Enterprising MBA students Bilal El Sayed and Caleb Conner both impressed the judging panel with their business proposals in Manchester Enterprise Centre’s Venture Further competition.
Bilal’s UWispa, a finalist in the business category, is a uniquely engineered phone case which protects the privacy of conversations. The case allows the mobile user to even whisper while taking a call in noisy environments and still provides a clear audio quality.
Caleb’s Spare Space, a finalist in the digital category, is a mobile app that saves travellers money on storing luggage and creates more revenue for local business owners. Those needing to store luggage for short periods of time hire space inside local businesses that can accommodate it.
Many candidates undertake an MBA with a view to launching a business and Alliance MBS offers Industry Scholarships in Entrepreneurship to applicants with a proven track record in this field.
The programme can be tailored to equip students with relevant skills, for example, there are electives in Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management, Negotiation Skills (which includes mentoring from successful venture capitalists), and Venture Capital and Private Equity.
All MBA students have access to Manchester Enterprise Centre at Alliance MBS and can enter the Venture Out and Venture Further cash prize competitions which help get business start-ups off the ground.
We support a number of MBA business competitions across the globe, such as the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) in North Carolina, where our MBAs gain valuable hands-on experience of pitching for investment.
Budding entrepreneurs can also benefit from a student-run MBA entrepreneurship club, guest speaker sessions with entrepreneurs and our business simulation course, which gives students the opportunity to experience life as a CEO.
What's more, the City of Manchester is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent with many start-ups based here, including several businesses run by AMBS alumni – a valuable source of help and guidance.
Bilal commented: “Walking in the streets of Manchester, it’s often windy and raining which can disrupt a call. The UWispa innovative phone case cancels out the disruption and can pick up even a whisper. I’m really pleased the judging panel were impressed with the idea, Venture Further has been a fantastic opportunity.”
In 2015 Bilal and a team of MBAs won the Research category prize at the Venture Out student ideas competition, with a solution for diagnosing and monitoring spinal problems. Bilal was also the Class of 2017 Entrepreneurship Club President.
