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Young Bahrain-based entrepreneurs are putting their greenest foot forward, as they branch out to represent the kingdom’s vision for sustainability across the region.
Two teams – one from high school and the other amongst universities – were recently each crowned ‘Company of the Year’ by Injaz Bahrain at the 15th Annual Young Entrepreneurs Competition held at the Gulf Convention Centre last week.
Out of 10 post-secondary institutions, Team Fornature from the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) was named the University Company of the Year while Team N3ma from the American School of Bahrain took home the High School Company of the Year award, beating out nine other schools.
The team behind N3ma (Translated from Arabic as blessing), led by 17-year-old chief executive Saud Faisal Al Awadhi plans to sell a non-toxic watercolour paint made with wasted food from a number of local eateries.
“Our process begins with us diligently collecting waste from our trusted suppliers, Al Abraaj and Florencia Ice Cream,” the team explained.
“We separate the waste into two distinct piles - the first is the unusable food waste which is then given to local farms around Bahrain and composted.
“The second pile contains the waste we require for production. Once we have separated out the necessary waste for our paint production, we proceed with sorting it into the waste for the various colours we have. For instance, we use red onion peels and beetroot for our striking red paint. The sorted waste is then boiled to extract the natural dyes.”
This is then filtered and blended with all-natural preservatives, before being sold for BD1.500 a bottle or BD5 for a bundle of four colours.
The team comprises five vice-presidents - 17-year-olds Elia Battelli (sales), Ali Ghazy (marketing), Agostino Gaudio (finance), 18-year-old Thomas Wittig (human resources) and 16-year-old Jad Choueiry (product development).
It also comprises specialists in marketing Balqis Al Jallad, 17; product and development Ayah Alaradi, 15, Wajd Hashim, 17, Marie Lyn Abi Najm, 16, and Ebrahim Boujacli, 16; finance Faris Alami, 16, and; human resources Shereen Ellafy, 17.
Going forward to the regional competition, the team plans to diversify their product line and develop a plan to penetrate international markets.
Meanwhile, Fornature focuses on paper waste, collecting it from schools, universities and businesses, to repurpose it into eco-friendly furniture pieces.
“Our team discovered that paper waste comprises 13 per cent of Bahrain’s landfills,” the Fornature team explained.
“To address this issue, we recycle paper waste into elegant furniture for everyday use. Our process involves shredding and mixing the paper waste with other sustainable ingredients. Our standard tables cost BD15, while custom tables are priced based on individual requirements.”
The BIBF team comprises Ali Fahmi, 20, Mariam Mohammed, 19, Zaman Khalil, 17, Tareq Almutawaj, 18, Maryam Alnoaimi, 17 and Haya Alyushaa, 20.
The team plans to expand their brand by collaborating with local organisations and artists to create different types of accessories.
The two teams will now represent Bahrain at the regional competition slated to be held in October this year.
For more details, follow @n3ma.co, @fornature.bh and @injazbahrain on Instagram.
