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INSPIRATIONAL Nada Rahimi’s Plate It! food concept has proven to be a recipe for success as the talented creator has snagged a second victory in a leading competition for students with bright business ideas.
The 27-year-old who attends Bahrain Polytechnic has taken Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards’ (GSEA) top prize once again, giving her the opportunity to represent the kingdom and showcase her plans in China.
The Hamad Town resident, majoring in business management, took part in the Entrepreneurs Organisation’s (EO) annual international competition last year, captivating the judging panel with her smart approach to preparing meals and tackling food wastage.
The GSEA is considered one of the premier global competitions for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university.
Nada, a customer service executive at Batelco, was set to present her business and compete against 55 other international participants last year in Toronto, Canada, at the grand finals but unfortunately, due to personal reasons, she was unable to attend and the runner-up took her place.
“I decided to participate again this year to showcase the development of Plate It!,” said Nada who lives in Hamad Town. “I’m thrilled to have won again and am looking forward to representing the kingdom in Macao in April.”
Nada will be joining more than 50 of the world’s most exceptional student entrepreneurs in the 2019 EO GSEA Global Finals. It involves two-and-a-half days of learning, mentorship and competition, highlight innovative new businesses from the world’s next generation of entrepreneurs, the organisers say.
Nada competed against six other finalists in Bahrain to take the prize in front of a strong judging panel featuring Tamkeen’s Mohamed Ahamadi and Export Bahrain’s Hassan Yaseen, Fareed Bader of Bader Group, Esmahan Bokhowa, financial director of Bokhowa Group and Saar Mall manager, Pole Lally Brinc from Batelco and Omar Al Khan of Park Point.
Safa Sharif, EO’s regional chair of Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, who is also in charge of the GSEA Bahrain competition, was delighted by Nada’s accomplishment.
He said: “Selection was based on a rigorous evaluation by top-notch judges and carefully set vetting criteria. The competition is focused on students and entrepreneurs. Managing both roles in life is not an easy task and requires a good attitude.
“Besides having a great business idea, Nada scored high on her spirit and positive attitude, her trying to make a mark and her thirst to learn.
“Nada’s business is innovative and solves a key problem for working women and men. It is well thought of and well managed. She has also showed good progress advancing her business while managing her university study.
“Now, Nada will be competing with 55 other global winners from across the world and such an exposure for her at this stage of her business and career will definitely be an eye-opener and boost her skills and knowledge.
“This will take her far and high in her future and will have a great impact on the future of Bahrain.”
Nada has been developing her business since 2016 with the aim of helping others with eating healthy options and causing less waste and she was inspired by personal experience.
She was having trouble managing her life as a student, an employee and being a wife taking care of her family. She had little time to think about herself and it all led her to gaining weight and facing serious health issues as a result.
She introduced a system where she’d pre-prepare all of her ingredients, freezed them and later defrosted them when she needed to cook. She even left her family members an easy ‘how-to’ description to follow on preparing their own meals using the system.
“I started working on it for myself and then I thought there must be others in a similar situation,” she explained. “There was an obvious gap in the market and I decided to fill it!”
Plate It! delivers fresh ingredients packed in attractive recyclable packaging to customer’s doorsteps to help them prepare healthy, delicious meals at home.
“The ingredients are shredded, diced, proportioned and numbered, along with the required spices, to use with specific recipes,” she added.
“I also provide an easy to follow guide and a full count of calories and nutrition facts for each portion. Also, in a bid to support local businesses, vegetables, fruit, chicken or beef and other organic materials are provided by local traders and farmers to ensure the use of all Bahraini products and help others grow too.
“My next major step will be to launch a commercial-sized kitchen to fulfil the need of a growing number of customers. I am planning to obtain a CR after getting my business management degree.
“I hope that the business continues to prosper once I properly launch it to the market. I would like to expand the Plate it! concept to other GCC countries.”
