Egyptian Students of L’Oréal’s Innovation Competition “Brandstorm” Appear in Paris Finals

How many of us have coincidentally discovered an “unsung star” around them? The “undercover stars” shining in their own terrains, yet rarely get the sufficient appreciation?

We live in a society that usually highlights mainstream talents, new generations of innovators, creatives, developers, engineers, and other gurus that have pursued their dreams and took long strides towards achieving them.

This is where L’Oreal has mastered, through its international business game “Brandstorm”, the science of empowering young university students through innovation and competition to unleash their full potential.

Unleash your innovation

The one-of-a-kind contest is one of the world’s major student competitions and has already won several awards in the Human Resources (HR) sector. Brandstorm has successfully attracted more than 154,000 participants from 65 countries in 27 years, and each year, helps to recruit between 150 to 200 profiles for the group’s entry-level programs.

Brandstorm EGYPT

The contest, which launched its domestic version in Egypt in 2016, aims to encourage university students to unleash their creativity and develop their entrepreneurial skills. It also provides a platform for the students to showcase their work publicly.

Brandstorm offers promising masterminds to apply their innovative ideas to one of L’Oréal’s very-own divisions, and this year’s mission was to come up with future skincare products for health-conscious consumers.

During the 6-month-long competition, a team from L’Oreal provides their expert knowledge to participants on how to turn their ideas into reality with fully developed business strategies. The entire process is engineered to prepare undergraduates for the entrepreneurial landscape.

The winning team from Egypt has the chance to travel to Paris among 65 teams from around the globe who will compete to become international champion of Brandstorm.

So, what is the ultimate prize? The winning team will land itself the all-new Entrepreneurship Award and will earn the opportunity to delve into a 360-degree immersion program to transform their idea into a real business model.

That is not all. The international winner will get to work at Station F, the largest startup campus in the world where they will be working alongside the brightest minds in Europe. Over the course of three months, they will receive constant guidance and coaching from L’Oréal’s experts and at the end of the journey, present their perfected business models to top executives and internal investors.

Participating in this international competition does not just enhance one’s skills. It will provide a major stepping stone towards a bright career path.

Winning teams

The Egyptian team that participated in the 2018 edition of the competition came second in the rankings for best approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and finished 11^th overall among all the contestants.

The team that won this year’s national competition represented Egypt at the international finals in Paris on the 23^rd of May.

Overall, Brandstorm has grown in popularity in Egypt over the years. This year, 26 universities participated, up from just three in 2016. Every year, more innovative ideas are developed in partnership with the L’Oreal team.

If you feel you have the spirit and the innovation, you should join Brandstorm 2020 and unleash your creativity.

WE SAID THIS: What a fantastic job from those young Egyptian minds. If you think you have what it takes to make next year’s finals, click here for more information.