INJAZ Bahrain has successfully concluded this year’s version of its annual Young Entrepreneurs competition, which was held online for the first time ever on Tuesday July 7 2020. The virtual competition witnessed 21 student companies from 13 high schools and 8 universities in Bahrain as they presented their projects virtually to the competition’s judging panel.
The two-day event ran a busy agenda starting off with an Assessment Day on July 6, where students in the High School and University tracks commenced with panel interviews with the judges. The final day of the competition featured the virtual award ceremony where the winning teams were announced and livestreamed on INJAZ Bahrain’s YouTube channel.
The competition witnessed great enterprising and entrepreneurial spirit which was brought forward by the participating students from around the Kingdom in their competition to obtain the coveted “University Company of the Year” and “High School Company of the Year” titles in addition to “University Product of the Year 2020”, “High School Product of the Year 2020”, “University Company for Best Social Impact 2020” and “High School Company for Best Social Impact 2020” awards. Special awards this year include two signature awards – “Excellence in Technology Award” sponsored by Amazon Web Services Bahrain, and “Excellence in Marketing Award” sponsored by the National Bank of Bahrain.
Judges for this year’s Young Entrepreneurs Competition featured Mr. Adnan Al Mahmood from GPIC, Ms. Nadera Abuali from Citi Bahrain, Mr. Yasser Al Qashar from BANAGAS, Mr. Khalid Al Sada from STC, Mr. Stefano Pettinato from the UNDP, Ms. Eman Janahi from Tamkeen, Mr. Nidal Al Basha from Amazon Web Services Bahrain, and Mr. Hisham Abu Alfateh from National Bank of Bahrain. INJAZ Bahrain’s National Company Competition sponsors are Tamkeen, Banagas, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and National Bank of Bahrain (NBB).
The 2020 Young Entrepreneurs Competition showcased current achievements and reflected on the growth and success of INJAZ students throughout the year. This year’s edition included teams from Abdulrahman Kanoo International School, Al Iman Private Schools – Boys, Al Noor International School, Al Taawon Secondary School for Boys, Al Tadhamon Secondary Girls School, Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Secondary Boys Schools, Hamad Town Secondary Boys School, Ibn Khuldoon National School, Jidhafs Secondary Girls School, Jidhafs Secondary Technical Boys School, Khawla Secondary Girls School, Naseem International School, Sitra Secondary Girls School. While the participating universities include: British University of Bahrain, Kingdom University, Royal University for Women and University of Bahrain.
All participating teams impressed the judging panel with their creative ideas and ambition and the best six companies were named the winners of 2020 included: “Sahim” from “Ibn Khuldoon National School” won the “High School Company of the Year 2020”, and “Al Malga” from “Kingdom University” won “University Company of the Year 2020”.
“Wain Adriss” from “Al Iman Private School – Boys Section” won the “High School Product of the Year 2020”, and “Shield” from “British University of Bahrain” was presented with “University Product of the Year 2020 award”.
“Fe Al Darb” from “Sitra Secondary Girls School” won the “High School Best Social Impact Award”, and “Khosh Solutions” from “Royal University for Women” was presented with “University Best Social Impact Award”.
“Truck Me!” from “Hamad Town Secondary Boys School” won the “Excellence in Technology Award” sponsored by AWS.
“Shield” from “British University of Bahrain” won the “Excellence in Marketing Award” sponsored by NBB.
H.H Sh. Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, INJAZ Bahrain Chairperson, praised INJAZ Bahrain as one of the leading initiatives to support our youth to start their entrepreneurial journeys: “Our vision at INJAZ Bahrain is to create a platform where young people are supported and motivated to channel their innovation and creativity into building a knowledge-based economy through our programmes and partnerships. We believe in the potential of our youth and aim to inspire and prepare them to succeed in the global economy. We are very proud of this year’s student for their commitment and dedication to keep learning.”