The 10 bi-communal teams, 10 Greek Cypriot and 10 Turkish Cypriot entrepreneurs, that excelled in the “Stelios Bi-Communal Awards for Business Co-operation 2024′ were awarded a total of 200,000 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder and owner of the easy family of Brands and founder and president of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, with five of the ten teams winning the prize for the first time.
According to a press release by the Foundation, the Awards Ceremony for the ten winning teams was held at the Central Offices of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation on Markos Drakos Street in Nicosia on Thursday and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou congratulated the winners via Zoom.
It is added that 34 teams of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots or a total of 68 entrepreneurs from both communities participated in the competition, submitting their joint applications for the “Stelios Bi-Communal Awards for Business Co-operation 2024′. Among the top 10 business proposals, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou offered a total amount o
f 200,000 euro, that is to say 10,000 euro for each member of the two-person team.
It is noted that congratulating the winners and all participants in the competition, Haji-Ioannou said that “the participation and awarding of new business partnerships in this year’s Bicommunal Awards, with a rate reaching 50%, confirms that the institution is embraced each year by a larger number of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The new entries send an optimistic and hopeful message, as they strengthen trust between the two communities, contribute to economic prosperity, and consolidate lasting peace on the island.”
The winners of the Stelios Bi-Communal Awards for Business Co-operation 2024 are:
Andreas Andreou – Emre Serdar – www.slimlineframe.com. Their company specializes in the construction of aluminum facades, doors, and windows, with their products being exported abroad.
Christoforos Psyllidis – Burcu Mahmutoglu – www.divecypria.cy. They founded the Dive Cypria diving school, which provides diving training p
rograms and organizes diving trips throughout Cyprus and the Red Sea.
Steven Stavrou – Burak Doluay – https://socialtechlab.org/. They established the SocialTech Lab to utilize tools contributing to entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology, fostering a different culture of collaboration and communication.
Eleni Hatzigianni – Cile Siambis www.instagram.com/karpasiaproducts. They developed a collaboration for the production of traditional Cypriot products from Karpasia, such as halloumi, honey, and maccun.
Theodoros Christoforou – Arsen Angi – https://izmer.com/en/. The company they created is engaged in the construction and trade of marble, using raw materials from Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, India, and Italy.
Agathoklis Agathokleous – Hasan Siber – https://coliveoil.com/. The company they established focuses on mass production of olive oil, from olive harvesting in the wider area of Larnaca.
Kostakis Katsiaris – Osman Altunoglu www.facebook.com/cyprustraditionalchair. Their collaboration involves the con
struction of traditional Cypriot (tonen) chairs, which they export to the United Kingdom.
Michalis Pantelidis – Arif Cebeci – http://www.mpviolins.com/. They combined their love for music, inspiration, and creation by engaging in the construction of handmade violins and the repair of antique violins.
Nikolas Papageorgiou – Zerin Sarp – https://musicforcyprus.com. They created a unique online platform where one can search for and book musicians and bands for events throughout Cyprus.
Michalis Konstantinou – Fezile Ozatach – https://mcoenterprises.net/. They combined their experience and expertise and are engaged in architectural design, focusing on kitchen decoration and aesthetics.
It is further noted that the total value of the Bi-Communal Awards granted by the Stelios Foundation since 2009, including this year’s amount, totals 4,390,000 euro.
Source: Cyprus News Agency