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Kuwait City: Ten young entrepreneurs running media and technology businesses in Kuwait have qualified for the final judging round in the first ever KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs. The award is a collaboration between the Youth Empowerment Organization and KIPCO - Kuwait Projects Company (Holding).
Eligible applicants gave a 5-7 minute presentation about their businesses in the preliminary judging round. Business professionals from the KIPCO Group - including Burgan Bank, OSN, Gulf Insurance Group, KAMCO Investment Company, United Real Estate, Qurain Petrochemical Industries, AUK, AUS, United Networks and Marina FM - sat on the judging panels.
Ms Eman Al Awadhi, KIPCO's Group Communications Director, said:
"During the preliminary judging round, KIPCO Group professionals had the opportunity to interact with young entrepreneurs who have dedicated a lot of time and effort to turn their ideas into a reality and create sustainable businesses that make a positive impact on the community in which they operate every day. As business professionals with different backgrounds, our judges gave feedback and comments to the young entrepreneurs, which we hope will be the beginning of a dialogue to mentor and support them as they grow their businesses. The selection process was not an easy one, and we wish everyone all the very best in the final judging round."
On his part, Mr Ali Al Ibrahim, CEO of the Youth Empowerment Organization, said:
"The KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs has taken our work to empower youth to a whole new level. Through our annual Youth Empowerment Symposium, we inspire young people to establish their own businesses by bringing to them renowned business leaders from Kuwait and across the world who share their life-changing stories. This award, however, has allowed us to actively support entrepreneurial projects through the mentorship, experience and services of the KIPCO Group companies."
The ten finalists are MyU app (@myu_app), Coded (@joincoded), Bookr (@letsbookr), Ajar Online (@ajaronline), Vitesse Technologies (@vitesse.kw), Q8Desserts.com (@q8desserts), Bilbayt.com (@bilbayt), ZEENA (@zeena.app), Studio AIO (@studioaio), and Doctoruna.com (@doctoruna1).
The final judging round will take place on Saturday and the panel includes the Co-Founder and CEO of Storehouse, Mr Mark Kawano; Founding Director of the American United School of Kuwait, Dr Jennifer J. Beckwith; Kuwaiti IT expert, Eng. Manar Al Hashash; and General Manager of Ghaliah online communications agency, Mr Abdulrazag Al Mutawa.
KIPCO Group is offering the winner a bundle of services valued at US$100,000. The services include a wide range of financial, strategic and operational consultation sessions, market studies, insurance coverage and advertising services.
The winner of the grand prize will be announced at the opening of the Youth Empowerment Symposium on November 9.
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About KIPCO
The KIPCO Group is one of the biggest holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa, with consolidated assets of US$ 31.8 billion as at 30 June 2015. The Group has significant ownership interests in over 60 companies operating across 24 countries. The group's main business sectors are financial services, media, real estate and manufacturing. Through its core companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, KIPCO also has interests in the education and medical sectors.
About Youth Empowerment Organization
The First Youth Empowerment Symposium was held in 2012, and the annual event grew to become the starting point of Youth Empowerment Organization, which was officially formed in 2014. The Youth Empowerment Organization is an independent, private Non-Profit Organization (NPO) & Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
It is a national initiative that is delivered by youth to youth in a professional setting, with a global outreach towards economic advancements worldwide. The organization's vision is to empower young people in order to drive a new era of economic development, growth and productivity.
Further information:
Eman Al Awadhi Group Communications Director
Kuwait Projects Company - KIPCO
T: +965 2294 3416
M:+965 6033 6399
Eman.Alawadhi@kipco.com
Khalil Al Hamar Marketing Director
Youth Symposium Organization - Tmkeen
M:+965 5002 0074
khalil@tmkeenkw.com
© Press Release 2015
