Awards
Intilaaqah Awards is an annual event organized by Shell Development Oman (SDO) as a means of celebrating successful Omani entrepreneurs. The awards targets Omani business owners in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) segment.
Be Recognized … Inspire Others
Objectives
- Recognizing successful Omani entrepreneurs and encouraging them to grow their business
- Creating role models and inspiring other locals to follow on their footsteps
- Support the development of entrepreneurs
Who is illegible to participate?
- Omanis business owners male or female who are actively running and managing the business themselves (entrepreneurs)
- The business has to be at least 18 months in operation
- It has be in the SME segment (number of staff not exceeding 50 and annual revenue below Rials 3 million)
- It has to have valid registration documents from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry
- All applicants have to register on Intilaaqah’s social network before applying for the Awards
Application process
Phase 1: online application
All applicants have to register as members in Intilaaqah social network prior to applying for the awards. The registration form can be found online at www.intilaaqah.org. All applicants are subject to approval by Intilaaqah via email verification. Therefore, it is important to make sure that all applicants are using valid email addresses.
Phase 2: online filtering
Based on the information requested on the online application form, Intilaaqah will select 5-10 finalists who would be requested to submit a brief business plan that covers the following areas:
- Information about the business (location, history, owners & management team, type of industry…etc)
- Products or services
- Market research (target clients, market potential, competitors … etc)
- Sales and marketing plan (unique selling points and competitive advantage)
- Profit and loss account
- Cash flow forecast for the next 2-3 years
- Information about any awards that the business has received
- Information about any international standards or certificate the business has received
Phase 3: sales pitch
Five finalists will be requested to deliver a presentation in front of the judging panel which consists of experts from organizations that provide support from SME’s. Each entrepreneur(s) will have 15 minutes to deliver the presentation and 10 minutes to answer questions from the judging panel.
What do the winners get?
All five finalists will get coverage on local media and online social media prior and post event. They will also receive 5 invitations to the gala dinner. Further Intilaaqah will announce the top three winners who will receive a trophy and cash prizes paid by SDO as follow:
- Intilaaqah Best Entrepreneurs of the year, Rials 5,000
- First runner-up Rials 3,000
- Second runner-up Rials 2,000
Intilaaqah Awards Associates
The awards receive attention and support from many public and private sector organizations. Indeed, their support is in line with their commitment towards developing the community and more specifically in developing local entrepreneurs.
- United Media and Publishing - Aalam Aliktasaad Wala’mal and Al Ruwad
- Oman Telecommunications Company (Oman Mobile)
- Muscat Press & Publishing House –Al Shabiba and Times of Oman Newspaper
- Omani Establishment for Press ,Printing ,Publishing & Distribution –Al Watan and Oman Tribune Newspaper
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Evaluation Criteria
All applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Clarity of the business plan presented
- The competitive advantage of the products/services provided
- Market research and analysis
- Marketing strategy
- Management team
- Accuracy of the financial reports presented
- Innovation level
Terms & Conditions
Applications will be accepted from applicants who register on Intilaaqah’s website. Applications must include the all the information requested and the application must be received online via this website by the closing deadline of 30 September 2011.
Intilaaqah reserves the right to extend this closing date for whatever reason they may choose. Any new closing date will be posted in the news section of the website and you will be notified by email if you have registered to receive updates.
Once an application has been submitted, no changes may be made. Applications will not be returned.
Applicants should complete the entry form providing all the information requested. It should enable the judging panel to get a clear picture of the entrepreneur and his/her business. Incomplete applications will be disregarded as a result.
The competition is open to Omani entrepreneurs (business owners) who are actively managing their own businesses. Businesses that are owned by Omanis but run/operated by expatriates will not be considered. This is inline with our objectives of building local capacities and encouraging local entrepreneurs.
All materials and information submitted will be treated as confidential. We will not disclose any submitted material to third parties without the express permission of the entrants. This is with the exception of our sponsors and compulsory media publicity connected with the awards.
You will receive an email acknowledgement of receipt of your application. Intilaaqah does not take responsibility for any submission that is not received by us electronically, or which is not confirmed as received. 5 to 10 shortlisted candidates will be notified by 'phone and email after Phase 1.
They will then be requested to submit a business plan via email to awards@intilaaqah.org. Applicants who do not make it to the shortlist will not be contacted. The finalists will then be invited to meet with the judging panel and deliver a 15-minutes sales pitch.
All finalists along with friends and family members will be invited to the Gala dinner during the first week of November 2011. The decision of the judging panel is final and there can be no appeal.
Intilaaqah encourages the winners to use the prize money to grow their businesses. Indeed, this forms part of our objective to encourage the growth of local businesses. Moreover, winners and finalists must make themselves available to media interviews and other PR related activity as is deemed necessary by Intilaaqah.
Apply now!
If you are already a member in Intilaaqah social network, login below and submit your application
