Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship announces jury members

Manama, Jan. 4 (BNA): The Organising Committee of The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship formally announced the members of the jury panel who will evaluate applicants and determine the winners in the Awards event, to be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Economic Development Board. According to His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Tamkeen Chairman and Acting Chief Executive, "The response from business owners in the award’s second edition, demonstrated by the increased turnout of applicants in distinct types of categories throughout the submission period, has been very positive." His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifaadded, "The jury consists of ten notable entrepreneurs: Shaikha Hessabint Khalifa bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain and Chairperson of Al Salam Bank; HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, CEO of Alf Khair, a social enterprise in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Founder & Creative Director of luxury brand Baraboux; Ms. AnvitaVarshney, Chief Operating Officer MEA for Naspers Group; Mr. Dave McClure, Founding Partner of 500 Startups; Mr. Habib Haddad, Co-Founder and CEO of Wamda; Mr. Kushal Shah, Regional Managing Partner of Roland Berger; Mr. Mohammed ElSayad, Marketing Director of Deutsche Telecom; Ms. Nina Curley, Founding Member of WAIN; Mr. Tarek Amin, Serial Entrepreneur, Mentor and Angel Investor; and Mr. Tony Bury, Founder of Mowgli Foundation. His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa stressed that the evaluation criteria demonstrates the Award’s explicit standards while setting a benchmark to ensure fair competition with equal opportunity afforded to all participants. The six awards categories include:Microenterprise of the Year, Start-up of the Year, SME of the Year, Sustainable Business Award, Enterprise of the Year with International Footprint and Female Entrepreneur of the Year. A seventh award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, will be granted in honor of entrepreneurs who have demonstrated an exemplary track record of performance in business. Mr. Faisal Sultan, Project Manager of The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship said, "The Organising Committee received numerous applications on all categories from mid-November to end of December. Total number of applications received for the 2nd edition of the Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship totals up to 130 applications in all the categories which is an impressive 8% increase to the previous year’s edition. The Organising Committee also received an overwhelming number of Nominations totaling 255. Mr. Faisal Sultan added, "A rigid screening of application forms is underway, conducted in compliance with the Award’s evaluation criteria. The outcome will be forwarded to the Technical Committee consisting of the Award’s strategic partners, towards the selection of semi-finalists per category beginning on the 4thof January. Workshops will be organisedfrom 14th to 20thJanuaryin parallel with the event, with the objective of enhancing participants’ presentation skills before the jury in the final stage of the competition. The Awarding Ceremony duringwhich the final winners will be announced, will be held on 6th March 2016. The Awards enjoythe support of strategic partners which include Economic Development Board, Bahrain Development Bank and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with knowledge advisors led by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism, EY Bahrain and UNIDO AICEI. For more details about The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship’s evaluation criteria and jury, visit www.bahrainae.com or social media channels Twitter, Instagram and Facebook via @bahrainae.