AL Zubarah Boys School were victorious in the finals of The Enterprise Challenge Qatar 2013, a joint initiative between Qatar Shell and Bedaya, supported by Mosaic. Qatar Shell and Mosaic partnered to launch the The Enterprise Challenge Qatar in 2012. Qatar Shell is the founding sponsor of Mosaic in Qatar. The winners of the competition, which is in its second year in Qatar, received smart phones and tablets equipped with business simulation software and apps enabling them to remain connected and to share the entrepreneurial skills they have learned.

The competition ran in both schools and universities across Qatar. The schools final took place at Al Thakira Youth Centre with over 230 students in 50 school teams competing. The event was attended by key officials including Sheikh Thani bin Thamer al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Qatar Shell; Raed al Emadi, vice-chairman of Bedaya Centre; Mosaic’s own National Director Jonathan Freeman and key figures from Qatar’s northern communities.

Sheikh Thani Al-Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Qatar Shell, said: “The enthusiasm shown by the students in Al Khor and Al Shamal as well as their mentors has been inspiring. This year we brought The Enterprise Challenge to Qatar’s Northern communities which are a key focus of Shell’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts; next year we hope to take it one step further and reach out to other areas of Qatar to become a national programme.

Qatar Shell recognises that cultivating entrepreneurship begins with another kind of investment – in young minds. Therefore, providing students with business skills and the practical tools to ultimately succeed in a real business environment is of the utmost importance to fulfil Qatar National Vision 2030.”

The university finals took place at Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Centre. 200 university students participated in the competition. The winners were “Team Qataran” from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar who were invited to the Global Entrepreneurship Week Gala Dinner at The Renaissance Hotel in Doha, where they were presented with their prizes. Second place went to Team “Kregs Co” of Texas A&M University in Qatar and third place went to Team “High Flyer” from Stenden University in Qatar.

Jonathan Freeman, National Director of Mosaic said: “As we prepare to launch the Challenge for its fifth year in the UK, we really feel that in the Enterprise Challenge we have a tool that nurtures entrepreneurial skills and empowers young people worldwide. We are extremely excited to see the students from the participating schools in the northern communities and universities in Qatar compete to apply the business skills they have learned at the finals. We hope to see those participating students turn into and hopefully develop into real future entrepreneurs.”

40 mentors from Qatar’s business community spent the past two months training over 430 students from nine universities and six high schools. Mentoring was conducted through intensive sessions on core business concepts, focusing on the computer-based business simulation, which evaluates the teams’ performance as a business in a competitive marketplace over a three-year period. Students also received mentoring on ethical business, which tests participants’ ability to balance the economic, environmental and social performance of their company.

Find out more about preparations for the Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge 2013/2014