The lobby of the central conference hall at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) was transformed into a bazaar for selling juice. 3o children, ranging from 8 to 12 years old, stood behind their juice stands while their parents encouraged them to sell more juices in order to win the prizes at the end.
Cocktail day, which was arranged by the members of the “Young Entrepreneur” project, aimed at providing a simulation of markets and business simple enough for the children to comprehend. “Young Pioneer” is a project supported by Mobaderoon3 Project for Entrepreneurial projects embraced by IUG Business and Technology Incubator.
The children participated in an array of activities that aimed to pinpoint children’s skills and hobbies. These included: forming a team and delegating tasks, participating in competitions and opening a mini-market for the children to sell juice. The winning team was given an award at the end.
Islam Ad-deeb, a member of Young Entrepreneurs, explained that the project’s aim is to develop children’s creative thinking and their entrepreneurship skills. It opens their eyes to the importance of entrepreneurship in business which in turn will help them shape brighter futures for themselves.
The project’s focus was on children because, according to Ad-deeb, most entrepreneurship programs targeted an older age range. The project is designed to plant the seeds of entrepreneurship in these children from an early age to create a creative, lively future generation.
In one of the stands at the bazaar stands Hasan Al-Ali, a 9-year-old child who described the event with an enthusiastic voice saying, ” It was a fun day! I learned how to sell and buy things.” Hasan wants to be a factory worker when he grows up. Hasan’s mother, who was there to cheer him on, couldn’t hide her wide grin and pride in him. “He has a lot of energy,” she said, “and this Cocktail day made one of his dreams—owning a juice stand—come to life.”
It is worth noting that Mobaderoon is a project that supports young entrepreneurs in the Gaza Strip. It is funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Fund for social and economic development. The project is supervised by the Welfare Association, and is implemented by the Deanship of Community Service and Continuing Education at the Islamic University in partnership with the Palestinian Union of ICT “PICTA.”
