Jenny Hunt
- 3 min read

Gateway Group's CEO, Jenny Hunt, opens Enterprise Week at Al Yasmina School, Abu Dhabi

1st July 2015

in June 2015, Gateway Group's Founding Partner and CEO, Jenny Hunt, was invited to open Enterprise Week at Al Yasmina School in Abu Dhabi.

What is Enterprise Week?

Al Yasmina has been running Enterprise week for couple of years, raising over AED60,000 for charitable causes in Abu Dhabi. Over the course of a week, students from years 7 - 10 get the opportunity to create and run a business, from the product development stage through to selling it on market day. Throughout the week students also get to go out on various trips to different businesses around Abu Dhabi to see how they work, or visit an enterprise that sells a product similar to what they are going to create and sell in school. The range of ideas have included a frozen-themed winter wonderland that students paid entry to, crazy golf course, nail art bar, and radio station.

This year, students developed some fabulous business ideas and had lots of fun developing their concepts, considering the costs, delegating business responsibilities, seeking sponsorship, making products, marketing products, negotiating areas to sell their products, and eventually selling. They also had the opportunity to pitch their ideas in a 'Dragons' Den' format to teachers, as well as Gateway Group's Founding Partners, Jenny Hunt and Mohamed Al Marar, who quizzed them about their costs, margins, projections, health and safety requirements, resources etc...They got to judge a variety of concepts, including photobooths, bath bombs, mobile phone covers and obstacle courses. This year, the students raised a massive AED50,000 for local charitable causes.

The purpose of Enterprise Week

The concept is intended to be fun and engaging, encouraging the students to think about what is needed to start up a business, to consider whether their ideas will make money, understand the profit margins and off course the various skills needed to set up and operate a business.

How did Gateway Group Get Involved

Jenny Hunt was delighted to be asked to give a key note speech to the students, sharing her own entrepreneurial journey, introducing Gateway Group and generally talking about what is involved in starting a business in Abu Dhabi and what the challenges are. She also encouraged the students to think about and share their ideas for what needs to be considered when starting a business and what the common traits are in entrepreneurs. Jenny Hunt commented: "It's a great, practical initiative and I was delighted to share some insight of my experiences in the commercial world, as well as to give tips and suggestions for the students' market day and Abu Dhabi's upcoming entrepreneurs."

Written by Jenny Hunt, Founding Partner & CEO

Gateway Group Of Companies, Abu Dhabi & Dubai UAE