For the Eighth Year in a row
Shell Egypt and the British Council Honour
graduates of the Intilaaqah Programme 2013
A total of 645 young entrepreneurs received training in 2013
Intilaaqah adds Marsa Matruh governorate to its geographical spread
Shell Egypt and the British Council Egypt celebrate the success of the Shell Intilaaqah Egypt 2013 Programme for its eighth year in a row in Egypt – an annual awards ceremony is being held tonight, Wednesday 16 April 2014, where outstanding Programme graduates will be honoured. The event is held at the Fairmont Heliopolis Hotel, Canyon Ballroom.
Tonight, 19 young entrepreneurs will be awarded at the Shell Intilaaqah Egypt Annual Awards Ceremony, competing over seven categories; ‘Best Existing Business’, ‘Best Business Plan’, ‘Best Business Idea’, ‘Best Health & Safety Project’, ‘Best Business Idea for Disabled’, ‘Best Female Entrepreneur’, and ‘Best Environmental Project’.
“We trained 645 young entrepreneurs in 2013, reaching a cumulative number of 5,645 trainees, including 215 with special needs since the programme’s inception in 2004. I am glad to say that this year has witnessed some firsts; Intilaaqah training was held for the first time in Masra Matruh Governorate, increasing our geographical spread in Egypt to a total of 12 governorates. In addition, two awards are being introduced for the first time: ‘Best Female Entrepreneur’, sponsored by the British Council, and ‘Best Environmental Project’ sponsored by Shell Egypt. We also secured a new partnership with a NGO in Alexandria this year, increasing our footprint there”, says Ahmed Gabry, Shell Intilaaqah Egypt Programme Manager.
Jeroen Regtien, Vice President and Country Chairman, Shell Egypt, says “I am pleased to see the positive energy among such young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs, who chose to carve their own career path and become self-employed – nurtured by Shell’s successful partnership with the British Council. Shell Intilaaqah Egypt Programme represents an integral part of Shell Egypt’s social investment as part of giving back to the community, and has helped create 610 small businesses to date. The programme takes on a new focus of not only providing training and technical assistance to young entrepreneurs, but also encouraging the integration of local content into the supply chain of large corporations; leading to business growth and creation of new job opportunities. I am proud to announce that we registered the Intilaaqah first prize winner of last year as a printing vendor for Shell Egypt.”
“We are very proud of what has been achieved together over the last eight years – with more than 500 projects and more than 5000 young Egyptians involved in Intilaaqah”, says Mark Stephens, Director British Council Egypt, “in a country which is getting bigger and younger, supporting the development of skills is right at the top of our agenda. Together we want to reach and support young people who are less privileged and who might not get the opportunity to take a great idea and turn it into reality which is why Intilaqaah now helps women and people with disabilities”.
Earlier this year, Shell Intilaaqah Egypt announced its 2013 competition where around 80 Intilaaqah graduates applied for the seven award categories, and a judging panel event was held on 20 March at the British Council, Agouza. Members of the judging panel ranged between SME patrons, members from academia, NGOs, in addition to media.
Programme graduates who participated in the 2013 annual awards competition have received entrepreneurship training throughout the year – topics covered during the training included: SME market analysis, business management, and marketing.
###
About Shell:
Shell companies in Egypt are wholly owned by the Royal Dutch Shell plc. Active in Egypt since 1911, Shell Egypt business today spans Upstream Oil and Gas Exploration & Production, lubricants production and marketing, and gas distribution. Most of Shell’s upstream operations are located in the Western Desert.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Nerine Elwy, Communications Manager, Shell Egypt
Email: nerine.elwy@shell.com
Ms. Sherine Nehad, Media Relations Manager, Shell Egypt
Mobile: +(20) 1271 110 420
Email: sherine.nehad@shell.com
http://www.shell.com/home/content/egy/
For further information, please contact:
Rose Marie Gad, Communications Manager, British Council Egypt
Mobile: +(20) 010 1222 3064