13-09-2018

 

Oman Observer

Injaz Oman’s Company Programme and Competition held the grand finale on Tuesday at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC). The event was held under the auspices of Sayyid Dr Fahad bin al Julanda al Said, Assistant Secretary General for Innovation and Development at the Research Council. Young entrepreneurs from Nawa Student Company, Sultan Qaboos University have been crowned the BP Oman Best Student Company of the year 2018 and will represent Oman at the regional showdown later this year.

The main sponsor of the Company Programme and Competition, BP Oman, delivered the ‘BP Oman’s Award for Best Student Company’ and ‘Best Innovative Product’ which was given to Baskom, whereas, Al Raffd Fund presented the newly introduced award, ‘Elevator Pitch’ to Plugin. Nama Group also presented the ‘Best Sustainable Product’ accolade, which was grabbed by Ouras.

Injaz Oman celebrated this year as well with the sponsorship of BP Oman the achievements of school students’ companies which included Malhaba, the winner of the ‘Best Marketing Plan’ award; Rezero, the winner of ‘The Best Innovative Product’ award. Whereas, ‘BP Oman’s Award for Best Student Company’ was given to Nabta.

“Since its Launch in 2006, Injaz Oman programme reflected a national responsibility that aims at performing an integrated role with the collaboration of government and private entities.

These entities aim at enabling the youth to build the future of our beloved country and achieve the national vision by refining skills and promoting capabilities,” said Khalid bin Mohammed al Zubair, Chairman of Injaz Oman.

Akef al Aqrabawi, President and CEO of Injaz Al Arab commented: “I take this opportunity to congratulate all students who made it to the final stage of the Company Programme. Every participating team did extremely well.

They were able to impress us all by overcoming the inevitable problems they encountered along their journey.”

“We realised the value of our collaboration with Injaz Oman and its rich experience since the programme first launched. Our initiative embeds key skills and attitudes in participants, as well as considers it as a social responsibility that inspires growth throughout the national workforce,” said Najah al Ismaili, BP Oman’s volunteer.

The contest saw the highly potential startups undergo rigorous panel interviews, sell and exhibit their products and concepts over a two-day period. A highly competent panel of judges led the interviews. This was a very critical step to identify strengths and weaknesses of the student companies.

The participants elaborated on their company’s report that had been provided to the evaluators at the end of the year.

The judges also focused on the market position, challenges and the firm’s overall performance. The evaluation process was devised to confirm whether participants understood the dynamics that impact businesses, thereby reinforcing their learning as a strong foundation for building sustainable operations.