RIYADH: Winners of the Prince Salman Prize for Young Entrepreneurs have commended its significance, saying it would encourage young Saudi men and women to compete with one another in constructive activities to boost the Kingdom’s development.
Abdul Wahab Al-Ahmari, who won first place in the industrial sector category, said: “The prize is a big encouragement for Saudi youths.” He said the project he presented for the prize was related to protecting the environment and making use of petrochemicals waste.
“The waste will be burned to create electrical power,” Al-Ahmari said, adding that his company’s sales crossed SR 100 million in a single year. The second prize went to Salem bin Nasser Al-Khalidi.
The prize’s board of trustees met in Riyadh Tuesday under the chairmanship of Defense Minister Prince Salman and approved the winners in five categories.
In the services sector category, the winners were Noura bint Bandar bin Abdullah and Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Shahri. In the technological sector category, Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil and Hassan bin Muhammad Al-Shahri were declared winners.
First prize in the trade sector category went to Turki bin Abdullah Al-Yahya while the first and second prizes in the young businesswomen category were won by Ala bint Abdul Rahman Al-Hariri and Huda bint Ghalib Al-Mutairy respectively. In the young leaders category, Khaled bin Suleiman Al-Ghathber and Muhammad bin Ghanim Al-Anazi were declared the winners.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman, a member of the board of trustees and chairman of the prize’s executive committee, congratulated the winners. He said next year the prize would cover GCC entrepreneurs.
Winner Al-Anazi thanked Prince Salman for his efforts to honor young talents in the Kingdom. “This prize will encourage the youth to exert more efforts to achieve excellence in their fields of specialization.” He added: “This prize is not the end of everything. It’s the beginning for enthusiastic youths to continue their efforts to achieve excellence.”
Noura bint Bandar bin Abdullah said the prize would have a big impact on Saudi youths. She said she had received the Award for Excellence from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and the Prize for the Best Viable Project in the Eastern Province from Asharqia Chamber.
She has also won the Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for the Best Arab Project in the Middle East. Noura’s company supplies popular cooked Saudi food and trains women how to cook.
