Business projects from local secondary schools and universities that won the 16th edition of the prestigious Injaz Young Entrepreneurs Competition were announced last night.
Twelve awards, including some titles sponsored by banks and industry giants, were snapped up by the 20 teams that reached the final stage of the competition, selected out of 60 original competing teams.
Projects winning ‘Company of the Year’ are to represent Bahrain at the upcoming regional competition organised by Injaz Al Arab, set to take place later this year.
Spanning two days, contestants were assessed by a panel of judges from national institutions like Tamkeen, Alba, Bahrain Economic Development Board and Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, among others.
Held at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, the ceremony was inaugurated by Injaz Bahrain chairperson and founder Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa.
“The aim of Injaz Bahrain’s programme is entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness,” Shaikha Hessa told the GDN.
“We hope the skills the students gained today have been multidisciplinary and will take them to the next level and help them in their future workplace.
“As Injaz Bahrain began in 2005, this year marks two decades since we started organising programmes. Today, we are in all schools and most universities.”
She added that this year’s competition marked a record-breaking engagement, with more than 940 students participating throughout its stages, with about half passing the Entrepreneurship Skills Programme (ESP).
ESP graduates will be provided further growth opportunities, including exclusive chief executive job shadowing, scholarships, internships, courses and more.
The representative of this year’s finalists, Khadija Bukhowa, spoke about her experience on stage, calling the participants of the programme ‘the painters of Bahrain’s future’.
“In front of a blank white canvas we stood, as aspiring young artists,” Ms Bukhowa described the beginning of the contest. “At the tip of our brush, endless possibilities.
“We started as a team of fresh faces, unfamiliar with each other and slowly, as our naive ideas actualised into full-fledged products, we developed a harmony within our team.
“We squabbled and came to compromises. We faced obstacles and overcame them.”
The winners were then announced as follows:
Company of the year (high school) - ‘Jawk’, Al Hekma International School
Company of the year (university) - ‘Jawkum’, British University of Bahrain
Product of the year (high school) - ‘Istamr’, Ibn Khuldoon National School
Product of the year (university) - ‘Farz’, American University of Bahrain
Best social impact (high school) - ‘Tanka’, Al Jabiriya Secondary Technical School
Best social impact (university) - ‘Gashieco’, Bahrain Polytechnic
Best booth and brand, sponsored by Al Salam Bank - ‘Jawkum’, British University of Bahrain
Best technology, sponsored by Amazon Web Services - ‘Smartflow’, Jidhafs Secondary Technical Boys School
Excellence in environmental social and governance, sponsored by Bapco Energies - ‘Gashieco’, Bahrain Polytechnic
Best financial performance, sponsored by BBK - ‘Farz’, American University of Bahrain
Rising CEO award, sponsored by Bahrain National Insurance - Habiba Maher, chief executive of ‘Farz’, American University of Bahrain
Innovation award, sponsored by YK Almoayyed and Sons - ‘Jawkum’, British University of Bahrain
For the ‘Jawkum’ projects, students created high-performance eco-friendly gear made from recycled polyester, while the team of ‘Jawk’ turned clay into electricity-free humidifiers powered by water, by collaborating with local pottery makers.
The ‘Farz’ project boasted AI-powered recycle bins, while ‘Istamr’s team collected discarded date pits in order to manufacture disposable cutlery.
Robotics, sustainability and agriculture were the key ideas behind this year’s participating companies.
More than 150,000 youths across more than 290 schools and 15 universities partake in Injaz programmes annually.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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