Sprawling across the many floors of Dubai Mall, this year's Young Entrepreneur Competition brought the exuberance of youth to shopping.
More than 800 young and aspiring entrepreneurs sold their wares at stalls around the mall.
The goods on sale were varied, from jewellery to clothing to gadgets.
Many of the entrepreneurs stuck to the age-old rule of buying low and selling high: sourcing products from overseas and adding a small mark-up on the price.
Another popular business model was to buy blank canvasses, such as T-shirts, hooded tops, posters and stationery, and then add a bespoke design.
___________________________________
Entrepreneurs - Visit our special section for The Life for the latest advice and issues
___________________________________
One of the main themes evident at all the stalls was Emirati and Middle Eastern culture, with pictures of the UAE Royal Family adorning much of the clothing and traditional UAE designs prominent on mugs, books and rings.
The development of entrepreneurial champions for the Middle East is high on the agenda for many organisations involved in nurturing Emirati talent, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the Khalifa Fund and the Department of Economic Development, which organised the event.
Experts on entrepreneurship have often criticised Arabic entrepreneurs for a "copycat" mentality, where new businesses try to take successful concepts from the West and apply them to the Middle East.
Entrepreneurs in the region have been encouraged to develop innovative, uniquely Arabic business ideas.
But both types, those with an Arabic theme and those utilising western culture, proved successful at the Young Entrepreneur Competition event, with robust sales.
Majeda Ahmed al Musalli and her best friend Alanood Salem, both 23, expected to make a hefty profit by the end of the competition from their Arabic graphic design business, Jod's Designs.
By the end of the second day they had recovered Dh7,500 (US$2,040) of the Dh12,000 they had stumped up from their savings.
Ms al Musalli designs Emirati characters that are a cross between a traditional drawing and a Japanese-style cartoon.
These designs are then applied to notebooks, cards, posters, coffee containers and clothing.
"All the Japanese cartoon characters have their own style, and it's the same in the US," Ms al Musalli said. "We would like to have our own designs that are Middle Eastern and Arabic."
The best-selling item was a notebook with a cartoon design of a glamorous Emirati woman in traditional dress.
Poster drawings of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, were popular with tourists, Ms al Musalli said.
Entrepreneurs selling western-designed goods also experienced brisk trade.
Jad Abdul Samad was running a business called Amnesia that sold posters, T-Shirts and pictures with images of famous music artists and film stars from Europe and the US.
Mr Samad bought the images on the internet and paid a designer to put them on the merchandise.
The Beatles, Kanye West, Bob Dylan and Audrey Hepburn were all present and correct.
Mr Samad said that despite calls for growth in home-grown Middle Eastern artists, many Emiratis liked western TV shows and culture.
"I honestly think Emiratis want what they want, what they like. There's a large focus on western culture here, especially through TV," Mr Samad said.
He jokingly added: "It's not our fault that we are doing this, it's TV's fault, we are only taking advantage of a trend."
With his friends Ammar Anbari and Amr Mukaddam, Mr Samad had spent Dh1,200 on products and had made Dh2,000 by the start of day three. He had also placed another order with his supplier to meet demand.
rjones@thenational.ae
