48 August 2015 www.bahrainthismonth.com ALSO THIS MONTH: 50 THE MORAL OF THE STORY 52 DIGGING FOR TREASURE 54 JLR BACKSEAT CHAT INTERVIEWS Shahd, 22, recently took the top place in the Youth Pioneer Society “Chance” programme — which rewards the top three candidates with a helping hand to get their fledgling projects off the ground and become real life entrepreneurs. Besides the thrill of coming first, Shahd was also presented with an office space and phone line, free of charge, for a year to help her develop her business — offering PR services and events management to other young entrepreneurs. “Mievento creative hub is the first public relations organisation in the country to specialise in the youth market,” she explains. “We do marketing, design and events management focused on young entrepreneurs like ourselves because we want to help people the same way we were helped. “The idea was to focus on the youth market, it differentiated us from others in the programme. I’ve been working on this idea for a while and already had a great team behind me so I had an advantage over other people who didn’t even have a business plan.” After six years of work experience in PR, sales and events, Shahd came up with the idea to branch out and taking part in the programme seemed like a natural progression. “I experienced the Bahraini market and I know how it works in this field but, I also know what it lacks and that is what gave me the edge to bring something new to the market,” she says. “I made up my mind that I don’t want to graduate and get a regular job but take the risk and start up my own.” Funnily enough, starting her own business was not Shahd’s first career choice. “I don’t come from an academic business background, I studied to become an architect,” she says. “My background in architecture helped me realise the importance of having a strong foundation and Mievento definitely does. We are a great team because we know each other’s strengths and trust each other.” Her team comprises of people she has worked with for at least two years, all with experience in the youth market and the knowledge of how to communicate or promote to younger people in a way they can relate to. “We are a young creative team that knows how to speak to youth because we are in the same age range and we have working experience with them,” says Shahd. Despite already having an idea in mind, Shahd says that the support the programme offered her was invaluable. “During the programme I had great mentorship and people were really helpful. We had to stick to deadlines to ensure everything was done in time and everybody worked really hard,” she says. According to Shahd, the most rewarding part of the business so far has been waking up in the morning and having a purpose in life and a goal to achieve and fight for. “Having a great team with an awesome youthful environment to work in makes me want to go fast to the office every day,” she explains. “We work on different projects every day, which is ideal for me, as I hate routine at work or in my lifestyle.” The Youth Pioneer Society “Chance” programme aims to develop entrepreneurial spirit among young Bahrainis by providing them with the opportunity to participate with and get trained by a group of professional trainers, mentors and young entrepreneurs. YOUTH IN DEMAND CHARLIE HOLDING Entrepreneurial Bahraini Shahd Al Zaki is encouraging other youngsters to follow in her footsteps and reach for their dreams. Shahd Al Zaki
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