KIPCO takes part in Youth Empowerment Symposium
KUWAIT: The Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) participated in the 6th Youth Empowerment Symposium (Tamkeen), held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah. KIPCO is a Strategic Sponsor of the symposium for the third year.
During his speech, Khaled Nasser AlRoudhan, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, said that the government has taken great step to create a good environment to empower Kuwaiti youth, linking them to the economy and encouraging them to enter the private sector and develop projects.
Roudhan stressed the keenness of His Highness the Amir on the youth of Kuwait to build the future and the foundation of the country. He said that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is preparing the small business’ licenses, pointing out that the National Fund for Support and Development of Enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises have been established to support young people, as these projects receive the attention and support of the Government.
The Minister added that the leaderships in the ministries and government bodies are the youth, stressing the belief of Kuwait in youth through such conference on the empowerment of young people. “The annual event of Tamkeen is evidence of its success in the development of youth capabilities and encourage them to engage in self-employment by hosting many local and international figures who contribute to enriching the revolution, knowledge for young people and to convey a message of challenge and determination.”
Speaking on this occasion, KIPCO’s Group Communications Director Eman AlAwadhi, said: “KIPCO values the importance of supporting young people, and it is this shared view with Tamkeen that inspired the launch of the KIPCO Tamkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs in 2015. We strongly believe in the important role that the private sector plays in diversifying the local economy. We also believe that the future lies in the hands of these young entrepreneurs, and our goal here is to shed light on the work that these young people do, understand the challenges they face, and support them as they develop their businesses toward profitability and sustainability.”
The first day of the symposium saw the ‘Startup Battle’ of the KIPCO Tamkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs. The three e-media and technology businesses that qualified in the first judging round - Baims, Orddr.com and Yahalooh - presented to a judging panel that included Founder and CEO of Colle Capital - USA, Victoria Grace; CEO of KAMCO, Faisal Sarkhou; and CEO of Boutiqaat.com, Abdulwahab Al-Essa. The winner of the 3rd KIPCO Tamkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs will be announced on the second day of symposium. At the end of the event, Kuwait Times was honored as the media sponsor of the 6th Youth Empowerment Symposium (Tamkeen) by the minister and chairman of the conference Ali Al-Ibrahim.