In the context of their 4th edition of the Brilliant Lebanese Awards (BLA), the first banking award of its kind in Lebanon, BLC Bank held a ceremony on the 8th of December at Casino Du Liban, to honor entrepreneurs, men and women, for proven excellence and success in their fields. The Brilliant Lebanese Awards winners were acknowledged with a cash prize, amounting to USD 60,000 for the 2 categories: Business of the Year and Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, while the winner of the People’s Choice Award received a prize of USD 5,000.

The ceremony recognizes the achievements of entrepreneurs spearheading successful initiatives spanning across different sectors and showing leadership and entrepreneurship skills. This competition is open to the public and gets participants from all over Lebanon. The winners were selected based on financial performance of the company (30%), the creativity of their business (30%), its future sustainability (25%) and the corporate social responsibility (15%) by a panel of independent professionals including representatives from Banque Du Liban, Lebanese American University, Endeavor, IFC, Kafalat, Lebanese Businessmen Association (RDCL), BLC Bank and successful entrepreneurs.

“Through the Brilliant Lebanese Awards we are confirming, once again, our strong belief in local entrepreneurs and women in the economy and are empowering them to achieve success in their field of work, which led BLC Bank to secure a leading percentage of the SME’s market share”, said BLC Bank’s Chairman General Manager Maurice Sehnaoui. “In fact, our SME strategy offers, on top of the financial services and products, learning and development through our technical training, workshops and roadshows; market exposure through networking events and conferences; and last but not least, information and guidance through our consultancy program”, he continued.

Nadim Kassar, the Vice Chairman and General Manager of BLC bank, is proud of the success of BLC bank’s initiatives aiming at empowering and supporting selective entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence in their field of work. He says: “Entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economy as they promote innovation, create new business opportunities, beef up the demand of employment and contribute to the economic growth. Through the Brilliant Lebanese Award, we are providing entrepreneurs, from all over Lebanon, with a nationwide exposure and with financial support helping them to reach new horizons while stimulating economic growth.”

At the end of the ceremony, Mahmoud El Hakim of Eyedeas was announced winner for the Business of the Year category; Hala Audi Beydoun of Cocoa & Co was awarded the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and the People’s Choice Award went to Muriel Moukawem of Mukagraf Design.

This year, many entrepreneurs applied to BLA out of which 12 finalists were selected. Businesses included a creative greeting cards designer, home accessories and souvenir items with Mediterranean designs, a jewelry designer, a bakery that specializes in bespoke decorated cakes, a landscaping company, an integrated creative boutique agency, high-quality handcrafted women’s handbags, an optical center that specializes in manufacturing safe glasses for kids, natural honey production, a manufacturer of bio diesel oil and lubricants from recycled cooking oil, a company that provides decoration solutions and entertainment programs for events and a veterinarian that specializes in artificial insemination and farm and stable preparations.

BLA is one aspect of the value proposition that BLC Bank offers to SME’s and women and which consists of 4 pillars: Finance, Exposure, Consultancy and Training.