Bedaya Center hosts 'Get in the Ring' contest
DOHA, January 27, 2016
Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development recently hosted the first 'Get in the Ring' (GITR) competition in Qatar, as part of the global GITR.
The event was held in Carnegie Mellon University with the support of media partners - Qatar Living.
GITR is a global competition that started in 2012 by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship in Holland and since then has grown to include more than 80 countries worldwide.
The event gave startups a podium to connect to capital, talent and expertise that is needed for accelerated growth.
In its first edition in Qatar, GITR brought together a group of startups from different industries and provided them with a platform to pitch their ideas in front of local and regional supporters.
As part of the event, six startups battled it out against each other through pitches that covered their business model, financials and market valuations.
The startups who took part in the final competition were Admissions Buddy, DatePit Filter, Jebel Qatar, Metis, Tutors HNM and Concept X.
The three judges at the event were Razan Suliman, founder of Bylens and Fanilla Couture; Bilal Randeree, managing director of Qatar Living; and Reem Al Suwaidi, general manager of Bedaya Center.
The winner of the competition was Maymoona Ayseh, who’s startup- the Date Pit Filter is a project that removes salt from water using crushed date pits as a filter. Her device would make desalination more affordable and accessible to all.
Yvette Van Eachoud, the Ambassador of Netherlands, said: “I am thrilled that the Get in the Ring concept has travelled from The Netherlands to Qatar. It shows the innovative and creative way entrepreneurship is developing in this country.
"To become an entrepreneur you need to have many skills and talents, and one of them is selling yourself and your product. The Get in the Ring format is an excellent and fun way of preparing yourself for success in the competitive arena of new entrepreneurs.
"Congratulations to winner Maymoona Ayesh and to all contestants for having the courage to get up there. And congratulations to Bedaya for connecting to Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship in Rotterdam for this exciting initiative, which will no doubt have wonderful spin-offs.”
Meanwhile, a 12-year old Qatari Khalifa Al Mutawa was one of the youngest entrepreneurs who pitched during the event, to promote his business BW Design. He urged everyone thinking of starting a business to take the opportunity and start now.
Reem Al-Suwaidi, general manager of Bedaya Center, said: “As the host of Get In the Ring - Qatar, we strive to raise awareness of the value of the startup community. We will highlight several initiatives that aim to make it easier for individuals to start new businesses.
"Also, we are committed to developing entrepreneurs in Qatar and help facilitate this by getting various players from the ecosystem involved.” - TradeArabia News Service
