The winners of the Gharian Entrepreneurs Competition 2023 were announced at a ceremony on 20 December at Gharian University. The best 15 projects received seed financing (up to LD 10,560 each) and the best 25 projects gained networking opportunities with investors and banks.
The competition is within the Libya Startup project funded by the European Union in Libya and implemented by SPARK in partnership with Super Novae and Bina Incubator Libya, and the Gharian University Incubator.
The Director of the Bina Libya Incubator, affiliated with the Bina International Development Incubator, Ms. Ghada Rahoum, said in an exclusive interview with Libya Herald that the graduation of the first batch of entrepreneurs from the Western Mountain regions comes within the programmes to support entrepreneurship and innovation within Libyan universities.
Competition offered top intensive training
Rahouma confirmed that the Gharian University Entrepreneurship Competition was a good opportunity for entrepreneurs in Gharian and the entire Western Mountain, as it included an intensive training programme on entrepreneurship, with some of the best experts and consultants in the field.
Incubation and guidance
The competition also provided incubation and guidance for project owners to obtain a feasibility study that takes into account the Libyan market, in addition to seed financing and the opportunity to network with investors and banks for the best projects.
Transformation into successful projects
Rahouma said that a group of entrepreneurs, owners of small projects and those with creative ideas from all regions of the Western Mountain and from various fields were selected and trained for the purpose of transforming it into a successful project by networking and linking it with partners from the Libyan economic environment and networking with regional partners. The winners were selected after completing the various intensive stages of the competition.
Rahouma believes that the greatest benefit achieved for all participants in the Gharian University Incubator Competition is developing the skills of entrepreneurs, getting them to know their projects better, enabling them to implement them on the ground, obtaining opportunities for networking and convincing investors and banks in order to obtain appropriate financing.
The ceremony was attended by the Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the President of Gharian University, the Vice Dean for Scientific Affairs, the directors of leadership and innovation centres in Libyan universities, a representative of the Super Nova organization, and several participating entrepreneurs.
