UAE students to take on others in $1 million education competition

They will be participating in the finals for the Hult Prize Foundation, which seeks to give opportunities to social entrepreneurs to build and develop their ideas.

Former US president Bill Clinton at the Hult Prize Finals and Awards Dinner in New York last year. AP

DUBAI // Students will take on rivals from around the world in a US$1 million competition to find ways of providing sustainable early education in poor countries.

Up to 25 young UAE entrepreneurs will join hundreds from across the Mena region and beyond in Dubai to take part in the finals for the Hult Prize Foundation.

The competition aims to give social entrepreneurs the chance to build and develop their ideas.

“Solving our region’s toughest challenges is as simple as providing Arab youth with an opportunity and a platform to have impact,” said Ahmad Ashkar, chief executive and founder of the foundation.

“We couldn’t be more pleased by the support we have received from Dubai and the UAE, and look forward to the many outstanding ideas the Hult Prize Dubai will produce.

“We have 30 previous finalists from this region who are still operational. The teams that make it that far receive so much support.

“The support from Bill Clinton is amazing. He personally backs each of the finalists.

“One previous success story from a team that competed at the Dubai finals is called SokoText, which uses a text message-based pre-ordering service to provide customers with purchasing power and help to alleviate food insecurity in deprived areas.”

Regional finalists will receive a one-year membership to the Clinton Global Initiative, as the former US president is supporting the challenge.

The prize, now in its third year, aims to connect young entrepreneurs with private and public organisations, as well as governments, to help bring their ideas to fruition.

About 200 young people in 58 teams from universities and colleges in the region were shortlisted after a record 200,000 first-round submissions.

They will take part in the regional final on March 14 at the International Business School in Dubai. Other regional finals are being held in Boston, San Francisco, London and Shanghai, with a sixth final online.

Winners will attend the Hult Prize Accelerator, a six-week programme of intensive entrepreneurial seminars hosted by Hult International Business School.

Those from each region then go to the world final in September, where they will pitch their ideas to an audience of business leaders and experts.

The winning team will be given $1 million (Dh3.6m) to help them develop their initiative.

Mr Clinton set this year’s challenge: to build start-ups to provide sustainable early education solutions for 10 million children in urban slums.

“The Hult Prize is a wonderful example of the creative cooperation needed to build a world with shared opportunity, shared responsibility and shared prosperity,” he said. “Each year I look forward to seeing the many outstanding ideas the competition produces.”

This year’s Mena regional winner will be decided by a panel of 12 judges who are innovators and leaders in their fields.

They include: Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive of Dubai Cares; Shaima Al Zarooni, chief executive of International Humanitarian City; Rahgu Malhotra, Mena president of MasterCard; and Mahmood Al Bastaki, chief executive of Dubai Trade.