INJAZ Bahrain launches Young CEOs Programme

Manama, Apr. 9 (BNA): As part of youth development and providing opportunities to inspire and prepare young Bahrainis to succeed in a global economy, INJAZ Bahrain has newly introduced the"Young CEO’s Programme" during its board meeting on 6 April 2016 held at GPIC Club. INJAZ Bahrain's long-term vision is to enhance and leverage on the Company Programme to make it one of our most sought out programs for schools and universities by encouraging young students of the program to become the future Entrepreneurs and by providing them with the skills needed to succeed in in the local economy. The Young CEO program gives the student CEO's of the Company Program the opportunity to network with top executives from diverse backgrounds, industries and countries, gain valuable market knowledge and develop understanding of the roles and responsibilities of top executives represented by the INJAZ Board Members to pave the way for these youngsters to become successful leaders of the future. 14 Young student CEO's from 11 Schools and 2 Universities who are participating in this year's Company Program met with Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain and nine INJAZ Bahrain’s aspiring board members to have an open discussion on how to manage their companies, financial aspects, staff management, expanding opportunities, market challenges, success approaches and general business opportunities. One of the participating students, Bayan Ahmed from Al Iman Schools, expressed the benefit of the event, she said: "It was a pleasure meeting and learning from real CEOs today. As a young CEO I would like first to thank INJAZ Bahrain and GPIC for this wonderful opportunity and for helping us improve our skills. To me, today was a turning point in my life. I’m so blessed and happy because I got this opportunity as it benefitted me a lot." The Company Program is INJAZ’s signature curriculum. Implemented in schools and universities as part of the regular academic curriculum, it provides an outlet for untapped creativity and business savvy. It is structured as an economic and business laboratory where students, under the supervision of a volunteer mentor from the private sector, experience the entire life-cycle of a start-up company. The capstone of INJAZ programs, born from 90 years of JA Worldwide programming, exposes youth to the concepts of free-market economics and participatory governance and capital. To celebrate the successes of the Company Program, INJAZ hosts a regional competition known as the Young Entrepreneurs Competition, each fall. At the Competition, national team winners, prominent figures from the private sector, and various honourable guests gather to commemorate the achievements of Arab students from each of the 14 INJAZ Member Nations. INJAZ Bahrain Company programme, comprised of business, entrepreneurship and economics lessons for students aged 16-22 in high schools and universities, works as follows: Students identify a market opportunity, develop a product, conduct a feasibility study and raise capital by selling stock. Each student company selects a product or service it will offer. Many successful companies have identified needs in their schools or communities and developed products and/or services that meet them. Each company elects its own managers and must work as a team to successfully develop, market and sell their product or service. By 2020, between 80 and 100 million jobs must be created in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) just to maintain current unemployment rates. The window of opportunity to meet these demands is small and new jobs must be created at a pace never seen before. The capabilities required for success in the 21st century are not being taught in all of the region’s schools or universities. Governments, historically the largest employers in the MENA region, can’t absorb the growing numbers of jobseekers, while the private sector isn’t expanding fast enough to keep pace with population growth. The result is a divide between the region’s education systems and employers, marked by unprecedented unemployment rates and the loss of economic prosperity for millions of youth as well as the region. With traditional employers offering few opportunities to young people, Arab youth must take on the role of job creators themselves. In order to assume this responsibility, they require skill sets that enable them to start their own businesses. Innovative educational programs based on entrepreneurial skills and mindsets are needed more than ever before. INJAZ Bahrain promotes entrepreneurship education training in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Over 90,000 students have participated in a broad base of entrepreneurship training opportunities aimed at developing basic business skills and financial literacy to start and run their own businesses, along with softer skills increasingly in demand by the private sector. INJAZ Bahrain works with the Ministry of Education, over 187 schools, 12 universities and a network of 3,500 corporate volunteers who implement a series of business and entrepreneurship programs that reach over 20,000 youth annually. INJAZ Al-Arab and INJAZ Bahrain will hold this year’s Young Entrepreneurs Competition in Manama during the last week of November 2016. Together, these entities will bring together innovative, successful, and inspirational leaders from throughout the region for a phenomenal, motivational event.