DOHA: The 2013 Al Fikra National Business Plan Competition has reached the final round, with 21 contestants selected from nearly 130 entries to compete for the awards, a press statement said yesterday.
The finalists will join the best and brightest young entrepreneurs from the Arab region in the finals of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan-Arab Startup Competition, taking place in here for the first time as part of a new joint venture.
Al Fikra Competition is hosted and organised by Enterprise Qatar (EQ), co-organised by Silatech and SILA, and sponsored this year by QNB, ExxonMobil and Sasol. The competition has six academic partners, led by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
Now in its third year, the Competition attracted a large number of applications from Qatari nationals and residents. Aspiring entrepreneurs submitted 127 business ideas, of which 80 took the form of complete business plans.
In the students category there were 26 plans, and 54 in the professional’s category.
The first judging round took place on March 26, when the 21 finalists pitched their plans to a panel of expert judges.
Finalists are from a wide range of nationalities, including Qatar, Pakistan, Ghana, India, Egypt, Canada, Lebanon, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the US.
Al Fikra finalists will compete for awards on April 25, where first place and two runner up prizes will be conferred in the each category, student and professional totalling six winners.
Noora Al Mannai, CEO of EQ, remarked that the high standard of business plans submitted this year is a good indicator of the healthy entrepreneurial eco-system that is being fostered in Qatar.
“Al Fikra plays a critical role in encouraging students and members of the public to come forward with their business ideas and acquire the essential skills needed to launch and run a business”. The Peninsula
