Award to honour young entrepreneurs planned

Manama : A new award offering cash prizes for the best business ideas by Bahrain Polytechnic students will be launched next month by the Entrepreneurs Committee of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). 

The first edition of the Future Entrepreneurs Award, focusing on IT and Electronics, will give the students the opportunity to win cash prizes of BD3,000, BD2,000, and BD1,000, in addition to getting personal mentorship by members of Committee.

“The idea behind the award is to encourage young people to be innovative, and to help them turn their ideas into viable business models. Giving budding entrepreneurs a push early in their lives can be a major factor in their successes later on,” said BCCI Entrepreneurs Committee Chairman, Mohammed Adel Fakhro. 

“Bahrain has plenty of undiscovered talent. This award will help bring their ideas to the forefront and put them on a national stage that they can exploit to further their careers,” he added.

IT and Electronics was chosen as the theme of the inaugural edition because of its attractiveness to younger generations, and the added value it offers to business in the current digital age, which is ushering in new era of technopreneurs.

“Modern businesses require IT-savvy leaders to survive in the new economy, and it is possible that one of the ideas that comes out of this competition will be a world class app that can be turned into a multimillion dollar business. If the business model is good enough, some BCCI members may even consider financing some of these proposed ventures,” Fakhro added.

Future editions of the award will focus on other sectors including consumer goods, food and beverage, communications and service-based industries.  Further details on the award, including terms and conditions and submission guidelines, will be announced soon.