The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) is gearing up for the first cycle of the Sharjah Economic Excellence Network Awards (shjSEEN) 2016.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, the awards will honor winning organizations in the UAE, coming from different sectors and of different sizes, across various award categories including Sharjah Top 10 Businesses Award, UAE Startups Award, Sharjah Entrepreneur Award, Sharjah Green Award and the Sharjah Social Responsibility Award, to celebrate their achievements and contribution to the UAE economy.
The press conference was attended by H.E Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of shjSEEN, H.E Sara Al Madani, Board Member of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, member of shjSEEN, Board Member of the SME Projects and Enterprise Council in the UAE and Nada Al Hajri, General Coordinator of shjSEEN, alongside other official representatives.
“The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry is committed to sustaining economic growth and recognizing business achievements across all sectors. The shjSEEN awards draw on global best practices to promote and celebrate businesses, and create a positive competitive environment in the Emirate.” said Mr Owais.
“I am extremely proud of the shjSEEN initiative, it provides UAE residents with a platform to connect with community leaders, find their place, their voice and their passion. We are all set for growth in 2017, with various plans being put in place to highlight Sharjah as a business and lifestyle destination,” commented Ms Madani.
The shjSEEN incubator is expected to begin end of this month or next month. To give a strong push to this initiative, SCCI signed partnerships with Twitter, Forbes Middle East, Brag Events and Careem to raise awareness for the Emirate as a natural destination and to draw attention to the culture enrichment of Sharjah.
Speaking to The Arabian Marketer, Ms Madani said, “Once the launch happens, the partners will help us in many ways. Some of them are educating. Twitter is providing us with tools which only the incubator people can access. In the next three months, we will have tech partners and innovation partners from LA on board. It has taken two year of traveling to create this network, where we learn from incubators and imported good practices here.”
Exceeding expectations, the network has received 280 applications. The award ceremony aims to have an artistic touch, in order to create a unique experience for the attendees. “We are celebrating people and winning but being an artist myself and being part of this initiative, we wanted an artistic aspect to the event, making people come and leave with an unexpected experience,” concluded Ms Madani.