Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received Al-Azhar University team, which represented Egypt and came first in the world “Enactus” competition for entrepreneurship and community projects, after outperforming students from major international universities from more than 32 participating countries.

His Eminence congratulated the youth of Al-Azhar, and expressed his pride in the honorable models of Azhari students, and their honorable representation in international forums. He strongly urged the youth to continue the effort, innovate and implement modern projects that benefit people and contribute to the advancement of the country. He pointed out that this team has made a great effort to serve their nation, which will serve as an incentive and motivation for the rest of the students to excel and enter the world of entrepreneurship.

Fatma Sirry, Director of Enactus Egypt, said that the Azhari students demonstrated competence inside and outside Egypt, and impressed the participants worldwide. The team, which was participating for the first time, won the award, in an unprecedented achievement. She added that this was the result of a great effort, and a partnership between university students, university leaders and businessmen.  Selecting Al-Azhar team came after competing with 58 local universities, and then with international universities from 36 countries.

Sirry confirmed that the projects that young people innovate and implement are sustainable, as the acceptance of any project is contingent on its implementation in practice.  “We go to the stakeholders, and see how much they benefit from the project,” she added “because these projects are useful and create new job opportunities that serve the people and the country.”  She said Enactus is working with businessmen and universities to create a promising generation of young entrepreneurs.

The student winners were immensely pleased to meet the Grand Imam, and they appreciated his support for them at all stages of the competition. They added that the congratulations of His Eminence posted on his official page on social media, and his prompt meeting with them today, represented a great honor and a great incentive, making them keen to continue their diligence and innovation. The Grand Imam’s attitude confirms his keenness to support Al-Azhar students, and motivate them to acquire knowledge and exploit it in invention and innovation and to serve religion, their homeland and humanity. 

This success confirms the competence of Al-Azhar students who have excelled over up to 32 teams, including teams from Canada, America, Germany, China and many other countries, representing the most prestigious international universities.

The students confirmed that the idea of the project was selected from among 70 ideas researched and examined thoroughly. They have found that the Qarun Lake is being polluted due to the shrimp shells thrown into it since the village does not benefit from them; but now it has become a source of income. Fishermen who used more than 1,500 boats had to leave their work and look for work in other governorates due to the lack of fish which parasites kill. However, this project is supposed to serve the people of the Qarun Lake area, to eliminate the phenomenon of dropouts from education, to create new job opportunities and to raise people’s standard of living.

The project of Al-Azhar Enactus team, implemented by more than 100 Azhari students, aims to find innovative ways to transform unused shrimp shells in the village of Shakshouk, Fayoum Governorate, to produce five basic products: Spices, organic fertilizers, medicinal masks, shrimp farms, and organic filters, in addition to purifying the lake. After a series of research and development operations, the team enabled more than 800 women to find permanent jobs so that they can provide for their families. The project also reduced the unemployment rate in the village, raised the income of families by 320%, and reduced the dropout rate for more than 1,300 students in various education levels.