulla on their project “YUM Restaurant” which offers healthy fast food meals, and the third place was won by Nouf Subah on her project “Nouf Treats” which offers traditional sweets with a modern touch of various occasions.
At the end of the ceremony, the Undersecretary of Industry Affairs, Mr Osama Al Orrayedh, honoured the winners of the top three places and the graduated participants from the program, in addition to honouring the strategic and media partners, success partners and the organising team.
The Program Director revealed that the winners of the top three places will all receive valuable prizes including an Incubators in Seef Business Centre and the SME Development Society of Bahrain, cash prizes from the Youth Pioneer Society, dedicated relationship manager from Tamkeen to assist the winners in all their applications and coaching sessions, discounts on photography services from Pixelated Photography, discounts on branding and social media management from Mievento Creative Hub, in addition to free consultation session from Positive Impact Consulting. In addition, the winner of the first place will receive a comprehensive financial plan for the project, courtesy of Empower Business Solutions.
She also pointed out that program introduced the participants to various business-supporting organisations in Bahrain. The program also consisted of workshops on marketing, financial planning, business branding, customer service, technology in business conducted by a number of expert professionals, along with seminars focused on basic business-related laws and legislations and personal branding for entrepreneurs. The program has strengthened its position through its 3rd edition by partnering up with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Tamkeen, Bahrain Development Bank, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Capital Knowledge, Bahrain SMEs Development Society, in additional to the media partnership with Alayam Newspaper, Startup Bahrain, Bahrain This Week, and the creative partnership with Pixelated Photography and Mievento Creative Hub.
The 3rd edition of the program received great participation from entrepreneurs and professionals, who participated through selection jury, market research jury, business plan jury, and the various workshops and seminars throughout out the program. These entrepreneurs and professionals witnessed first-hand the progress of the proposed projects by participants that started with 29 projects, to which only 11 qualified and presented their business plans to the final jury.