Emirati Student Honoured For Entrepreneurial Ideas at Annual Akoun Award

Emirati students honoured for entrepreneurial ideas

Dozens of budding young entrepreneurs have won a total of Dh400,000 in cash prizes in an award scheme that encourages them to start their own businesses.

The 24 Emirati university students came up with unique new ideas for recycling, the construction of disabled-friendly modern homes, weight-loss fitness programmes and designer metal gun targets.

The Akoun Awards – “I will be” in Arabic – were created in 2009 for students at the Higher Colleges of Technology and have been growing each year as more young people submit their business ideas and plans.

There were 148 entries this year compared with 113 last year, and the number of winners rose from nine to 24.

Winners in each of the seven emirates were awarded prizes of Dh25,000, Dh15,000 and Dh10,000.

Haleimah Al Mesmari, an HCT graduate in corporate communications, won first prize in Fujairah for her Grashesh project on recycling and upcycling discarded glass.

“A group of people work with us in the recycling project and we visit shopping malls and schools to demonstrate how to recycle glass products and save the environment,” she said.

“We also spread the message through social media.”

“The idea just developed from home where I found lots of glass products are wasted and thrown out, so I wanted to collect them and reuse them to save the environment.”

Abdulrhman Al Awad came first in Ras Al Khaimah for his Body Fit project, which shows how to lose lose three kilos in a week through a proper diet and 45 minutes of cycling a day.

“Depending on the diet, one can lose more,” he said.

“I will spend my prize money on my project. It will be launched in the market in a month’s time so that people will be able to learn how to stay fit in an easy and quick way.

“My project also tells about group exercises like yoga and aerobics, which burn calories more quickly.”

Thoraya Obaid, from Fujairah, also won an award for her Our Smart Home idea, which would allow disabled people to live in their own homes unaided.

She said: “It’s a modern home for disabled people where they can switch on the lights with their voice. They will have their voice installed on the security system so that it can identify them.

“It would help boosting the security systems of homes, schools, business premises as well.”

Ms Obaid will spend her prize money on making her system a reality.

Mahra Awad Al Hanai, from Al Ain, won first prize in Abu Dhabi for her designer metal shooting targets.

“When I was 10 I started drawing different things,” she said. “Now it’s my profession to draw on metals which can be used for aiming on them. You can just place it on wall or tree and aim on it.”

Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, director general of Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, which launched the awards scheme four years ago, said: “We hope this year’s winners will pursue their endeavours and join other Emirati entrepreneurial talents through turning their winning ideas into reality.”

The record number of submissions made the selection process very difficult this year, he said.

The awards are held in partnership with the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Western Region Development Council and the Abu Dhabi media hub twofour54.