MDIS wins big at Youth Entrepreneurship Competition 2018Latest News
Spirits were high and the air was thick with anticipation as 34 finalist teams gathered at the Singapore Discovery Centre on the morning of 24 March. The Youth Entrepreneurship Competition (YEC) 2018 was underway.
MDIS proudly qualified two teams under the MDIS Business School for this year’s competition. From skull-shaped pizzas to tombstone-inspired superfoods, both aptly named teams Eat 4 Dead and The Walking Diet promised a delicious and scary zombie-themed feast to win the hearts (and wallets) of the public.
Eat 4 Dead: A Savoury Banquet Fit for Zombies
First time competitors in the YEC, team Eat 4 Dead so impressed the judges with their business and sales acumen that they took home the 1st Runner-Up (Category B – tertiary level), Best in Business Plan, and Best in Retail Identity awards.
The team had offered up a hair-raisingly good menu of skull-shaped pizzas, graveyard puddings, and T-shirts and tote bags featuring a self-designed zombie mascot.
Team leader Puspa Aroma said, “We are beyond words to be able to receive not one but three trophies! Just as the saying “with hard work comes great success” goes, after months of preparation and facing obstacles, we finally proved our business concept and skills learnt during our course of studies.”
“To qualify for the competition, we needed to have the full package; to see the big picture but also execute the minute details. It was a great opportunity for us to apply skills we have learnt and pick up new ones in the process. In doing business, we have to dare to fail,” concluded team member, Rishma Theru.
The Walking Diet: Fatally Addictive Super Foods
“Healthy eating” fit for Zombies was what The Walking Diet focused on at the YEC. One of the eye-catching items from the team’s menu was a Bloody Bowl - made of banana with a touch of Acai berry, and served with ‘fingers’ or mini zombies made from oat bar and melted chocolate. Another curious offering was the Zombie Cure – an addictive concoction of carrot and orange juice to instantly rid any drinker of his/her lethargy.
“YEC provided an opportunity for us to fuel our passion to be entrepreneurs. The whole process really enriched our business knowledge and skills, in particular enhancing our soft skills like teamwork, presentation, and negotiation. The success of a business is a result of good team work among members,” said team leader Evelyn Frances.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Competition provides youths with the opportunity to develop social, entrepreneurial and leadership skills as they turn their exciting business ideas into reality. Judges consisting of local entrepreneurs, business academics and officers from Singapore Discovery Centre judged teams on a sound business plan and effective A&P (advertising and promotion) strategies. Sales achieved at the finals contributed to half of the total judging score.
Dr R Theyvendran, MDIS Secretary-General said, “Our aim is to nurture future-ready graduates and competitions like YEC provides a constructive platform for them to create and test their application of business strategies and skills in a real-world setting,” shared Dr R Theyvendran, “Such competitions also serve to push our students out of their comfort zones to realise their potential. This hunger for success is what uniquely defines our MDIS students.”