Enterprise Qatar and Ernst and Young launch 'Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2011' in Qatar

The announcement was made during an introductory press conference held at The Torch Hotel, Doha, attended by Ms. Noora Al Mannai, CEO, Enterprise Qatar , Mr. Firas Qoussous, Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Qatar, Mr. Hamad Mohammed Al-Abdan, Chief Business Operating Officer, Enterprise Qatar, and Mr. Tom Kingsley, Marketing Director, Ernst & Young Middle East and North Africa.

Ms. Al Mannai spoke about the program's place within the context of Qatar's own development, "This is the first year that the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award has been held in Qatar, and we at Enterprise Qatar are delighted to help bring such a prestigious program to the country. The SME sector is playing an increasingly important role in Qatar's economy and Enterprise Qatar wants to help support and fuel this."

"Qatar is a significant powerhouse of the global economy, with our entrepreneurs acting as crucial pillars of this growth. Launching the Ernst & Young EOY 2011 Qatar award is an important way to support this advancement," Ms. Al Mannai added.

To be eligible for consideration, nominees must be owners and managers who are primarily responsible for the recent performance of a privately held business that is at least two years old, or founder shareholders of a listed company who is still active in senior management or is still a 51% owner. Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Mr. Qoussous, Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Qatar said, "As the world's largest and most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs the Entrepreneur Of The Year award will provide an opportunity for Qatar's leading entrepreneurs to showcase their talents. Being part of this program provides these companies with a platform to talk openly to other entrepreneurs and the independent judges making valuable contacts that will benefit their company as it continues to grow."

Mr. Al-Abdan said, "Ernst & Young's EOY 2011 in Qatar brings something completely new to the country. What attracted Enterprise Qatar most to this award is that it is an established program that recognizes our country's talents and rewards it; while also having an international dimension and benchmark for success. We have a lot of energy and passion in our local business community, which can certainly hold up against competitors from around the world. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award enables us to both learn from others' successes as well as showcase our own business community's abilities."

Tom Kingsley, Marketing Director, Ernst & Young Middle East and North Africa, added, "In emerging markets entrepreneurship plays an important role in fueling growth, adding jobs and building communities. Entrepreneurs created the world's most dynamic and successful companies and even in the most challenging times they continue to look for opportunities and proactively take calculated risks to grow. Their vision and flexibility to adapt to the changing environment will drive growth and boost confidence throughout the world's markets. This is especially true here in the Middle East where we face the prospect of needing to create 4m new jobs across the region every year for the next 15 years to maintain the spectacular growth we have enjoyed over the last decade and to sustain our growing populations."