CATHERINE W GICHUKI

DOHA THE Social Development Center (SDC) awarded the winning entrepreneurial projects for the first series of Reyada Awards to Qatari entrepreneurs at Qatar National Convention Center on Tuesday.

The award is designed to honour Qatari entrepreneurs, as well as individuals and organisations that support entrepreneurial ventures.

The awards were presented by Munira bint Nasser al Missned, chairperson of the board of trustees, SDC; and Amal al Mannai, executive director, SDC; among other high profiled officials from respected companies in Qatar.

Nominations for Reyada Awards were submitted into three different categories, including ‘New Venture Challenge Award’, ‘Entrepreneur Achiever Award’ and ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurial Support Award’, with each award featuring gold and silver honours.

The first place of the ‘New Venture Challenge Award’ went to Lulwa al Mansouri for her project titled ‘Memo’s Factory’. She received the golden award. It was followed by Mohamad Mansour al Sharshani, the recipient of the silver award for his project named ‘Cohee Factory’. They were both handed a cheque of QR100,000 and QR 50,000, respectively.

Saleh Eida, with his business titled ‘Qatar Care’, won the first place for ‘Entrepreneur Achiever Award’ while Shams al Qasab was ranked second in the same category. His business is titled ‘Shomoos Products’.

They were also handed a cheque of QR100,000 and QR50,000, respectively.

In the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneurial Support Award’ category, Vodafone earned the golden award for its dedicated corporate social responsibility efforts to support entrepreneurship, while College of the North Atlantic earned the silver award in the same category.

Speaking on the occasion, Amal al Mannai said the award aims to encourage the Qatari entrepreneurs and the supporters of entrepreneurship through recognition and rewards. She gave an example of Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg on how his small innovative idea is now trading high at stock markets.

Congratulating the winners for their achievements, Mannai, “I am immensely proud and amazed to witness some of the exemplary entrepreneurial projects that have earned the first set of Reyada Awards.

The Arabic word ‘Reyada’ means leadership. The Reyada Awards were conceptualised with the intention of cultivating fresh ideas and unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit in those individuals who actively strive to make a difference in Qatar. Today, I congratulate those who have transformed Reyada Awards from a mere concept into a reality, and have begun fostering a spirit of innovation and healthy competition in our country, which will in effect lead to not only a more prosperous economy, but an enhanced, stable society,” she said.

Winning entrepreneur Lulwa al Mansouri, thanked SDC and her family for her success.

“My project is a hospitality project. Winning the Reyada Awards marks the beginning of my successful journey of entrepreneurship,” she said.

The panel of judges in the Reyada Awards included Abdulaziz al Khalifa, executive director — strategic planning & control, Qatar Development Bank; Bart Cahir, president and general manager of ExxonMobil Qatar; Suleiman al Khateeb, executive director — Corporate Development, Salam International; Roger Griffiths, director of entrepreneurship, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar; Haya al Ghanim, entrepreneurship manager, Qatar Science & Technology Park; and Ghanim al Hamadi, executive director, Al Asmakh Group.