Dubai: The Mohammad Bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders ceremony honoured exceptional young businesspeople in the UAE and Arab world on Monday.
The awards were presented to the winners by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Shaikh Hamdan also honoured bodies, initiatives and programmes across the Arab world that support entrepreneurship. The winners in this category included Bank Misr of Egypt, Bader Technology Incubator Initiative in Saudi Arabia, Zain Innovation Campus in Jordan, Polytechnic University in Palestine and the Bread for Education initiative in Jordan.
Dr Shaima Nawaf from the UAE was named Best Businesswoman of 2017 while Obaid Bin Toq Al Merri scooped the Best Businessman of 2017 award.
Shaikha Budoor Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), was honoured as the best Arab Personality for supporting entrepreneurship.
Shaikh Hamdan congratulated the winners, and wished them more success in their continued support for the youth of the UAE and Arab world. He said that such support will allow youth to achieve their aspirations in developing their Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), and help establish a productive generation of youths that contribute to bolstering the national economies of Arab nations.
Shaikh Hamdan added that this would help secure a bright future for the youth, and create opportunities for coming generations.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, also honoured government bodies and individuals who supported youth in their SME endeavours through government procurement programmes.
The winners were the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai Holding, Dubai Statistics Centre, Dubai Health Authority, Emirates Flight Catering, the Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme, UAE University, Dubai Police’s Punitive and Correctional Establishments and Al Shatara Fil Tejara programme by Hazza Al Mansouri.
Shaikh Ahmad honoured Dubai Municipality as the best government body when it came to supporting youth in the UAE, while Ebrahim Al Zarouni was named the best employee in the same category.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, presented awards to youth-run SMEs that operate in various sectors.
Emirati Jengan Industries Establishments won in the industries category, Feathers Fashion was crowned the winner in the trade sector, and the Emirati Bait Al Kandora Gents Tailoring won in the clothing category.
Also honoured were Giftco International in the services sector, Security Systems in the field of emerging services, and Ominiyati Prosthetic Arts Centre in the category of social entrepreneurship. Spirit of the Emirates was named the best innovative project in the field of innovation.
Other winners include Five Oceans Environment Services from Oman in the field of best industrial project in the Arab world, Mafoo3atCom from Jordan in the category of service projects, Nafath Renewable Energy from Oman in the area of existing business projects and Alrawi Media from Bahrain.
