UREX wins cash prize in Carnegie Mellon Qatar's New Venture Competition

The first prize was awarded to Urban Express (UREX), a commercial moving and storage service company with a strategy to offer efficient and reliable relocation services to companies in Qatar shifting to new office space.

Second prize was awarded to ROBISCAN, the first company to deploy robots to perform internal pipe inspection in the primary sour gas processing unit in LNG plants and the third prize was awarded to opportFOLIO.com, a web-based network service connecting training providers to learners for career management and further education opportunities.

There were two winners for QSTP's New Venture Technology Award: ROBISCAN and Equinelife, a company providing a wireless solution for monitoring and tracking horses. Both companies will receive QR100,000 of support, including office space and business services as well as a professional mentor in technology and business sponsored by QSTP. In addition, the winners have the opportunity to apply for Proof-of-Concept funding at QSTP.

WellneSpot, a proposal to set up wellness centers in Qatar for preventative health measures, won a special mention for their Elevator Pitch (a brief overview of an idea for a product or service).

The New Venture Competition is an initiative launched by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar in partnership with the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) and Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) offering an opportunity for university students to present their business plans to a panel of judges including venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs and leading educators.

All the finalist teams consisted of students of the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, a 9-month executive program taught at Carnegie Mellon Qatar in partnership with QSTP.

This year's judging panel was made up of 11 members. Representing the QBA were Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Thani (General Trading group), Ashraf Abu Issa (Blue Salon), Salah Murad (Al Ahli Bank), Suleiman Al-Khateeb (Salam International), and Mohammed Shafiq (Al Faisal Holding).

Completing the panel were Sheikh Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al Thani (Ruling Council Family Affairs), Bowman Heiden (QSTP), Sean Sebastian (Birchmere Ventures), Kevin Higgins (LargeDay Ventures), Rehan Atiq (Region Holdings), Stephen Carriere (Qatar Financial Centre Authority), and Mazen Dauleh (Qatar Telecom).

"This is a wonderful initiative for the Qatar Foundation and for the Qatari society. The ideas we've come across this year are new and innovative. We hope to see more and more exciting projects in the future that will contribute to Qatar's national vision and mission,"

says Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Thani, who judged the competition.

The goal of the competition is to help students who have a great idea for a new venture move it from the classroom to the boardroom. The competition also creates an environment that helps bring new businesses to life, thus contributing to a more vibrant entrepreneurial culture in Qatar.

The first-prize winners in team UREX, Reem Al-Sai, Yousef Murad, and Tilal Nasr, said about winning the New Venture Competition, "Together with the skills learned and the experience gained, the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program has taught us how to bring innovation to the market. We now not only have the skills but also the power to become successful entrepreneurs in the region."