CMU-Q students win regional Injaz award

Latifa Alnaimi and Maria Sultana Mina were part of the first team from Qatar to win Company of the Year at the regional INJAZ Al Arab competition. Alnaimi and Mina are business administration students at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner university. A third member of the team, Jana Elbana, is a student at Qatar University. 

The team was mentored by Noura Al-Jurdi, an alumna from the Class of 2015 at CMU-Q. Al-Jurdi works at INJAZ Qatar. 

This article was originally published on November 12, 2022 in Gulf-Times under the title: “Injaz Qatar wins 3 awards at Injaz Al Arab’s 16th edition of ‘Young Entrepreneurship Celebration’”

Injaz Qatar, a non-profit organisation and member of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, celebrated the 16th edition of Injaz Al Arab’s ‘Young Entrepreneurship Celebration’ held in Dubai.

The celebration, which marked a return to in-person events following two years of virtual programming, was held in partnership with the Federal Youth Authority and celebrated the achievements of students who participated and won the National Company Programme Competition in their respective countries.

The competition saw 80 students across 12 countries compete for awards following a rigorous period of mentorship and programming. This year’s teams were mentored by industry experts from Boeing, FedEx, Mastercard, InvestCorp, Project Management Institute, and Citi Foundation.

They explored in-depth skills sessions across design thinking, innovation, growth and development, customer service and business strategy, and deepening their understanding of a wide spectrum of business concepts.

Following the judging process, the coveted ‘Company of the Year’ university prize was awarded to Injaz Qatar team ‘Homey’, which consists of the following students: Latifa Alnaimi and Maria Sultana Mina from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, and Jana Elbana from Qatar University.

Homey is an application that connects home business owners with customers who want to buy from them. To save time, money, and effort, Homey brings all home businesses specialising in food, cloth, jewellery, and embroidery, among others under one platform. The high school edition of the prize was awarded to ‘Join Me’ from Injaz UAE.

Sheikha Hanadi Nasser al-Thani, chairperson of Injaz Qatar and Injaz Al Arab, said: “Congratulations to our high school and university students from the State of Qatar for winning three awards and for the university team on seizing the ‘Best Company of the Year’ prize at JA-Injaz Al Arab Young Entrepreneurship Celebration 2022.

“We are extremely proud to reach this stage. These competitions enhance their skills and motivate them to create an influential society in entrepreneurship. This win is an expression of our vision of empowering a promising future generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in the State of Qatar.”

Akef Aqrabawi, president & CEO, Injaz Al Arab, said: “Year after year, we continue to see incredible innovation and creativity driven by today’s youth and this year’s participants are no exception.

“We are proud to be celebrating the 2022 winners of the Injaz Al-Arab Young Entrepreneurs Competition, and to witness the continued impact of our programmes in empowering our future. Thank you to our students, volunteers, partners, and judges for yet another successful edition of the Young Entrepreneurs Competition, and we look forward to what’s to come as we work together for the future of our youth and the region.”

Additional awards included two more prizes to Injaz Qatar and presented to team Homey – the ‘InvestCorp Value Creation’ award. The ‘Boeing Business Challenge’ award, won by team ‘GoForFit’, includes Ubaida al-Aani and Fatima Marafiya from Michael E DeBakey High School for Health Professions.
Launched in 2007, the Injaz Al-Arab Youth Entrepreneurship Celebration is the culmination of six months of rigorous experiential learning and application for students across the MENA region who have won the internationally acclaimed Injaz National Company Programme.

In partnership with the companies behind the awards and with the support of thousands of volunteers, Injaz Al-Arab has continued to drive an impactful programme that sees many student companies evolve into some of the region’s most promising youth-led start-ups.