Fifth Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Summit Reinforces the Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Youth of Pakistan

On the 22nd of January 2011, the fifth Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Summit (YLES) ended majestically at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). In a graceful closing ceremony, rosy bouquets and expectant faces lit up the atmosphere as the awards were announced and eventually, the YLES’11 Cup was lifted by the team from…SZABIST!

The LUMS Entrepreneurial Society (LES) has been organizing the YLES annually since 2007. With amazing rapidity, the event has grown in reputation into a dynamic new platform for the Pakistani youth to come forward with their aspirations and ideas, as entrepreneurs, to gain exposure and compete with teams from all over the country.

The theme for this year’s summit was ‘Rural Entrepreneurship.’ The predominant reason behind the choice of theme is the recent catastrophic floods in the country and the idea of how resources from the rural areas could also help to counter some of the damage. YLES’11 provided an excellent opportunity for sprouting entrepreneurs to discover these potential markets.

The conference commenced on 19th of January and spanned across four days. Contests were divided into the Business Idea Competition (BIC), Case Study competition, Play It (Ad making competition), Gold Rush and the Social Enterprise Competition (SEC). These business-related activities were accompanied by social events at night to vent out the exertion of the day’s hard work.

The business events inculcated entrepreneurial energies amongst the delegates. The BIC was, as usual, conducted in 3 rounds. It saw sparkling new business proposals that were sometimes improvements of existing models but more often radically new ones. The best ones, of course, were those that weren’t just innovative but had the most realistic financial analyses and feasibility.

The prosperity of business not only depends upon the astute strategies of an entrepreneur but also upon the marketing skills. In order to aggrandize these tactics, YLES organized an ad-making competition. Students revved up their creative engines to come up with the crispiest one-minute advertisements for their assigned products.

Added to the usual was a new event, the ‘Gold Rush’, as introduced by the LES Investments department. It was a practical enactment of the theory of enterprise.

Although the event was in its infant stage, it was an immediate success. The delegates were required to perform business transactions with the supplies given to them and then sell their products amongst each other, the aim being to maximize profits. Each of the supply and the retail side therefore, had a winning team. Fun was combined with learning in a unique way here.

The social events of this year were outstanding in themselves. The first of these was a carnival with an assortment of stalls in a village-like setting. On the second day, delegates were mesmerized by a sensational concert by none other than the famous local band, Strings. Following up next on the third day was the Grand Formal Dinner where everyone got the long-awaited chance to look their best in handsome suits and shimmering dresses. Throughout the four days, a separate ‘Baithak’ had been arranged as a spot for students to come in, relax, socialize, or hum to the tunes going around.

All in all, the YLES 2011 was another successful addition to the string of wonderful summits in the past. The air was electric, the delegates enthusiastic and the general mood entrepreneurial! Congratulations to all the winners and also to LES, and may they have an even more magnificent YLES next year.

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