Algiers, Algeria - 18 March 2015: The Mowgli Foundation, an award winning, UK-headquartered mentoring organisation joined the British Embassy and implementation partner, MedafCO Consulting, to host a closing ceremony for the 3-year mentoring project, sponsored by the Arab Partnership Fund.  The event was welcomed by HMA Andrew Noble, Ambassador to the UK in Algeria and attended by over 100 alumni members, government representations and corporate executives from across the private sector.

The Project Closing Ceremony was held at the Sofitel Hotel on Sunday 15th March and guests were welcomed by addresses from Tony Bury, Founder and Chairman of Mowgli Foundation, Kamel Osmane, Director of Medafco Consulting and Dr Ahmed Nouh, President of the Amidoul Foundation and Founder of social and ecological housing project, Ksar Tafilelt.

Tony Bury talked about the critical role and impact that mentoring plays in supporting entrepreneurship and leadership development to drive peak performance, economic growth and job creation as well as plans to continue nurturing and growing the mentoring community, through our alumni in Algeria to achieve sustainability.

Kamel Osmane, Director of Medafco Consulting briefed the audience on the project and the impact that the Mowgli-Medafco mentoring programs have had to date.  The audience was able to hear from Alumni entrepreneurs and mentors who shared their journeys as well as Dr Ahmed Nouh who gave an inspirational speech and reflected on the need for personal values-based leadership to serve the needs within society.

The Mowgli Foundation seeks to support the sustainable development of societies through the mentoring and evolution of entrepreneurs and leaders. This is achieved through the provision of unique and unparalleled mentoring and leadership development programs. Mowgli's unique programs enable mentors to develop their capabilities, offer their practical support and share their expertise to help entrepreneurs grow as leaders and expand their businesses, thereby creating new jobs and economic growth.

To celebrate the mentoring community and recognise key alumni members for their successes and contributions, the following awards were given:

  • Most Promising Entrepreneur Award - Toufik Benzine, EURL Soror

  • Serve to Lead Mentor Award - Siham Akacem, ASMOS  CONSULTING

  • Social Entrepreneur Award - Dr. Ahmed Nouh, Amidoul Foundation and Ksar Tafilelt City

  • Most Impactful Mentoring Relationship Award - Omar Deghfali, Invest & Management Consulting - IMC and Fahd Chaichi, Tracks Construction

  • Most Inspirational Mentoring Ambassador Award - Mustapha Koriba, NasNad International

Andrew Noble, British Ambassador in Algeria commented: The mentoring project is an excellent example of how British expertise can be useful in helping create exciting opportunities for young Algerian entrepreneurs. Over the past three years this pioneering project has introduced mentoring in Algeria and helped over 300 Algerian entrepreneurs and mentors to improve their skills. Even though British funding is ending this year I am confident that Mowgli Foundation and the local partner Medafco will continue to develop the strong entrepreneurial potential in Algeria through their network of partners and alumni. I wish every success to all participants in this project.

Kathleen Bury, Mowgli CEO commented: "It is amazing to think that 3½ years ago we were scoping the Algerian ecosystem to test the viability of the project and are now celebrating the 330 entrepreneurs and mentors who have participated in the program as well as the creation of a strong mentoring community in Algeria.  This event was a fantastic opportunity to reflect upon our journey to date, recognise and thank our partners, the British Embassy and Medafco, our alumni, those who have supported the project so far and those who are interested in supporting us to take it forward into its next chapter.  Without the ecosystem being with us and continually mentoring us along the way, we wouldn't be able to make any of this happen.  We really look forward to seeing what Algeria holds next for us as we continue to place mentoring at the heart of supporting entrepreneurship and leadership development."

About Mowgli
The Mowgli Foundation is an award winning, UK-headquartered mentoring organisation, established in 2008, which has been pioneering and specializing in entrepreneurial mentoring and embedding leadership development through the philosophy of mentoring within MENA's governments, corporates, entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Mowgli provides mentoring that inspires, connects and guides entrepreneurs and leaders to overcome life's personal and business challenges through:

  • Interactive, experiential and transformational 'Kickstart' workshops

  • A unique environment for accelerated relationship building, mentor training and matching

  • Engagement within a learning and mentoring focused global alumni network

Mowgli has an alumni with over 1500 members and has matched over 700 entrepreneurs with trained mentors in 12 countries; Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and the UK. In December 2012, Mowgli was recognised with the Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders Award for the 'Best Mentor Network in the Arab Region'. More information is available on Mowgli's website: www.mowgli.org.uk

For media inquiries:
Dubai: Kathleen Bury
Email: Kathleen.bury@mowgli.org.uk

© Press Release 2015