Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has announced that the registration for the 7th cycle of the ‘Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders’ (YBL) is open till July 12, 2012.
The Young Business Leaders Award, the first of its kind in the region, aims at creating a competitive environment amongst the young entrepreneurs in the UAE and the Arab countries. It also recognises those individuals and organisations who have aided in the development of entrepreneurs in the UAE.
The Award for Young Business Leaders will be presented in the following categories: Entrepreneurial Awards in the UAE and the Arab countries; Entrepreneurial Personality of The Year in the UAE and the Arab countries (by nomination); Supporting Organization Awards – which include Best Supporting Entity to the Government Procurement Programme in the UAE government, semi-government and private sectors, Best Supporting Bank in the UAE and Best Initiative to Support Entrepreneurship in the UAE and the Arab countries (by nomination).
“Since its launch in 2003, the Young Business Leaders Award has received His Highness Sheik Mohammed’s continuous support in its mission to encourage the small and medium business sector. Dubai SME is committed to further elevate the scope of this award by through stronger efforts and adopting best practices to make it a model for the whole world,” said Ibtihal Al Naji, General Coordinator of the Award.
To be eligible for the Young Business Leaders Awards, a business should be legally registered and be based and/or operating in the UAE or the Arab country of origin, in addition to being fully owned by nationals. The age of the business should be as follows: Home-based business (Intelaq) in Dubai – up to three years; Start-up business – six months to two years; Established business – two to seven years.
The applicants should forward the application form along with the supporting documents to Dubai SME office in the Business Village.
The evaluation of the applications progresses through different stages such as application stage, preliminary short listing, site visits, second stage short listing, and panel interview before the final results are announced. After each stage the applicants will be informed whether their applications have been qualified for the next stage or not.
For more information about the Awards please visit: www.smeawards.ae or call 800 SME.
