MANAMA: Nineteen finalists across five categories have been selected for the third-edition of Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship, organisers announced yesterday.
The winners will be announced later this month during a ceremony to be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy Premier and Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman.
The finalists are: Micro-Enterprise of the Year: Aisha Abdulmalik for Aisha Jewels, Aysha Al Ghatam for Magical World, and Mohamed Abdeen for Next Level; Start-Up of the Year: Abdulrahman Almoayed for MotorGulf Events, Faisal Khalifeh for Solar One, Dr Rana Al Ammadi for Dr Rana’s Aesthetic Health Centre, Rami Sweis for Gulf Customer Experience and Shahnaz Bahman for International Business Network Centre; SME of the Year: Ali Al Haddad for The Closets, Dr Faisal Al Naser and Dr Fawzan Al Naser for Home Health Care Centre, Mohammed Abdulaal for All Food for Food Stuff, Roaya Saleh for Villa Mamas, and Suhaila Awachi for Taha International Industrial Services; Enterprise of the Year with International Footprint: Bader Murad for Bader Models, Hyder Cohen for TCIG and Salman Awan for Awan Media; Sustainability in Business Award: Ghada Al Sayed for Horizon Interiors, Mohamed Almoayyed for Almoayyed International Group, and Shaikh Rashed Al Khalifa for Peninsula Dairy Farms.
The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship is organised by Tamkeen in association with strategic partners including the EDB; Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry; Bahrain Development Bank; Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry; knowledge advisers – the Arab International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Investment – Office of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) for Investment and Technology in Bahrain, and EY Bahrain.
The selection of finalists follows a rigorous semi-final stage evaluation held over three days at the Capital Club Bahrain.
“The competition between the semi-finalists was quite challenging which reflects the competitive landscape of entrepreneurship in Bahrain,” said Tamkeen chief executive Dr Ebrahim Janahi.
“The 19 finalists were picked from 49 who made it to the semi-final round. The evaluation included presentations by applicants to the technical committee,” he added.
The technical committee comprises strategic partners and knowledge advisers including Dr Naser Al Qaedi and Yousif Ali from Tamkeen; Shaikh Mohamed Al Khalifa from the EDB; Ahmed Hejres, Ehab Mustafa and Abdulrahman Awadhi from Unido; Shaikha Al Fadhel and Manar Rabea from the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry; Budoor Kamal from Bahrain Development Bank; and Shayma Kazerooni from EY Bahrain.
The session was preceded by a workshop at the same venue aimed at enhancing participants’ readiness for the evaluation.
The finalists will now attend another workshop in preparation for a final presentation before the jury.
The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship includes seven categories, six of which can be applied for: Micro-Enterprise of the Year, Start-up of the Year, SME of the Year, Sustainability in Business Award, Enterprise of the Year with International Footprint and Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
The seventh category is the Lifetime Achievement Award which honours achievements of accomplished Bahraini entrepreneurs and businesspersons, who have made significant contributions to the economy and community.
Prizes include BD10,000 for the Micro-Enterprise of the Year and participation in Unido’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme; BD20,000 for Start-up of the Year and space in the agricultural growth accelerator if applicable; and BD30,000 for the SME of the Year as well as support in development of a growth plan and investment promotion through Unido.
The Enterprise of the Year with International Footprint will receive BD40,000, while the Sustainable Business winner will get BD30,000, with the Female Entrepreneur of the Year receiving BD20,000.
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