June 25, 2020 – The Faculty of Business Administration & Economics (FBAE), in collaboration with the Office of Admissions, at Notre Dame University-Louaize Shouf Campus (NDU-SC), organized its fourth edition of “Young Entrepreneur Showdown” (YES NDU-SC). The YES NDU-SC competition provides a unique opportunity for young people to learn the basics of entrepreneurship while putting their innovative and sustainable enterprise ideas into action. Unlike several entrepreneurship programs and competitions, which focus on principles of small business management, this competition aims to inspire and establish a strong foundation for sharing new ideas, unleashing creativity, encouraging a mindset of abundance and self-determination, and promoting purposeful entrepreneurial action.
Six schools participated:
- Shouf National College (SNC)
- Baakleen Official Secondary School
- Beissour Official Secondary School
- Maroun Abboud Official Secondary School-Aley
- Al Manar Modern School
- Lebanese International College-Rachaya
Given the COVID-19 precautionary measures, contestants from different schools in the Shouf area pitched in teams their business ideas in front of a jury panel composed of one external and two internal members:
- Dana Abou Shackra, Program Manager at Park Innovation
- Souhad Abi Zaki, Senior Admission Officer at NDU-SC
- Dr. Talie Kassamany, Coordinator and Assistant Professor at NDU-SC
The jury members evaluated the teams' ideas based on several predetermined criteria including the extent of innovation and sustainability, relevance to the Lebanese market, feasibility, clarity, presentation skills, ethics ... etc. Prizes were discounts on NDU tuition fees for the first semester, with a 100% discount to the first-prize winners, 70% for second-prize, and a 50% discount for third-prize winners.
Following deliberations, the jury announced the following winning teams:
- First Prize: Tala Nasr, Reine Nasr, Karam Kassamany and Kifah Fayad, with “Intilaqa”, an online platform that will give students the opportunity to find the suitable scholarship for their college studies;
- Second Prize: Sam Shayya, Farah Zeineddine, and Aya Sharrouf, with “RobenFood” a startup aims in transferring Food Loss into daily, healthy and affordable meals;
- Third Prize: Omar Breish, Angela Abou Zaki, Faten Al Mrawed, Reem Makarem, with "Planterest" a mobile App which aims at supporting agricultural production for farmers and helps people to take advantages of their uncultivated lands.
At the end of the ceremony, the jury members congratulated and thanked the teams for their commitment in participating in the YES NDU-SC Competition to pave the way for a better tomorrow to the best students in order to make their dreams alive.