Meet The Finalists Of Dubai Startup Hub's Smartpreneur Competition 6.0: EduPloyment EduPloyment is a social enterprise that leverages technology to educate blue-collar workers in order for them to find better livelihoods.

EduPloyment is one of the top 10 startups pitching for prizes worth a total of AED150,000 at the finals of Dubai Startup Hub's Smartpreneur Competition 6.0, which will be staged as part of Entrepreneur Middle East's Enterprise Agility Forum 2022 at Expo 2020 Dubai on January 20, 2022. Register HERE to be a part of the event.

For Mazen Omair, co-founder and CEO of tech startup EduPloyment, the concept of using technology to create a profitable business that also adheres to a social cause was something he came upon quite by chance. "The idea for EduPloyment was inspired at an entrepreneurship conference that my co-founder Rana A. Batterjee and I were attending, where one of the speakers introduced the concept of a purpose-driven business, as one which solves a world problem while generating a profit," says Omair. "This was a novel concept to us, which challenged the traditional model of building a business, and then using its proceeds for a charitable or corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity."

That realization led to the creation of EduPloyment, a social enterprise that leverages technology to educate blue-collar workers in order for them to find better livelihoods. "As a global online recruitment platform focused on the blue-collar segment, we upskill blue-collar workers with critical English language skills and provide them access to better jobs both abroad and domestically to uplift them and their families out of poverty," Omair says. "EduPloyment leverages the increasing use of smartphones among our target population to engage with job candidates using their native language, to improve accessibility. Candidates can use the application to create their resumes, and can also benchmark their English proficiency. After that, they begin learning and improving their English, while also simultaneously being matched with jobs for which they qualify."

Source: EduPloyment

But Eduployment doesn't solely help the blue-collar workers seeking jobs alone- it also aims to solve the hurdles employers often face in hiring them. "Employers utilizing the EduPloyment platform reduce their hiring costs by over 80% versus traditional mechanisms, gain faster access to better qualified candidates, and eliminate travel through our built-in video interviews," Omair explains. "We also pass on 100% of the employers' placement fees to the hired candidate as EduPloyment subscriptions, which they can share to help uplift their community members." And it is this combination of technology and CSR that Omair believes sets his startup apart from other traditional recruitment platforms. "We are providing employers with a tangible social impact, with no change to their business practices," he adds. "To help uplift the next generation, eligible hired candidates can also apply for an EduPloyment Scholarship to pay for one of their children's college tuition."

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Mazen Omair, co-founder, EduPloyment. Source: EduPloyment

With an approach that thus caters to both the employers and employees, while also opening doors for better career futures, Omair believes EduPloyment addresses one major sub-theme of the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai: opportunity. "We do this by providing blue-collar job seekers with a one-click access to jobs with employers committed to fair work, from the comfort of their homes, at a negligible cost compared to traditional mechanisms," he explains. "It also eliminates any intermediaries. Therefore, these job seekers have a great opportunity to uplift themselves and their families, while avoiding the typical pitfalls associated with traditional recruitment pathways." This would explain how EduPloyment got to be a part of this year's Smartpreneur Competition 6.0, an annual contest staged by Dubai Startup Hub, the entrepreneurship arm of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it has gone on to become one of the top ten startups pitching at its final ceremony being staged as part of Entrepreneur Middle East's Enterprise Agility Forum 2022 on Thursday, January 20, 2022, at Expo 2020 Dubai. "With the coaching feedback we received, we are now working on how to succinctly communicate EduPloyment's value proposition and potential," Omair says. "Now, it's all about "practice, practice, practice!'"

But even with the ongoing preparations for the finals, Omair's goals for Eduployment are already set beyond the event. "In 2022, we plan on expanding our employers' community in additional GCC countries, and further expanding candidate recruitment to additional countries," he says, while adding that the UAE is the right place to catapult all these goals into fruition. "Across the spectrum of services and resources that a new business requires, the UAE provides world-class offerings, and I believe the advanced business ecosystem in the country makes it ideal for us to keep growing," concludes Omair.

EduPloyment is one of the top 10 startups pitching for prizes worth a total of AED150,000 at the finals of Dubai Startup Hub's Smartpreneur Competition 6.0, which will be staged as part of Entrepreneur Middle East's Enterprise Agility Forum 2022 at Expo 2020 Dubai on January 20, 2022. Register HERE to be a part of the event.

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