Zayed University's e-biz challenge III winners' road to the top

Apart from creating foreign interest and improving the economy in general, it has highlighted Dubai on the world map. There is increasing awareness of how entertaining and shopper-friendly this city is - and with added media coverage, DSF has skyrocketed to fame.

The incentives for shopping in Dubai are extra special rates, free giveaways and the all-attractive raffle draws that occur. Almost any purchase during the DSF is linked to a raffle draw, and shoppers fill these coupons and deposit them in the raffle boxes that are later collected and the draw takes place.

This where the e-Raffle fits in. For us, the DSF e-Raffle has since evolved from a concept possibility into a proposed solution that would cater to a global community of shoppers in Dubai.

How did e-Raffle happen?

We have grown in an era of IT innovation that has led to otherwise impossible e-business achievements. Having said that, we failed to understand why shoppers in DSF have to go through the tedious process of completing raffle coupons and depositing them at specific locations. We were also shocked to find out that many shoppers, including our friends and colleagues, didn't bother with these raffle coupons because they found it too time-consuming. Further investigation revealed the additional cost and time involved in transporting the coupons to a central location for the raffle draw to take place. If anything, we felt that this just dented the spirit and excitement of DSF.

The team was soon formulated and we tried to tackle these problems separately. Inevitably, in today's day and age, thinking of an internet-based solution seemed to be the most effective solution to any logical problem. We conducted tests and interviews, on the basis of which we highlighted concerns like communication, user friendliness and reduction in redundant and repetitive activities. Thinking innovatively, we looked at the possibility of actually integrating our proposed solution with existing POS infrastructure. We then simulated a logical model of our solution, and when it was put to the test, our intentions were rewarded. The concept was converted into a business plan, and detailed feasibility and financial analysis followed. Our proposed plan - once documented meticulously - went on to win Zayed University's e-biz challenge III. The e-Raffle was an instant hit.

The team

Being recognized as a part of the winning team at e-biz challenge III has added another dimension to each of the team's identities. We believe that we have taken the first step to establishing ourselves as successful entrepreneurs in the region. The team - our think tank - is comprised of individuals with specific skills in the areas we intended to cover. Using our analysis, the team members complimented the three core components of our solution. Sumith is an acclaimed expert at user interfaces and interaction, Wassim has been involved in many real-time POS and smart-card solutions, and I have specific expertise in mapping brick-and-mortar business models with internet-based business logic. We were linked by the hunger in us to come up with innovative ideas that re-define technology specific to e-business.

Apart from thinking differently, we were able to successfully blend our technical knowledge with our innovative thinking capabilities, which I felt made the difference between us and the other teams.

Next steps

The potential of e-Raffle was realized long before we were recognized as winners. We are looking at the legalities and detailed feasibility analysis to see how we can take it forward. We understand that the project will require the involvement of many entities, so the first logical step at our end is getting their input on the solution. We are keen on deploying this at select shopping malls initially to get the process in place before taking over the entire Dubai shopping areas.

Why is "innovative thinking" crucial?

Advancements in technology have set higher market standards, which has in turn resulted in a higher level of competition to excel. In terms of e-business, the scope is much larger: the entire virtual world of the internet. It is thus much more competitive, since your competitors are based all around the world and have the ability combine their global experience into an e-business concept.

Thinking innovatively comes naturally to the human brain. Man has always looked to tread on unknown territory and conquer it, to stand apart from the rest. Entrepreneurs who think innovatively affect the region, the industry and the future trends adopted by the next generation.

The future of e-business in the region

The general public is more net-savvy than their previous generation, and this is further fuelled by government initiatives to "electronize" their processes. Middle Eastern e-Business probably has its greatest potential in the U.A.E.; projected market statistics suggest that we haven't yet reached the pinnacle of our capabilities.

e-Governments, e-Forms, e-Gates are out-of-the-box suggestions that evolved into success stories. Projects like the e-Raffle would not just follow their footsteps but will set a new trend for aspiring entrepreneurs in the region to reap the rewards that the electronic media can provide to businesses.

Having mentioned this, the region is relatively new to e-Business. The need of the hour is support and infrastructure, which acts as the catalyst to transforming an innovative thinker into an entrepreneur. Competitions like the Zayed University e-biz challenge and the e-Entrepreneur Column are steps in the right direction towards this transformation.