Western Union and Al Ansari Exchange launch “Business for Better” inter-University Competition in the UAE

Western Union, a leader in global payment services, and Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE's largest exchange house network that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services have launched an inter-University ‘Business Plan’ development competition in the UAE. The competition requires the submission of a sustainable business plan for a for-profit business that integrates a positive social and/or environmental goal into how the business will make money. Launched in celebration of the 15^th anniversary of the partnership between the two leading organizations, this competition is open to second year undergraduate students in the UAE, studying in the finance, business and economics streams. The prize on offer for the top three winning teams will be scholarships for the third year with amounts of AED 35,000, AED 20,000 and AED 10,000 for each winning team member, respectively. 

Sobia Rahman, Western Union’s Regional Vice President for the Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan said, “Our partnership with Al Ansari Exchange has been a very successful and valuable one for the past 15 years, during which we have helped make a difference to the lives of millions of people, through our remittance and money transfer services. When we were discussing our anniversary celebrations, there could hardly have been a better way of impacting the lives of the community around us, than to make a difference to the lives of University students and more importantly their parents who work hard to educate their children.” 

Insinuating the same feeling, Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager of Al Ansari Exchange added, “Commemorating our successful alliance with Western Union through this inter-University competition in the UAE is extremely special to all of us, as it signifies our long-standing commitment of serving and giving back to the community. I encourage all eligible students to participate and avail of this opportunity. This sort of interaction between the corporate world and academia is still very nascent and we hope to set a benchmark and precedent to promote further collaborations and create a next generation workforce that is well-equipped to develop sustainable businesses that are profitable and at the same time positively contribute to the society.” 

In order to participate in the competition, students must fulfill the eligibility criteria outlined in the Competition Proposal which is available through the below mentioned contact information. Students are required to form teams of two or three members and submit their application online at http://traccs-mms.net/businessforbetter, subsequent to which they need to submit a Concept Paper. The last date for submission of the Concept Papers is 26^th November, following which Western Union and Al Ansari Exchange will jointly screen all submissions and the top 15 concepts will be shortlisted for the final round. For the finals, student groups will be required to submit their business plans and present it to the panel of judges, consisting of members from Western Union and Al Ansari Exchange as well as nominated panelists from participating Universities.