ALMAJMAÁ, Saudi Arabia — The Almajma’a School District, in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Almajma’a and Shawarmer restaurants, awarded more than 30 participants in The 2030 Vision Generation program for innovation, creativity and business planning as part of a 6-month initiative to promote a spirit of entrepreneurialism and help prepare young women and men across the district to be the next generation of Saudi entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The 2030 Vision Generation provided the opportunity for more than 600 young people in the Almajma’a area to participate in a series of 8 training programs designed to help them prepare and present start-up business plans. At the close of competition, the top participants were awarded for winning projects recognizing the best business idea, business plan, team building and promotional campaign, among other categories.

“Entrepreneurialism and creating new pathways for young people to participate and succeed in the economy of the future is an important part of the foundation of Saudi’s Vision 2030,” said Dr. Saleh Alrabiah “This program demonstrates the power of public-private partnership where community groups can work with companies like Shawarmer to create opportunities for bright young Saudis to realize their potential while strengthening the core of our community’s economy.”

“Just as Shawarmer was founded by a group of young Saudi entrepreneurs nearly 20 years ago, we want to inspire and support other young Saudis to bring their visions for new businesses to life in ways that will contribute to the nation’s economic growth and diversification ambitions and create new job opportunities for the nation,” said Iyad Alrasheed. “This is the kind of program that truly empowers our nation’s youth and we are proud to work closely with the leadership of the Almajma’a School District to open new doors for our next generation of business leaders.”

Shawarma, founded and owned by Innovative Foods, is the largest locally owned and operated quick serve restaurant group in Saudi Arabia. The restaurant chain known for modernizing the traditional Arabic street food shawarma to meet the changing and demanding tastes of a new generation of Saudis has grown to more than 80 locations in 19 cities across the Kingdom with more than 1,000 employees. — SG