The “Badir (initiate) Sustainable Entrepreneurship” Forum and Exhibition ended its activities in the city of Benghazi, last Sunday.
The exhibition was organized by the Municipality of Benghazi in cooperation with the Benghazi Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, with the Al-Birr and Ihsan Society and the Ruaa Centre.
It was officially opened on Saturday by Ali Al-Gatrani, the Deputy Prime Minister of the eastern based Libyan government (unrecognised by most of the international community), with the participation of several ministers and officials in government institutions and bodies, in addition to a group of parliamentarians and several private companies, investors, and businessmen and businesswomen.
Targeting support for entrepreneurs
Commenting exclusively to Libya Herald on the exhibition and its importance in supporting entrepreneurship and emerging projects, Abdul Raouf Nafis, the representative of Al Sahel Holding Group, the gold sponsor of the exhibition, said the importance of the event lies in targeting the activity of entrepreneurs, owners of emerging projects, and young people. These are those about to establish their own projects and establish companies and need financial support for their projects, in addition to presenting and discussing new projects for students of universities and specialized technical colleges.
Academy and financial support
Al-Sahel Holding Group is encouraged to support and encourage young entrepreneurs, added Nafis, to establish their projects by building their creative capabilities and training them in the Al-Sahel Academy for Training and Development. The academy provides training opportunities for several young people who wish to work in the group’s factories in various specialisations or in its housing and commercial projects spread across several cities, or to build their capabilities and prepare them, and thus participate in and finance them in starting their own projects.
Event provides SMEs with platform
Nafis praised the Benghazi event because it provided a platform for SMEs to display their products and services and to enhance cooperation between SMEs, government agencies and the private sector. The event also offers SMEs support in growth, expansion and creating job opportunities in the Libyan market, which has begun its steps towards liberation from the restrictions of public employment and the government sector.
Entrepreneurship rewards innovation – unlike government jobs
Libyan youth can be creative and innovative and create successful entrepreneurial projects that achieve rewarding financial returns without the need to adhere to government job controls, Nafis added. He said that government jobs kill initiative and creativity and push young people to depend on the monthly salary, which is considered a simple and unrewarding return. Therefore, he added, Al-Sahl Holding Group encourages young people to enter the market through small and micro projects because they mean success and excellence and are the basis for the establishment of a diversified national economy.
