DUBAI : Young adults in the UAE have been given a chance to start their own company from scratch without spending a dirham.

Final-year undergraduate students have only to come up with a business plan good enough for The Big Start, a contest for budding entrepreneurs launched by Al Tamimi Investments in September. The business group will completely bankroll the top plans — there can be more than one winner — and make students the CEOs of the new companies when they graduate.

The winners also get to own part of their start-ups. "Students won't have to spend a dirham. We will offer full support. But they have to give 100 per cent of themselves," said Rachael Wunsch, General Manager of Al Tamimi. "This will be their baby. Good ideas can come from all sorts of places. If you look at the senior executives of Google, they're not old."

The CEO's salary and ownership stake will "vary on a case by case basis, depending on the nature of the business," added Marketing Manager Lisa Callaway who said the idea list was "mixed".

Full-time students of all nationalities have until today to send their ideas to Al Tamimi, which will shortlist the best ones by January 2010. The company's managers will then guide them on how to make formal business plans.

The most promising plans will be shortlisted next April and the finalists will then pitch their plans to the firm in June. "It's not just the idea but the individual behind it. No business will become a success unless the individual has passion. The bottom line is... nobody gets rich overnight," said Wunsch