Several aspiring young Bahraini entrepreneurs met their mentors at the kick-off of the 2^nd Mashroo3i business plan competition.

Mashroo3i, organized by Tamkeen, an initiative founded by the Bahraini government to support the country’s private sector, aims to promote an entrepreneurial culture and instill a ‘can do’ attitude among young Bahrainis between the ages of 15 and 26.

The 60 teams were shortlisted by experts, entrepreneurs, and public voting, out of more than 150 submissions. 

The mentors faced the challenging task of choosing the 55 most eligible teams based on the business ideas presented. The final five teams were the crowd favorites, shortlisted through public voting.

Meet some of the Mashroo3i teams

1. Canvas.bh – A startup that immortalizes photos into canvas art.
    
2. Start Healthy – Provides healthy lunch boxes that appeal to kids in nurseries and primary schools to promote better child nutrition.
    
3. Retablen – Provides customized, accessorized, and tech-equipped eco-friendly student desks to encourage sustainable studying.
    
4. Youth Bank – Giving 9-17 year-olds a taste of the adult banking world, by providing various credit services and loans.
    
5. Yoga for Youth (Y4Y) – ‘Cool’ yoga for teens looking to be less stressed and more emotionally balanced.
    
6. Home Cinema – Installing private cinemas — complete with popcorn and nachos — in people’s own homes.
    
7. Cooking Contest – A Khaleeji fusion cooking competition for chefs and culinary students in the Gulf.
    
8.  Vitee - A community hub that helps users live a more vibrant social life by plugging into events and happenings in Bahrain.
    
9. Parkour – An outdoor and indoor obstacle course.

Other submissions included a sports and health club specialized for obese children, jet ski and desert bike rental, aspiring fashion designers, iced coffee shops, online gift shops, mobile and tablet accessories, gifts in balloons, and many more. View all the submissions on the Mashroo3i website.

Meet the Mashroo3i Mentors

1. Basim Al-Saie, Managing Director of INSTALLUX GULF, Board Member of Kalaam Telecom, Polycon Bahrain, Sufana; and previous Entrepreneurs’ Organization President.
    
2. Damien Balmet, Vice President of Investments for Mumtalakat Bahrain Holding Company.
    
3. Deema Al-Haddad, Owner & Deputy Chairman of Al Haddad Motors, Managing Director and Designer of DeemZ Jewellery, and Board Member at Bahrain Airport Company.
    
4. Fahad Al-Shirawi, CEO of GCCIX, Managing Director at Punchline Media, Executive Board Member of RIPE NCC.
    
5. Hassan Al-Balooshi, Founder of Bahrain Blinds, and Director of Balooshi and Sons.
    
6. Safa Sharif, Founder of MASY Holdings constructions services company.

The 60 teams will submit their business plans by February 4^th, to be followed by a live presentation to the competition judges.

Last year Mashroo3i contestants received 7,000 votes from the general public on the competition Facebook page.

You can follow each team’s progress on the various social media channels as well as on mashroo3i.bh and footage can be found on the competition’s YouTube channel.