Tribune News Network
Doha
INJAZ Qatar, a non-profit organisation and member of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, held its awards ceremony to mark the conclusion of Mubadara 2023, the Annual Young Enterprise of the Year Competition, under the patronage of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The ceremony for the 15th edition of the annual awards was held at the Qatar Foundation Student Center Ballroom was attended by the competition’s partners, sponsors, officials, Ministry of Education and Higher Education representatives, students, parents, volunteers, friends and media representatives who were present to encourage and support Qatar’s young entrepreneurs.
Twelve university teams and six high school teams from Qatar participated in the six-month-long programme, which offers students the opportunity to conceptualise, establish and run their own start-ups with the guidance of professionals from leading businesses across Qatar.
The Best Company Award among universities was won by a team ‘Khatwa’ that received QR35,000 as seed funding from Boeing, the strategic partner of INJAZ Qatar since 2009, in addition to the ongoing support and incubation award presented by QBIC (Qatar Business Incubation Center).
Commenting on the importance of supporting young talents and their innovation and technology endeavours in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, Boeing President in the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa Kuljit Ghata-Aura said, "We are proud to partner with INJAZ Qatar to empower the younger generation, enabling them to develop essential entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Throughout the years, more than 5,000 young people in Qatar benefitted from INJAZ Qatar programmes supported by Boeing. Our commitment to fostering the growth of the aviation and defense industries in Qatar begins with investing in the next generation of leaders and innovators.”
The Best Company of the Year Award, sponsored by ExxonMobil Qatar, was presented to ‘Khatwa’ from Qatar University and to ‘FA Robot’ from Qatar Technical School. The Highest Social Impact Award, sponsored by Ooredoo, was best presented to ‘Maktbati’ from Qatar University and to ‘360 Invision’ from Belgravia High School.
The Most Innovative Product/Service Award, sponsored by Qatar Development Bank, was received by ‘Salvia’ from Qatar University and ‘SFFA’ from Amina Bint Wahab School.
The Best Marketing Plan Award, sponsored by FRAME, was granted to ‘Hulla’ from Qatar University and ‘Qalam’ from DeBakey High School. Finally, the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Seib Insurance & Reinsurance, was presented to ‘CLIK’ from CUC Ulster University Qatar.
Mubadara is the culmination of a six month-long programme where student teams are offered the opportunity to conceptualise, establish and run a real business, with the guidance of professionals from leading businesses across Qatar. Twelve university teams and five high school teams from Qatar participated in this year’s Mubadara programme.
As the winning university team, ‘Khatwa’ and high school team ‘FA Robot’ will now represent Qatar at the Regional INJAZ Al-Arab Young Enterprise of the Year Competition and compete against other teams from 14 different countries in the MENA region.