Dubai :The Big Start, a stud-ent entrepreneur competition created by Al Tamimi Investments (ATI), yesterday announced the names of the 15 tertiary students from across the UAE who have succeeded in getting to round two of the contest.
One or more of the 15 short-listed students will win the chance of a lifetime, with ATI providing full funding and support for the winning student(s) to establish their own business, gain the title of chief executive officer and a structured shareholding in the new business.
The first round of business idea submissions closed on December 17, 2009 and attracted more than 190 registered participants from 34 UAE tertiary institutions.
A judging panel from ATI has reviewed the submissions and selected the most viable business ideas to move through to the second round.
Round two will involve finalists participating in a business plan workshop on January 23 with senior ATI managers to learn how to strengthen their business concept and prepare for the final pitch stage of round three.
Commenting on the business concepts that made it through to round two, Rachael Wunsch, General Manager of ATI said: "The diversity of submissions we received in round one was exceptional and indicative of the creative and enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit that we know exists within the UAE student body.
"The judging panel is excited about the new business ideas that we have selected to move onto round two — now it's about honing those ideas, testing the financials and making sure the candidate has the right attitude and personality to meet the demands of a business start-up process and a long term partnership with ATI."
Of the 191 students who registered on The Big Start website, 32 per cent were female and 68 per cent male.
With few barriers to entry, The Big Start proved to be a popular initiative across all nationalities, with online registrations coming from students representing 28 different nationalities.
The Big Start competition was launched in October 2009 to all final year tertiary students studying in the UAE.
The Big Start has been created by Al Tamimi Investments, as a way to give back to the UAE community, to contribute to regional economic growth and enable ambitious students to gain real life exposure to the challenges and rewards of running their own business.
