(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Sept 10 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) and the Youth Empowerment Organization (Tmkeen) have announced the beginning of registration for the KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs 2017.
A statement issued by KIPCO said that this is the third year that the award takes place, and this year's focus will be on entrepreneurial businesses in e-media and technology sectors.
Young entrepreneurs aged 18-33 with existing retail and service businesses established for no longer than five years and licensed in Kuwait are invited to visit the Tmkeen website (www.tmkeenkw.com) to apply for the award. Registration is open until October 1, it added.
Eman Al Awadhi, KIPCO's Group Communications Director, said in the statement that "Since launching the KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Youth Empowerment Organization in 2015, we have helped shed light on Kuwait's entrepreneurial community".
"Through the services that KIPCO's Group companies provide, we aim to support these ambitious young people as they strive to make their businesses sustainable and more profitable," she added.
She pointed out that "KIPCO Group is delighted to be partnering with Tmkeen for the third year. In the past, our judges have found competition to be close, given the level of proficiency that the young entrepreneurs have presented and the feasibility of their business models. In order to support and encourage more talented young people, this year we added cash prizes for the winners of the top three places".
"This is in addition to the grand prize of USD 100,000 in services provided by KIPCO Group to the first place winner," she said.
At USD 100,000, the KIPCO Tmkeen Award for Young Entrepreneurs offers the largest entrepreneurship prize in terms of value in Kuwait. The grand prize services include a wide range of financial, strategic and operational consultancy sessions, market studies, insurance coverage and advertising services.
Burgan Bank, OSN, Gulf Insurance Group, KAMCO Investment Company and Marina FM are contributing their expertise and services to the prize. United Real Estate, Qurain Petrochemical Industries, United Networks and United Education are also supporting the award, she said.
In addition to this, the first place winner will be awarded USD 15,000 in cash, while the second and third place winners will receive USD 10,000 and USD 5,000 respectively.
On his part, Ali Al Ibrahim, CEO of Youth Empowerment Organization, said "The goal of our annual Tmkeen Symposium is to educate, inform and inspire young people to become entrepreneurs and to set up their own successful businesses. Our collaboration with KIPCO has allowed us to take a step further in supporting this rising business community by allowing them the opportunity to benefit from the expertise that KIPCO Group has to offer." He added "It is our ultimate goal to encourage young people to use their creativity to establish innovative small and medium enterprises, thereby contributing to the development of Kuwait's business sector." Eligible applicants for the award will be asked to submit detailed information about their business's operational and financial performance. The first judging round will be held on October 10 and 11, where applicants will give a 5-7 minute presentation to a panel of business professionals from the KIPCO Group, he added.
Based on defined business criteria, the three applicants with the highest scores will be eligible to give a final presentation of 7-10 minutes at the KIPCO Tmkeen Award Startup Battle on October 23, and the official judging panel will select the winner, he noted.
The winner of the grand prize will be announced during the Youth Empowerment Symposium on October 24.
The KIPCO Group is one of the biggest holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa, with consolidated assets of USD 33 billion as at 30 June 2016.
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.
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.(end).
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