Dubai: At the Blue Octopus stand, three girls work hard at completing orders requested by customers. Their stand, which sells hand-made bracelets and t-shirts offers shoppers a chance to own something custom-made and unique.
Hana Younus, 20, a Syrian Irish, draws illustrations on t-shirts according to customer's needs while Syrian-Argentine Yasmin Mebar and Egyptian Pilar Rashad make charm bracelets and necklaces. All three university students have been taking advantage of their stall at the Young Entrepreneur Competition Exhibition to introduce and test their products in the market.
"It's a good example of what to expect because you think a lot of things in theory won't necessarily happen practically. Unless you start doing it yourself you will never know. We already knew a lot of things as business students but we're learning a lot as we go," Pilar explains.
According to Yasmin, their main selling point has been the fact that all their products are unique and handmade.
"A lot of people have been impressed by the fact that a lot of our stuff is handmade. We even taken a lot of custom orders for things like necklaces, charm bracelets and t-shirts," she said.
While they study business at university, they said the event offers a great hands-on experience on how to set up a business.
"Next time round we would research a lot more. For example, when we buy our raw material we would look at different suppliers to see if we can get a better price. We're also learning what kind of prices people are willing to pay. If it's handmade they're into paying more," Yasmin said.
Undescoring success
Dubai SME, the entrepreneurship development arm of the Department of Economic Development, holds the Young Entrepreneur Competition every year, in a bid to encourage students to start their own business.
"The competition demonstrates the high creative standards and innovation applied by the participants. This also underscores the success of the competition in attracting the creative ideas of young people who are enthusiastic about achieving their ambitions and aspirations.
"The training provided to participants before the competition has yielded strong results, marked by the professionalism displayed by the participants," said Abdul Basit Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME.
In the stall community which is sprawled across the basement level of Dubai Mall, 2,500 high school and university students compete in a ‘real life' business scenario to sell their wares.
Handmade t-shirts and abayas stand next to crystal-studded accessories and photo studios.
Palestinian siblings Salah and Razan Massad, 18 and 17 respectively, are one of the many stall holders who have been using the exhibition to test their products.
"From this experience we are learning how to start and take care of a business. We also want to get the idea out," Salah said.
Their products — reversible laptops bags, mouse pads and mugs with humorous motivational signs printed on them — have proved to be popular with teenagers. "We started high with the pricing because we were hoping to make more profit but after we saw what the market required and what different people's expectations were, we actually had to lower the price on the first and then again on the second day. We have been trying to keep the customers satisfied while trying to cover the cost," Razan said.
The girls at Blue Octopus said they too had to adjust the prices of their products' according to customers' expectations. "The t-shirts started off as Dh80 to Dh100 but since it wasn't as positive as we'd have liked it to be we've lowered it to a range of Dh40-Dh60," Yasmin said.
The exhibition also showcases a wide variety of young designers, from jhitra (red and white-patterned cloths) inspired designs to handmade shoes and polo apparel. This is 18-year-old Hebah Al Beloushi's second year participating in the exhibition. Her stall which she shares with Jawaher Abdul Hamid, a 15-year-old Palestinian, features a mixture of imported jewellery from Turkey and t-shirt designs featuring the jhitra cloth.
"This event is important for entrepreneurs because it gives them an idea of how to deal with the market.
"For many, its their first time with customers. Last year was my first year and I found the first few days to be really hard. This year I've found it much easier to set up. It's a learning process which takes time," Hebah said.
Another group of Emirati students who are designing their own colourful abayas and lace bracelets have been enjoying a lot of success during the first three days of the exhibition. They've sold most of their clothes and have made new designs to replenish stocks.
For the environment
"We want to make something that other people haven't thought about. We make lace bracelets for wedding parties and events." 20-year-old Amal Al Deail, one of the stall holders, said.
In line with current eco trends, a number of stalls were emphasising the importance of recycling through their business ideas. Egyptian entrepreneurs Ahmad Ali, 19 and Yasser Ali, 17 are promoting their recycled goods with their business Wealth of Waste (WOW).
