Following the success of ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ 2013, Bedaya Centre and Qatar Shell have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the entrepreneurship programme among the universities and schools in Doha and the Northern Communities.

The ‘Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ is a programme that encourages the spirit of entrepreneurship among young people, by equipping them with practical business skills to develop their business acumen, team work, and strategic thinking.

The programme is made up of two parts comprising the Ethical Business Challenge which tests participants’ ability to balance the economic, environmental and social performance of their company. The Business Simulation element familiarises students with general business concepts from inception through to trading, finance, sales, marketing and production.

Since its establishment in 2012, ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ programme has rapidly expanded, with a growing number of institutions, businesses, schools, and mentors getting involved. The founding Partners in Qatar, Bedaya and Qatar Shell, are targeting 700 students from nine universities and twelve schools from around Qatar during this year’s edition, following the participation of 430 students last year.

Commenting on the new agreement, Raed Al Emadi, Vice-Chairman of Bedaya and Silatech’s Chief Operations Officer said: “We are extremely pleased to expand our partnership with Qatar Shell on ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ initiative that promotes the entrepreneurial spirit among young people. The future of Qatar is enterprise, and a youth adept in business will help foster a thriving private sector and ensure its sustainability for future generations. Therefore, when we invest in young people through initiatives such as ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’, we invest in Qatar’s future as a knowledge-based society.”

‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ programme is delivered through a series of intensive mentoring sessions and workshops, delivered by around 100 volunteer mentors, half of which are Qataris, trained by Bedaya and Qatar Shell.

Commenting on the newly extended partnership, Sheikh Thani Al-Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Qatar Shell, said: “At Qatar Shell, we recognise that cultivating entrepreneurship begins with investing in young minds. We are proud to closely work with our partner Bedaya to widen the horizons of young people to appreciate and consider the value of entrepreneurial endavours. Seeking to help nurture the business leaders of the future, ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ is part of our investment in Qatar’s future and in a sustainable economy.”

‘The Enterprise Challenge’ was created by Mosaic, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation established by HRH the Prince of Wales in 2007, which offers a range of mentoring programmes aimed at fostering opportunities for young people. Qatar Shell is the founding partner of Mosaic in Qatar, and together with Bedaya, has worked to bring ‘The Enterprise Challenge’ to Qatar.

The student training sessions will commence in September. Prior to that a series of training sessions are now being hosted to train around 100 volunteer mentors who are set to coach the 700 school and university students expected to participate in this year’s challenge. Subsequently, the programme will run throughout October and November, with the universities finals competition taking place during the Global Entrepreneurship Week (17-23 November), followed by the schools finals competition in December. The Winners of ‘The Enterprise Challenge Qatar 2014’ will be announced during November and December.

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