Amman, Sept 5 (Petra) -- The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development launched on Saturday the closing activities for the seventh edition of the "Lenabtaker Competition" in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Youth, organized by Entro Gate, alongside the graduation of the fifth cohort from the "Lenabtaker" business incubator.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Education and Human Resources Development during the event, patronized by Ministry Secretary-General Sahar Al-Shakhaterah, President of Al-Hussein Technical University (HTU) Ismail Al-Hinti highlighted the significant expansion of the competition to include participants from several Arab nations, expressing his delight at HTU hosting the event for the fifth consecutive year.

Al-Hinti noted that the competition began as a national initiative launched by Entro Gate before growing to cover more than 12 Arab countries, bringing together thousands of young people, youth entrepreneurs, and startups.

Concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation are an essential component of building critical thinking and shaping the future rather than a marginal matter, Al-Hinti said. He pointed to HTU's experience where every student undergoes an obligatory "Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bootcamp" as part of their study plan, adding that this approach led to the university incubator graduating more than 100 technology startups, with valuations of some companies founded by alumni in Silicon Valley reaching tens of millions of dollars.

Samar Obeidat, founder and chief executive officer of Entro Gate, stated that investing in human capital represents the greatest investment for the future, highlighting Jordan’s pride in uniting youth across the Arab world around a shared entrepreneurial vision.

Obeidat explained that the competition, which launched seven years ago as a national initiative to shift education from rote learning to empowering students to think, experiment, and innovate, has grown beyond Jordan's borders into a regional platform bringing together innovators and educators from across the region.

She added that this edition is the result of an extended strategic collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, the Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) represented by HTU and TechWorks, and the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), along with a strategic partnership this year with Palestine's Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

The final phase this year welcomed 53 qualifying teams following an eight-month training journey during which participants transformed challenges across eight key sectors into entrepreneurial business models to present before international judging panels, Obeidat said.

Obeidat paid special tribute to the remote participation of teams from the Gaza Strip, calling their involvement a remarkable achievement demonstrating the resilience and creativity of Arab youth despite difficult circumstances. She emphasized that the true measure of the competition's success lies not in the number of teams or projects, but in the number of minds transformed and students who now view challenges through the lens of solutions.

The journey continues beyond announcing winners through the Lenabtaker (Let's Innovate) business incubator established five years ago for youth aged 12 to 17, offering technical support and training to help winning student innovators turn their ideas and prototypes into real-world ventures, Obeidat noted.

The seventh edition of the competition in 2026 saw participation from 21 Jordanian public schools presenting 34 entrepreneurial projects across seven governorates, including Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Salt, Mafraq, Petra, and Aqaba, with eight public school teams qualifying for the regional final stage.

Following a tour of the exhibition showcasing projects from the fifth incubator cohort, Al-Shakhaterah honored the participants and liaison officers. The incubator included 10 entrepreneurial teams comprising over 35 male and female students from public and private schools across Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.

//Petra// AF