Five joint ventures comprising one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot entrepreneur received Monday €50,000 each, after winning “Stelios Award”, with which British-Cypriot businessman Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou honors bi-communal initiatives aiming to foster the peace process on the island.
At a packed prize ceremony held at Limassol’s Stelios House, finalists in the Stelios Award for Business Co-operation in Cyprus and other VIP guests witnessed the handing over of cheques worth €250,000 to this year’s winners. Sponsored by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, the education-to-entrepreneurship charity headed by easyGroup founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a total of €1 million has been awarded as prize money since 2009.
According to a press release by the Foundation, around 30 applications were received by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation with the stipulation that teams must comprise at least one member from each of the island’s Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities. The final stage involved an in-depth assessment of the entrepreneurial partnerships by the Foundation’s management with the five winners each presented with a €50,000 cheque by Sir Stelios.
The winners are:
Eleni, Panayiotis, Piril & Batuhan – AuntieEli’s Cake Story: A sweet partnership creating fancy baked goods, recipes, baking and decorating tutorials both through online and high street shops.
Christos & Ergec – Hyperlife Technologies: A long-standing partnership offering web development, web design, software solutions and computer support to clients in both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities.
Maroushia & Ayten – Funky Workshops and Artcrafts: Celebrating the founders’ arts and crafts talents, Funky offers jewellery, knitwear, handbags and toys through its ateliers and workshops. (see Maroushia Inspirations-Ayten Huseyin on Facebook)
Philippos & Ulas – LitigoConsult: A partnership specializing in turn-key business structures in Cyprus and abroad as well as other legal and business consulting services to a variety of start-ups and SMB’s.
Iacovos & Hasan – Lefkara Lace: A partnership which has run in the respective families for two generations, Lefkara Lace supplies high quality, lace handicrafts to souvenir shops throughout the island. (see lefkaralace on Facebook)
“I am very proud of this year’s entrants. They have proved the spirit of entrepreneurship can overcome the division and mistrust that has scarred our island since 1974. I believe this is another small but significant step in the continuing process of breaking down the barriers between our two communities and ensuring lasting peace. What the politicians have failed to achieve in the last 38 years, the entrepreneurs are now achieving by themselves”, said Haji-Ioannou speaking at the ceremony.
He added that for the first time since launching the Stelios Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus, they received more applications from start-up partnerships. Out of the close to 30 applications, many were businesses formed less than year ago.
“We see this as tangible proof that change for peace is in the air on the island and the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in Cyprus. This is despite the economic crisis and despite the best effort s of the politicians who do nothing to ensure lasting peace on the island’’, he added.
Since its inception in 2009, the Stelios Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus has been received by a wide variety of teams from a diverse range of business sectors, to include consulting, manufacturing, trade, tourism, web development and the arts. Representatives from the winning partnerships in past years turned out in full force to celebrate entrepreneurship and bi-communal co-operation.
Haji-Ioannou announced that he will continue to support entrepreneurship in Cyprus in 2013 with ten awards of €10,000 to each winning team. He has called on other organizations, companies and entrepreneurs to join in the support of this Award with equal amounts of matched funding.
