Five businesses qualify for final judging round in 2nd KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs
Five young entrepreneurs running retail and service businesses in Kuwait have qualified for the final judging round of the 2nd 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.
Eman Al Awadhi, KIPCO’s Group Communications Director, said: “This preliminary round of judging is not just for the purpose of elimination; it is a learning experience for the entrepreneurs on how to successfully pitch their businesses to potential investors. Given their diverse business backgrounds, our KIPCO Group professionals had the opportunity to interact with the young entrepreneurs and gave them feedback and comments to help strengthen their case. We hope that, like last year, the entrepreneurs will continue to seek the guidance of our team as they expand their businesses. We wish the top five finalists all the best in the final judging round, and we hope that all the other entrepreneurs will continue to engage in a dialogue with us.”
Ali Al Ibrahim, CEO of the Youth Empowerment Organization, said: “When we launched the KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs last year, it took our efforts to empower youth to a whole new level. Through sharing their life-changing stories, the renowned international and local speakers we host have been an inspiration for young people to establish their own businesses. This year, we celebrate five years of educating, informing and inspiring the youth. Our partnership with KIPCO and its Group companies means that we can further support these people in realizing their aspirations.”
The five finalists are Easy Shippings, Moqawalat.com, Label KW, Fix It Home Services and Seyaaha Travel Guide. The final judging round will take place on October 26, during the Youth Empowerment Symposium. The panel includes the Head of Global Recruitment at Booking.com, Jennifer Boulanger; CEO of KAMCO, Faisal Sarkhou; General Manager of Ghaliah online communications agency, Abdulrazag Al Mutawa; and Founder and CEO of Saveco, Nour Al Qatami.
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 closing of the Youth Empowerment Symposium on October 26.