MBA alumna and reality TV winner profiled on CNN
Mar 29, 2012SFU MBA alumna Wahiba Chair was featured in a recent CNN article discussing reality television shows on Arab television after winning the first season of the Arab docu-reality television show Stars of Science.
Stars of Science is the first Arab television program to create a worldwide competition where contestants competed for the commercial launch of a product of their own design. It features 16 young innovators in technology, design, and engineering, vying for $600,000 in cash prizes to launch their product.
Chair and her team won the show, described as cross between Big Brother and The Apprentice, for their product, CarrotLines, a mobile application that helps people shopping in supermarkets to identify food products that meet their nutritional needs.
Chair spent 10 weeks as one of 16 finalists on the show, working in a televised lab with assistance from mentors and experts to develop her business idea into a marketable product. She developed her product prototype and business plan during her MBA program at the Beedie School of Business before using it in her application to Stars of Science.
Originally from Algeria, Chair was one of 5,600 applicants of Arab origin to enter the competition and one of only two females to make it into the final 16. After winning its launch, CarrotLines has since been listed in the top 10 Health and Fitness Apps on the Canadian iTunes store.
The CNN article examines the increasing popularity of reality TV shows in the Arab world and the impact these shows are having on younger generations.
For more information on CarrotLines, visit http://carrotlines.wordpress.com/