Alghanim Industries participated in the fourteenth edition of INJAZ-Kuwait’s Company Program Competition, an annual event for high school and university students in Kuwait. Alghanim’s sponsorship comes to reiterate a longstanding commitment to INJAZ-Kuwait, as one of the biggest sponsors of this youth non-governmental organization. The event saw participation from more than 50 high school and university students. Participants represented nine companies that were established in the current school year.

While the global health crisis has negatively impacted many live events, this hasn’t prevented these entrepreneurial youth from giving their best, as this year’s competition took place virtually through video conferencing, over the course of two days from July 3-4. Each student group presented a video pitch followed by a Q&A session for a judging panel convening at the Chairman’s Club in KIPCO Tower. Kareen Al Haffar, General Manager of Costa Coffee Kuwait, represented Alghanim Industries in the judging panel.

Commenting on this year’s competition, Al Haffar said: “We applaud the aspiring entrepreneurs who participated in this competition for their resilience despite this challenging year. We saw some compelling presentations from our youth, and we are proud to see that many of them place great significance on socially responsible projects.”
She added: “We are happy to be the sponsor of the “Most Social Impact Product Award,” a category that focuses on some of the core values we believe in at Alghanim Industries.”

The winners of the Most Social Impact Product Award, sponsored by Alghanim Industries, were LightRo from the University category and Artigo from the High School category, both of whom sought to develop positive, innovative solutions that contribute to the fight against the pandemic or to public health in general. LightRo produces cost-efficient UVC light bulbs that emit very short ultraviolet wavelengths from 100 to 280 nanometers that damages the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Artigo, on the hand, aims to recycle cigarette filters into useful products for customers, collecting them from ashtrays placed in various public smoking zones.

The Best Company of the Year Award went to Sayarti in the University category and Playstic in the High School category. Sayarti aims to be a one-stop shop for car owners, aiming to connect them with automotive services through a simple and intuitive ad-free experience. Playstic provides interactive and educational games using recycled materials. Both companies will compete in the regional INJAZ Al Arab competition, which is scheduled to take place this year in the Sultanate of Oman.

Over the past 15 years, INJAZ Kuwait, through the support of leading private sector entities such as Alghanim Industries, have trained more than 100,000 students in Kuwait with educational programs on entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness. In addition to providing volunteers from amongst their employees, Alghanim Industries has also hosted students or job shadowing experiences in their many businesses, through INJAZ-Kuwait, helping bridge the transition for youth from school to the workforce.