The contest will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Oct. 23-25.

Injaz Al-Thaghr was competing with five other entrants, including one ran entirely by women, called Anfouwan (vigor).

The national 2010 student company competition was sponsored by the Ministry of Education and organized by the company Injaz Saudi Arabia. It was held at Hassan Jameel Hall, based at Abdullatif Jameel Company, recently.

Injaz will now compete against other entrants from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar, Palestine and Tunisia. The winner of that contest will participate in another competition, to be held in the US, featuring other regional winners.

Students are given the opportunity to establish their own companies with real paid-up capital, with several local secondary schools for boys and girls participating once they have completed a program facilitated by Injaz Saudi Arabia and guided by volunteers from the private sector.

The students play the role of businessmen, setting up companies with real capital and administrative and HR structures.

Injaz Al-Thaghr won thanks to its product of gift bags made from recycled newspapers and magazines.

The Ideal Solution Company won second place by presenting a special bag for pilgrims that will enable them carry all their belongings in a light suitcase.

Third-placed Anfouwan produced a special cover for BlackBerry handsets, which can also double as a business card holder.

"We have ambitions to develop the product to include a charger for the mobile phone," said Al-Anoud Koshashk, director of PR at Anfouwan.

Alia Yacoub, in charge of operations at Injaz Saudi Arabia, said they judged the entrants based on four criteria, including the company's annual report, their presentation, a visit to their booths and their answers to questions from the judging panel.

Anfouwan made its presentation in another part of the hall, separated by a wooden partition.

“We are a male-dominated society mixing religion with traditions,” said deputy director of Anfouwan, Aliyah Ahla Al-Khateeb.

“At first they tried to exclude us from the competition by using a so-called ban on gender mixing as an excuse, then they refused to allow us on stage and gave us a secluded place to make our presentation.”