Aspire zone is a sport complex located in the district of Doha, Qatar , owned by the Aspire Zone foundation and serves as an international sports destination and also an educational center for the development of sporting champions.

in a clash of interest i had the opportunity to interview Ahmed Garba Sharifi the head of client technology, about scholarships, their impacts, current requirements, and many more, he had some interesting opinions to share with us so here we go.

how do you promote your scholarship packages to students?

first, i only sponsor family members and i have so far sponsored over 28 some know and others which have no idea am doing this, so basically i don't have to do any promotion.

which type of students are you targeting?

my main target are those who i see potential in and i know they cant afford it, and those who have dreams that i can help them achieved and i can afford, for example one of my nephews told me he wants to be a pilot and another a doctor, but i cant afford that because after all am just a one man.

do you think making the application for scholarships digitalized reaching the funders easier?

generally, yes as i said before i have only sponsored relatives so far, but for an organization or a charity an online platform will help the students to make the right choice.

What are the 3 main requirements that will guarantee a student a scholarship?

that depends on the organization mainly, for example some require you have a specific grade while others want to sponsor students who are doing a specific degree like engineering while others can only sponsor students at a specific university or country and the list goes on, again it depends.

what do you get for offering sponsorships?

the main reason i do this is for good deeds and am not asking the students to pay me back or anything another reason is when they succeeded that makes me happy as well seeing them excelling in their respective field.

what are the types of sponsorships you offer?

well, as i mentioned before all those whom i have sponsored so far are family relatives and i don't really categorize them into anything .

how can students reach you?

easily, all my relatives have my number, that number i have been using for the past 18 years, i registered it in 2000 in Lagos, Nigeria and still even today people call me and they're surprised that i still use the same number and they mention how weird it is.

what are scholarships scams and how to avoid them?

if you go to or happened to meet a funder who asks you for cash to complete your sponsorship application or anything like that then its a scam because if you had the money you wont be looking for a scholarship, just common sense, another scam which am not sure if its happening or will happened in the future is corporates giving scholarships in exchange for something in return like Iran's shiaa give some students scholarships but in exchange they have to spread the shiaa ways and their teachings where ever they happened to be.

what is the best way to apply for a scholarship?

the students should first do their homework and research everything to find those who fits their criteria most they should also be aware of the source income of the funder and that has to be halal and obtained in a legit legal way, because haram never produces good.

how can a student tell if they're eligible for a scholarship?

again this depends on the organization or charity that's funding the scholarship, also students should keep their grades up because must scholarships these days do have a specific CGPA or grade requirements, and inshallah eventually they'll get the scholarship.

do you have any tips for applying for scholarships?

i would say just like before do your homework first and make sure its all authentic and halal and be aware of scams.

Conclusion: From the above questions we can conclude that an online scholarship platform will make it easier for both students and funders to reach each other, and go throw the needed procedures more efficiently and effectively