The “Ambitious Entrepreneur Program” is a joint initiative between Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) and the Ministry of Education. The program was developed for high school students with the purpose of teaching students about entrepreneurship and getting the students excited about starting their own businesses and initiatives. So far, the program has been implemented for students in public schools who are at their final year of secondary level in the commercial and vocational streams.
“The goal of the program is to make its students better qualified and enthusiastic about launching their own businesses.
The program starts by getting the students to come up with new business ideas and ends with the students developing finalized concepts with prototype products/services. The program builds a solid foundation through the aid of certified coaches from BDB’s Advisory Department. The program is not designed to introduce new material to the students, but as a complementary program that further improves the education process by adding practical experience and a competitive element that pushes the students to excel and grow. The goal of the program is to make its students better qualified and enthusiastic about launching their own businesses based on experience and knowledge.
At the beginning of the program, the students brainstorm business ideas in groups during their small business classes. Once each group has selected an idea, they receive coaching and mentoring from BDB’s coaches while they develop their concepts and build prototypes. The coaches help the students in order to take the best steps possible to build successful businesses. After the students complete their business plans and prototypes of their products, they attend an exhibition where they showcase their businesses and get judged by a panel of successful entrepreneurs and BDB coaches. At the end of the exhibition, the judges choose winners from each school to compete nationally.
The winners of each school would go through one final round of training, where they are taught how to pitch their business ideas. The school winners would then compete in the final round at program’s closing ceremony. During the ceremony, the students will once again pitch their businesses to a judging panel comprised of BDB coaches and successful entrepreneurs. The panel would choose the top 3 national winners. Finally, the top 3 teams will receive coaching and incubation as a prize which will allow them to grow their businesses more effectively with fewer costs and more guidance.