Endeavor, a non-profit organization that is credited with pioneering the concept of high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging and growth markets around the world, celebrated its entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia with the support of the Minister of Commerce and Industry Tawfiq Al-Rabiah in the presence of a large number of entrepreneurs. Based on specific criteria, and extensive studies on their companies, Endeavor Saudi Arabia has chosen a number of entrepreneurs who were honored by the minister during the ceremony, including Abdul Mohsen Al-Rabiah, Ebrahim Al-Jassim, Loai Naseem, Naif Al-Qahtani, Ahmed Hamdan and Hassan Hamdan, Amr Al-Madani and Saeed Saeed. Endeavor Saudi Arabia Board Chairman Rami K. Alturki, stated: “Members of Endeavor Saudi Arabia board are very excited for Endeavor’s proven model in supporting high impact entrepreneurs and creating jobs for the Saudi youth. Entrepreneurship is one of the keys to address the need for tens of thousands of new and innovative jobs in the Kingdom.” As for some of the achievements of Endeavor since its launch globally in 1997, said Alturki, the number of entrepreneurs who were selected globally were 917 out of 37,000, where the total revenue of Endeavor entrepreneurs’ companies during 2013 was more than $6 billion, with 225,000 new jobs created. The chairman of Endeavor Saudi Arabia stated a number of solutions provided by Endeavor to assist High Impact entrepreneurs to achieve their goals on a global level. "Endeavor helps entrepreneurs to unleash their potential in several ways, including introductions to local and international business mentors and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms. These customized services are specifically designed to help them grow their businesses,” he said. During the ceremony, Dave McClure stated: “The most important thing that supports the entrepreneurs is to motivate them by removing some of the barriers that prevent them from achieving success such as lack of confidence, lack of experience and fear of failure. Rakan Al-Eidi, MD, Endeavor Saudi Arabia, said: “Endeavor Saudi Arabia is a non-profitable organization started two years ago with aim to introduce the internationally successful model of Endeavor to support the high impact Saudi entrepreneurs, strengthen the national economy, and create hundreds of new jobs in the Kingdom.” He also highlighted local role models in entrepreneurship to be a source of inspiration for the promising young Saudis who aspire to establish their own business.
