About Ideas Made Real

Idea Made Real is the GCC's first end-to-end build programme for

university-linked entrepreneurial GCC nationals. It gives talented

young founders aged 19-23 across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,

Saudi Arabia, and the UAE a trusted, structured pathway from idea to

viable business and does not stop at the selection and training. It helps

young people to shape an idea, test it , build it, and take their first real

commercial step.

Our Model for Impact

Pillar 01

Find It

We identify the strongest early-stage ideas through a rigorous, naturally transparent selection process.

Pillar 02

Build It

We support the best teams to develop real, investment-ready businesses through mentorship, prototype development and structured Guidance.

Pillar 03

Back It

We provide the champion with a full year of legal, marketing, financial and products support and connect all finalists with investors and founders who can take them further.

MISSION

Ideas Made Real exists to turn promiing young people with credible ideas into real-world proof by giving early-stage entrepreneurs a trusted pathway to test ideas, build capability, and take responsibility for leading viable business

VISION

To support GCC's long-term economic future by strengthening early-stage entrepreneurial capability helping young entrepreneurs turn credible ideas into viable businesses ready for next stage of growth.

About Avela Global

The firm that turns ideas into real products for 22 years, and now for you

Avela Global is a leading multinational firm specialising in comprehensive product development, sourcing, and supply chain solutions. Founded in 2002 by Gary Young, Avela has spent over two decades bridging businesses with high-quality, cost effective manufacturing turning concepts into commercially viable, market ready products for clients from startups to large multinationals.

Avela's expertise spans the full product journey: from concept refinement and prototyping through to engineering, manufacturing partnership, quality control, and global logistics. With offices in Houston, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City Penh, Mumbai and Dubai opened in 2025 as a strategic hub for Middle East operations, Avela brings a truly international operational capability to everything it touches.

For Ideas Made Real, this means one thing above all others: when a finalist team needs to build a prototype, they are not handed a manual and budget. They are working directly with firms that has spent 22 years doing exactly this - with real factories, real engineers, and real supply chains behind them.

This is what separated Ideas Made Reals from every other youth enterprice programme in the GCC. The prototypes are real. The development support real and the partner delivering it has the track record to prove it.

Gary Young

Founder and CEO, Avela Global

Gary Young is a Kent State University graduate with over 40 years of entrepreneurial experience across publishing, advertising, and global manufacturing. His 2001 trip to Asia set the course for Avela Gloval, a firm now present across five countries with a reputation for turning complex supply chain challenges into competitive advantages.

Gary was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Forttuna Global Award in Dubai and is the innovator behind Go-Dome, a global educational technology product. Based between Houston and Dubai, Gary leads Avela's Middle East expansion and serves as the strategic lead for the ideas made Real programme.