Stelios hands out cash awards to Cyprus business ventures

easyJet and serial entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou presented five entrepreneurs with cheques of 50,000 euros each at a ceremony in Nicosia Friday for their work in promoting bicommunal business cooperation in Cyprus.
The five winners were:
The Highgate School – a trilingual education programme from pre-K to grade 12 in Nicosia, represented by educators Maria Theochari and Zubeyir Agaoglu;
Papazor Enterprises – an Internet-based car and villa rental service represented by Izzet Zorlu and Stathis Papaefstathiou;
C&A Agricultural Products – a venture that packs, distributes and exports agricultural products grown island-wide, represented by Unsal Ozbilenler and Christakis Varnava;
The Three Ladies Team – represented by Fiona Mullen, Praxoula A. Kyriacou and Özlem OÄ?uz, which is an economic research and consulting company advising clients on intra-island trade; and,
OSP Continental Trading – a manufacturer of PVC windows and doors for sale island-wide, represented by Andreas Petrides, Özker Ìldeniz and Soner Yetkili.
The awards were established by Sir Stelios through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation which is dedicated to the three E's – Education, Entrepreneurship and the Environment.
The five winners were selected from among 50 entries and will be entitled to receive three more annual grants if their projects succeed.
On October 26, the shortlisted candidates pitched their ideas to Stelios in “Dragons’ Den” style auditions at his easyHotel property in Larnaca.
“When I took the decision to set up these awards, it was because I wanted to try to do something to help bi-communal relationships on an island that means so much to me,” Stelios said, adding, “if I was a footballer I guess I would have set up a football school, but I’m an entrepreneur so I wanted to help in the way I know best.”
“Picking the winners was a hard decision, but I’m looking forward to some more hard decisions with these awards in the next three years.”
The Foundation sponsors three entrepreneurial awards, the Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year Award, run by Leonard Cheshire Disability, The Stelios Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus and the Stelios Haji-Ioannou Award for Entrepreneur of the Year in Greece.
Through the Foundation, Stelios has also pledged £3,000,000 – for 200 scholarships over 10 years – to his almae mater, the London School of Economics and the Cass Business School at City University. Stelios has earmarked the Scholarships for citizens of Cyprus (his family origins), Greece (his birthplace), the UK and Europe (the birthplace of his businesses).
More information is available on the website www.stelios.com/cyprus-business-cooperation .