Qatar’s top-notch facilities, infrastructures, and educational quality have enabled numerous aspiring entrepreneurs to launch inspirational startups.
Doha, Qatar: Securing the third position in this year’s Qatar Science and Technological Park (QSTP) XLR8 demo day, Darbi, an online portal aims to guide high school students to take informed decisions as they journey forward.
The Peninsula spoke to the Co-Founders of Darbi, Lolwa Al Saigh and Sara El Amin, Qatar Foundation (QF) graduates to understand the innovative startup and how it will impact the students in the region.
“Through our own experiences and of those around us, we realised that the transition from high school to university can be overwhelming and stressful, with many students usually feeling unsupported and unsure of their next steps,” Al Saigh said.
While entering into a decisive stage could be more perplexing, Al Saigh said that teenagers must be offered the right tool and resources to look into what they are passionate about.
Al Saigh explained that Darbi facilitates all students in the MENA region by providing support in their local countries. She said “We wanted to make a change to ensure that our youth have the guidance they need to make informed decisions about their future. By offering career counseling support, college search tools, and guidance on the college application process, we are empowering students to take control of their future and pursue their dreams. In order to develop our idea, we joined the Qatar Science Technology Park XLR8 program.”
The online and social media platform provides opportunities for the youth to uncover areas of interest, apply to universities and explore more career choices as a ‘one-stop-shop’.
Qatar’s top-notch facilities, infrastructures, and educational quality have enabled numerous aspiring entrepreneurs to launch inspirational startups. In terms of services, Darbi offers MENA specific university web directory, a career quiz to help students identify the career choices that suit them best, and a personalised dashboard to help organise and track their university applications.
“We are currently working on building our platform and hope to launch it this year,” Sara El Amin told The Peninsula.
She continued by saying that “We often see students picking majors based on what is popular and their peers rather than their interests, the job market, and their strengths. In addition to that, they do not have a clear vision on the path they need to take to achieve those career goals.”
Seeking to empower students to make them feel comfortable and derive their goals, El Amin highlighted the key role Darbi plays.
“Our biggest struggle is trying to make sure that our platform is easy to use and truly relevant to our region. We know that building a successful platform won’t be easy but we are driven by our passion and commitment to our mission, “El Amin added.