Dubai SME extends Young Entrepreneur Competition registration

Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has extended preliminary registration for the 8th cycle of the Young Entrepreneur Competition 2012 (YEC) to the 22nd of February 2012. The extension follows requests by some of the official authorities for more time to disseminate the concept of YEC among all students in schools and universities across the UAE.
Nisrin Safar, General Coordinator of YEC, said: “YEC has so far received over 1,500 entries after registrations opened on January 29, 2012. It shows the increasing interest and trust in the competition, year after year”.
The registration procedures for the 8th cycle of YEC involve the following steps:
A simple process of entering basic information on participants online through www.yec.ae before February 22
Participants will receive an electronic email with potential dates for the web-based training sessions that are part of the registration process
Participants will attend each of the three web-based training sessions, to be held from February 15 till March 8, 2012
After attending the second web-based training session, participants can register their team and project for the competition, during February 26 to March 8, 2012.
YEC will then send an e-mail on project approval
Participants can select the location of their kiosk by visiting Dubai SME’s office in the Business Village, Sunday to Thursday from 3pm to 6pm, with the letter of approval.

The web-based training sessions are provided by Dubai-based Potential. “The training sessions are part of our efforts to help the participants learn how to develop their concept, team and project. The sessions will focus on ‘Innovation’, ‘Build your Team and Submit your Project’, and ‘Business Model and Setup Costs’. They will last for a sufficient period of time for the convenience of all participants,” said Shadi Banna, Managing Partner, Potential.

Al Banna noted that all participants registering on www.yec.ae will receive an email with the optional dates for attending the online training sessions.

Participants can attend the session on their preferred time by logging on to the internet, and being ready with a working headset and microphone, ideally 15 minutes before the start of the session. Clicking on the link found in the email from YEC will take the participant to the training application in their browser. The link will only be active 15 min before the start of each session.

Once the training session is open in the web browser, the participant can view the presentation, listen and chat with the presenters, key in questions or ask for the microphone to speak to all attendees. Each interactive session will last for an hour and all proceedings will be recorded.
YEC 2012 aims to inculcate and encourage entrepreneurial spirit among students in the public and private secondary schools and universities across the UAE. The competition will be an opportunity for the participants to learn the basic principles of starting and operating a private business.

Male and female students from all seven emirates in the UAE have registered their projects in YEC 2012, indicating the culture of entrepreneurship being passed across generations and communities in the country. The projects also represent a diversity of business ideas, ranging from manufacturing, clothes and accessories, art, culture, interior design and information technology.

For more information on YEC 2012, call 800 SME (763) or email www.yec.ae.