Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – October 28, 2020: A competition was recently held for the participants of the 6th workshop of the Startup Workshops 2 project; a project by Startup MGZN, a Bahrain-based regional digital platform and publication for startups, and entrepreneurs in the Middle East. The competition was created and designed by FinMark Communications to support startups, and it came as the perfect opportunity to support Bahraini female entrepreneurs.
The sixth and last workshop was facilitated by Zahraa Taher, a communications and events strategist with nearly 20 years of experience who co-founded FinMark Communications; a specialist business and financial PR firm serving the Gulf and European markets. Zahraa shared her experience in the workshop titled ‘How to build and manage your business in Bahrain.’
While each workshop in the program offered participants an in-depth and comprehensive two-day workshop in addition to a 1-on-1 mentorship opportunity, the sixth workshop, through Zahraa, offered even more value for the participants in cooperation with Bahrain Business Incubator Centre (BBIC), and The Bridge Partnership. Workshop participants were given the opportunity to submit their business plans and then pitch their ideas to a panel of judges for the chance to win prizes that would help take their business to the next level.
8 Participants pitched their business ideas in front of an awarding committee to select 2 winners. The judges were: Sh. Hesham Mohamed Al Khalifa, Chairman and Managing Director of Bahrain Business Incubator Company (BBIC)Maryam Eshaq, Head of Riyadaat, Zahraa Taher, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, and Mazen Al Sawafiri, CEO of The Bridge Partnership.
The winner was Ayda Mohammed, whose business ‘Herbal Dose London’ revolves around producing and selling fresh, homemade skin and hair-care products that better suit women’s needs. She plans on helping both local women in Bahrain, the GCC and eventually, women all over the world get high quality products that cater to their exigency rather than generic products.
Ayda won BD3000’s worth of full Communications and PR support from FinMark Communications, including a messaging session, 2 press releases, arranging for 2 media interviews and helping her with a 6-month PR and Communications strategy for her business. But that’s not all Ayda won! She now also has a one-year incubation opportunity with Bahrain Business Incubator Company (BBIC), you’ll be able to shop at her new location at Riyadat Mall soon, we’ll keep you posted.
Second place winner was Omaima Alsayed, who presented her idea of ‘The Fashion Truck’, a moving vehicle in which fashion items and clothes are sold. Omaima’s prize was dedicated by The Bridge Partnership, consisting of Corporate Identity and Branding. This will include the creation of the brand and all items related to it, starting from the business cards up to the physical branding of the truck. We also want to mention that Omaima was also part of the Bahrain Fashion Incubator.
It was a close competition as all 8 participants had excellent business ideas, so we can’t help but want to share the other 6 participants with you, so here goes each participant and their business:
- Hiba Alsayed, Truly RX.
- Leslie Ledesma, Mind invest.
- Farah Toorani, Heaven Sent.
- Zainab Jamsheer, Nafnoofi.
- Marwa Abdulla, Thread Architect Crafts.
- Sulaf Zakharia, Rommana Handmade.
Startup MGZN wishes all of our Startup Workshops 2 participants the very best in their entrepreneurial endeavors, and is grateful to have had the chance to partake in these women’s incredible journey of building and creating businesses they lead and are passionate about.
It’s noteworthy to mention that the Startup Workshops 2 project was sponsored by the US State Department under the Middle East Partnerships Initiative (MEPI), and was also specifically directed towards Bahraini women to better equip them with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s entrepreneurship world.
For more information about the Startup Workshops 2 project, visit our dedicated page over here.If you’d like to reach out to any of the participants for collaboration or support, feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
