Kuwaiti students win ‘Best Company of the Year’ Award at Regional INJAZ Al-Arab Competition
INJAZ-Kuwait was represented by ‘Agrivage,’ ‘Youth Creations’ at the event
KUWAIT: Alghanim Industries, one of the largest privately owned companies in the region, recently hosted the winners of the Regional INJAZ Al-Arab Competition. The students met with Chairman of INJAZ-Kuwait and CEO of Alghanim Industries, Omar Kutayba Alghanim who thanked the students for their efforts and awarded them with gifts of appreciation from X-cite by Alghanim Electronics. The students also enjoyed a tour of the company’s four-floor open office in Al Hamra Tower.
The competition was held on 20 and 21 November 2017 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cario, Egypt. It included the winning teams from the national competitions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A total of 17 teams from 10 countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon and Oman competed for the title of “Best Company of the Year” Award.
Incredible achievement Speaking to the participants, Chairman of INJAZKuwait and CEO of Alghanim Industries, Omar Kutayba Alghanim said: “We are so proud of you and your incredible achievement in winning this year’s regional competition. We’re a merchant culture with a long heritage, and it truly is fitting that our students represent that legacy on the regional stage. Your talents, passion and drive to create a brighter future for yourselves and your country will inspire others to do the same.”
He added, “As an organization, we strive to empower and enable our youth to take the first step towards owning their future and their economic success. We consider this to be our national responsibility, and a priority in our mission to support the future of Kuwait. Today, I only have one request - create your companies. Don’t be afraid to fail, because most success stories had a few failures in their past. Be brave and live up to the legacy of this great country in this fast-changing world. The largest hotel company in the world, doesn’t own any rooms. The largest media company doesn’t create content, and the largest taxi company - doesn’t own a single car. We hope and aspire to see one of your businesses join those amazing companies. Congratulations to you and to Kuwait on this huge achievement.”
The two companies that represented Kuwait, having both won the national competition in Kuwait earlier this year, were ‘Agrivage,’ under the high school category, and “Youth Creations” in the university category. ‘Agrivage’ went on to win the most coveted award in the regional competition in Egypt, which was the “Best Company of the Year” award. On the other hand, “Youth Creations” was nominated for the “Best Social Impact” award during the competition.
Competition held in Cairo, Egypt
Highest honor Commenting on this achievement, CEO of INJAZ-Kuwait, Laila AlMutairi said: “Our happiness for this huge win is indescribable. The company ‘Agrivage’ earned the competition’s highest honor: ‘Best Company of the Year’ for the region. We are extremely proud of their exceptional performance and the results delivered throughout the competition. Our youth today have established themselves and their businesses in a leading position to compete, both locally and regionally.”
‘Agrivage’ is a startup business created by a group of Kuwaiti students, with the purpose of preserving the environment by recycling food waste and converting it into usable rich soil. CEO of Agrivage, Abdulwahab Boodai, said: “This was an incredible learning experience for us all, we are so proud to have won this recognition. It is a true testament to what Kuwaiti youth can do and I would like to take this opportunity to thank INJAZKuwait and its Chairman, Omar K Alghanim for their support throughout the process.”
Throughout the competition, the judging panel used scientific criteria in assessing the performance of the competing companies. The criteria was based on objectivity, transparency, creativity and their view of success using new ideas in several industries as well as their professionalism in execution.
INJAZ-Kuwait is a nonprofit organization committed to preparing and empowering youth in Kuwait to succeed in the global economy. INJAZ-Kuwait provides K-12 students with hands-on learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Alghanim Industries supports its efforts to provide Kuwait’s youth with the skills they need to build successful careers in the future. In 2016, Alghanim Industries employees contributed the most volunteers relative to other companies supporting INJAZ-Kuwait.