DOHA, QATAR – A coffee shop specializing in Arabic drinks; a Hindi radio station; and a website connecting local artisans with potential buyers were among the new business ideas submitted to the Business Plan Competition at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar believes business plan competitions are important to help students and young professionals bring to life their promising ideas for new business ventures, and contribute to a more vibrant entrepreneurial culture in Qatar. "And we are not alone in thinking that," says George White, entrepreneurship professor at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
White is referring to Enterprise Qatar, a new initiative intended to support and develop small and mid-sized enterprises in Qatar. With QR 2 billion in funding, Enterprise Qatar aims to create a proper environment conducive to development of SMEs to strengthen and diversity Qatar’s economy.
"Enterprise Qatar wants people to host business plan competitions and Carnegie Mellon wants to have them. We want to draw business plans out of the woodwork, we want people who are currently in government positions especially to write a plan to help map out the future of Qatar," says White.
A business plan is a formal statement or set of goals, a reason why they may be attained and a way of doing it. It’s the first step in launching a new venture. A competition such as this one, gives aspiring entrepreneurs access to experienced professionals who can analyze the idea, and perhaps assist with taking it to the next level.
Twenty-two plans were submitted, with 16 accepted into the two-day competition. Ideas ranged from highly technical companies to organizations that want to manufacture tangible goods. White says most up-and-coming entrepreneurs see a void in the marketplace and come up with an idea to fill it. "Typically there is something they want but cannot find, so they decide to develop it."
The teams gave "elevator pitches," which are 2-minute overviews of their idea. Plunge, a healthy and social juice and snack bar, took first place in the Elevator Pitch round. Students from Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern presented the business idea they call ‘juice for the soul.’
Of the 16 teams, the top six – four student teams and two teams of working professionals – were selected to continue on to the final round. In the final, each team gave 15-minute detailed presentations, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session with the panel of judges that included entrepreneurs, business leaders and educators.
While many excellent ideas were presented, Doon Enterprises was selected as first place for their idea to pioneer the development of easy-to-use mobile phone applications serving the Arab world. "We are grateful to Carnegie Mellon for organizing such a competition," says Youssef Francis, Carnegie Mellon Qatar student who is part of the Doon Enterprises team. Doon’s other team members are Edmond Abi-Saleh and Ossama Obeid, who also are students at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
"It is a rare opportunity. Not every university sponsors such a chance for students to pitch business ideas with the possibility to bring them to fruition. We are thankful to Carnegie Mellon for its support, and also to Dr. George White for his mentorship and guidance," says Francis.
Francis says the team saw a gap in the market for mobile phone applications for the Arab community, and knew they had the expertise and skills to fill it. They entered the competition in search of support to get a formal business started.
Plunge took second place, and Tajak, an Arabic clothing line with a mission to break culture barriers through fashion, placed third. The Best ICT Industry Plan and Best Business Plan were awarded to Al Shafaq, which aims to offer comprehensive creative support through training and promotion to the next generation of artists and thinkers in Qatar.
Winners will receive cash awards and possible mentoring, office space and technical support for starting the new business venture. Prizes will be awarded by ictQATAR, the Qatari Businessmen Association and Vodafone Qatar. Prior to the competition, Vodafone Qatar also provided coaching for business plan preparation for selected proposals in the following areas related to the Qatari National Vision 2030: human development, social development, economic development, and environmental development.
Several of the business plans came from university students, which White says was a delight to see. "They came with great ideas and well thought out business plans. Carnegie Mellon and the Qatar Businessmen’s Association hope to see more and more young people come up with ideas, create plans and enter competitions. Even if they don’t win, they are making connections and inspiring other students to become entrepreneurs."
This year’s judging panel included Nitham M. Hindi and Dr. Rana Sobh of Qatar University; Matthew Woolman of Virginia Commonwealth University; Alexander Grit of Stenden University; Khalid Tawfik, Marwan Mahmoud and Feras Skeik of ictQATAR; Sulieman Khateeb, Nasser Suleiman Al Haidar and Mohammed Shafiq of Qatari Businessmen Association; Mazen Dauleh and Amer Al-Saigh of QTEL; Desmond Ryan, a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant; and Amer Al Adhadh of the Ministry of Business & Commerce.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar hosted similar events in the past, however this is the first year the competition was open to students in addition to business professionals. This was done to expand the range of new ideas brought forth and to get more young people thinking about how they can contribute to the future of Qatar.
