The Om Habibeh Foundation has announced the winning projects in its first competition of entrepreneurship in Aswan. The competition was organised by the foundation in cooperation with the Aga Khan Foundation and the Canadian Government, within a project for developing the skills of Aswan young people. Begum Om Habibeh is the widow of the Agha Khan III (1877 – 1957); they were used to spend their winters in Egypt’s southern town of Aswan which they loved so much that the Agha Khan willed to be buried there. His widow built a mausoleum for him on an Aswan hill, and comes to visit almost every winter, The mausoleum has become one of Aswan’s tourist attractions.
The eleven winning projects won financial reward to the tune of a total one million Egyptian pounds. Nine of them won prizes of 100 thousand Egyptian pounds each; another two won 50 thousand Egyptian pounds each.
The projects included “Mini Farm” to cultivate barley for animal feed, providing cheaper and higher quality food for cattle. Another, “Sekka”, is a mobile application that provides the arrival times of trains taking into consideration delays. “Andita” is an arts and music complex for Aswan. “360 degrees” is designed to create a shared workspace for businesspersons, corporates and students.
Three projects in the field of early childcare were also among the winners. These included al-Zahraa Nursery, and Salsabeel which offers interactive educational programmes for children. “Tomorrow is Lovelier” focuses on family counselling and advice, a first in Aswan. “Kon Zone” is about a vehicle that offers food processed in a unique, healthy way; another is about innovative shoes manufacture; “Robota” offers a robot that cleans solar panels; and the eleventh project is about a system to monitor migratory birds in Aswan.
Watani International
20 November 2018