• Student entrepreneurs shortlisted for round two of The Big Start
• UAE Nationals largest group to enter out of 191 registered students

Dubai, UAE, 14th January 2010: The Big Start, a student entrepreneur competition created by Al Tamimi Investments (ATI), today announced the names of the 15 tertiary students from across the UAE who have succeeded in making through to round two of the contest. One or more of the fifteen shortlisted students will win the chance of a lifetime, with ATI providing full funding and support for the winning student(s) to establish their own business, gain the title of Chief Executive Officer and a structured shareholding in the new business.

The first round of business idea submissions closed on the 17th of December 2009 and attracted more than 190 registered participants from 34 UAE tertiary institutions. A judging panel from ATI has reviewed the submissions and selected the most viable business ideas to move through to the second round. Round two will involve finalists participating in a business plan workshop on the 23rd of January with senior ATI managers to learn how to strengthen their business concept and prepare for the final pitch stage of round three.

Commenting on the business concepts that made it through to round two, Rachael Wunsch, General Manager of ATI said: ”The diversity of submissions we received in round one was exceptional and indicative of the creative and enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit that we know exists within the UAE student body. The judging panel is excited about the new business ideas that we have selected to move onto round two – now it's about honing those ideas, testing the financials and making sure the candidate has the right attitude and personality to meet the demands of a business start up process and a long term partnership with ATI.”

Of the 191 students who registered on The Big Start website, 32% were female and 68% male. However, female students proved to have a much higher follow through rate than their male counterparts, with 32% of registered female students completing their submission, compared to 14% of males.  This resulted in a relatively even gender split for the submitted ideas – 51% from female students and 49% from male.

With few barriers to entry, The Big Start proved to be a popular initiative across all nationalities, with online registrations coming from students representing 28 different nationalities. UAE Nationals however, formed the majority in both registrations and submissions, making up 23% of all registrations and 19% of all submissions.
Students from 34 universities across five emirates registered interest in the competition. Students from Dubai were the most prevalent, followed by Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Abu Dhabi University and the University of Wollongong led the submissions with 11% coming from each, with students from Middlesex University making up 8% of the total submissions.

Commenting on the demographics of students participating in The Big Start, Wunsch added, “We wanted The Big Start to be a truly level playing field with few barriers to entry so we are pleased to see we attracted students from a range of nationalities and universities. This approach puts the business idea first and ensures that the competition is open to all final year students at a UAE university who have a great idea for a new business. We will be hoping to use the insights from these figures to ensure we continue to improve our communications to students about the next round of The Big Start, beginning October 2010.”

The Big Start competition was launched in October 2009 to all final year tertiary students studying in the UAE, regardless of nationality or university faculty. The Big Start has been created by Al Tamimi Investments, as a way to give back to the UAE community, to deliver opportunity, contribute to regional economic growth and enable ambitious students to gain real life exposure to the challenges and rewards of running their own business.

The Big Start finalists after round one: