Under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairperson of INJAZ Bahrain, the 11th edition of Young Entrepreneurs Competition, held at Wyndham Grand Manama, was successfully concluded on Tuesday. The 2-day event witnessed student entrepreneurs from around the Kingdom competing to obtain the coveted “University Company of the Year” and “High School Company of the Year” titles in addition to “High School Product of the Year 2019”, “University Product of the Year 2019”, “High School Company for best Social Impact 2019” and “University Company for Best Social Impact 2019” awards.

Under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa

The two-day event ran a busy agenda starting off with presentations by participating teams and booth visits by judges, and ending with an award ceremony. The Judging Panel was composed of Adnan Mahmood, IT & Knowledge Manager at GPIC; Ammar Bubshait, EKK Corporate Standards and Affairs Manager at E.K Kanoo; Lamees Zaber, Manager, Service Development at Bahrain Development Bank; Salman Al Ghattam, Senior Supervisor of Employee Affairs at BANAGAS; Eman Janahi, Manager of Partnership and Customer Engagement at Tamkeen; Fadhel Malalla Alansari, General Manager of Corporate Support at GPIC; and Yasin Aboudaoud, Chief Development Officer at Brinc Batelco Bahrain.The 2019 Young Entrepreneurs Competition not only highlighted current achievements but reflected the success of INJAZ students throughout the year, recalling the great success and awards obtained by “CONTRIVE” from Shaikha Hessa Girls School and “TaaWin” from the Royal University for Women during INJAZ Al-Arab 2018 Young Entrepreneurs Competition.

This year’s edition of YEC included 28 teams from 19 secondary schools and nine from Universities participating in the competition from Abdulrahman Kanoo International School, Ahmed Al-Omran Secondary Boys School, Al-Hekma International School, Al Hidaya Al Khalifia Secondary Boys School, Al Hidd Secondary Girls School, Al Iman Private Schools-Boys, Al Iman Private Schools-Girls, Al Noor International School, Al Taawon Seondary Boys School, Al Tadhamon Secondary Girls School, Arabian Pearl Gulf School, Hamad Town Secondary Girls School, Ibn Khuldoon National School, Al Istiqlal Secondary Girls School, Jidhafs Secondary Girls School, Jidhafs Secondary Boys Technical School, Khawla Secondary Girls School, Naseem International School, Saar Secondary Girls School, University of Bahrain, Gulf University, Al Ahlia University, Applied Science University and Royal University for Women.

While many teams impressed the crowd with their ideas, the judging panel chose the best six companies for 2019. Winning teams included: “MagTag” from Ibn Khuldoon National School who won the “High School Company of the Year 2019”, and “AL FAZAA” from Applied Science University won “University Company of the Year 2019”. “Macrocreativity” from Hamad Town Secondary Girls School won the “High School Product of the Year 2019”, and “BTAG” from Al Ahlia University-Business college was presented with “University Product of the Year 2019” award. “Bahrain Cup Holder” from Al Iman Private Schools-Boys won the “High School Company for Best Social Impact 2019” and finally “CAN COMPANY” from University of Bahrain won the “University Company for Best Social Impact 2019”. The winning teams received awards from Abdulhakeem Al Khayyat, INJAZ Bahrain Board Member; Hana Sarwani, Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain; and Latifa Isa Al Bunoodha, Assistant Undersecretary for General and Technical Education at the Ministry of Education.

Commenting on the successful conclusion of the event, Al Khayyat stated: “The continued success of the Company program is attributed to the dedication of the talented students, the support of the esteemed board members and volunteers, and finally to the exceptional leadership of Her Highness Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa. The Company Program not only provides students with educational understanding, knowledge transfer and experience but also unleashes their creativity and innovation to become tomorrow’s successful entrepreneurs.”

Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Chief Executive of Labour Fund “Tamkeen” praised the partnership with Injaz Bahrain as one of the leading initiatives to support a wider range of Bahraini youth in their Secondary and University year, aiming at enhancing their skills and talents to prepare them for the labour market and encourage them to start their entrepreneurial journeys. Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain, Hana Sarwani praised the competition saying: “INJAZ Bahrain is grateful for the tireless support of its partners and volunteers in ensuring another successful year of the Young Entrepreneurs program in its 11th edition. Their participation and dedication throughout the year is key to the success of our program which would eventually help the students in becoming leaders and future entrepreneurs.” The company program was sponsored by Tamkeen, the strategic partner of INJAZ Bahrain for this program, while the 11th edition of the Young Entrepreneurs Competition was sponsored by Bahrain National Gas (Banagas), the platinum sponsor for this year. More than 200,000 students from across the Kingdom have benefitted from INJAZ flagship programs over the past 14 years.

For more information on INJAZ Bahrain
www.injazbh.org