Injaz Qatar has gathered around 300 students at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in preparation for the upcoming “2016 Company Programme,” a “business” competition for young entrepreneurs.
Injaz Qatar CEO Emad al-Khaja provided tips and advice during the event, and motivated the students entering the ninth edition of the competition, which facilitates opportunities for Qatari youth to set up, develop, and run their own businesses following expert guidance and mentoring from local business leaders.
“I wanted to gather all the participating students in the Company Programme this year in one room to give them an inspirational push using some interesting speeches and by getting to know other competing teams.
“I’m looking forward to seeing great ideas coming to life through the programme and I hope we were able to inspire the students through this event. I would like to thank the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for supporting Injaz Qatar, and Boeing for sponsoring the programme at the university level,” al-Khaja said.
Aside from explaining the competition’s guidelines, al-Khaja also encouraged the students to self-register on the online portal.
Company Programme alumni, Haya al-Noaimi, shared her experience with the participants and highlighted the value of going through the programme. Alexander Nehmeh from Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) also delivered a motivational speech and announced a new collaboration with Injaz Qatar.
This year’s judges for the Injaz Qatar Young Entrepreneurs’ Competition (Mubadara 2016) will be members of EO in Qatar, “since they all have the right experience and entrepreneurial knowledge to conduct the judging process.”
During the Company Programme, which is run in countries all over the world, the students experience the entire lifecycle of a startup venture as they develop a business idea, devise business plans, and produce and sell a product or a service.
The initial Company Programme journey in Qatar ends with Mubadara, the awards ceremony that is held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Higher Education during which the local annual winners are announced.
The Qatar winners will progress to a regional competition as one of 14 teams that have won their respective country titles in the Arab Region, and will compete for the ultimate regional Company Programme accolade.
Injaz Qatar is a nonprofit organisation and a member of Junior Achievement (JA) worldwide. The JA Company Programme teaches entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy skills to students from grade10 to students in universities, providing them with the unique opportunity of establishing and running a real company.