Sir Stelios (R) presents Maria Theochari and Zubeyir Agaoglu of Highgate with their cheque (Photo: Christos Theodorides)

FIVE bi-communal entrepreneurial teams received cheques for €50,000 each yesterday from Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet and serial entrepreneur, at an award ceremony at the Chateau Status restaurant in Nicosia’s buffer zone.

The teams – consisting of at least one Greek-Cypriot and one Turkish-Cypriot partner – were the first winners of the Stelios Awards for Business Co-operation in Cyprus, a four-year scheme promoting island-wide, bi-communal business cooperation between entrepreneurs by giving promising ventures the funding boost they need to grow. They were selected after almost 50 initial entries were whittled down to a shortlist of nine, who then each faced a five-minute grilling by Haji-Ioannou himself.

Referring to his own past efforts in the UK and Greece to “give back” through philanthropy, Haji-Ioannou said that although he had “not come here to make political statements”, in Cyprus “the best way to give back is to use entrepreneurship to break down barriers”, adding: “In order to solve the (Cyprus) problem we have to de-stigmatise doing business with the other side.”

He said: “It’s about breaking down barriers and making lasting peace. When communities work together and do business together, employing people and having customers from both sides, I think this will provide inspiration for peace that will stay in this island for ever.”

Speaking at the awards ceremony yesterday, Presidential Commissioner George Iacovou congratulated Haji-Ioannou for setting up the awards, “because not only do we support reconciliation, we support working together as one step forward, which we need more of.”

Ozdil Nami, Special Representative of Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, said that “our common homeland needs and deserves initiatives like this, as they will contribute to development of mutual respect”, co-operation and co-existence. He added that “this spirit will also ensure the sustainability of a post-solution era that we are doing our utmost to reach very soon”.

The ceremony was also attended by Cyprus Chambers of Commerce (KEVE) President Manthos Mavromatis, Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV) President Andreas Pittas, Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTTO) board members Turgay Deniz and Celen Ozkaynak, and British High Commissioner Peter Millett.

Haji-Ioannou told the Mail he viewed this year’s winners of the awards as ambassadors in both communities, and hopes that they will help boost the number of applications next year “from 45 or so to 100”, and is confident they will have a wider impact among small companies.

Haji-Ioannou emphasized that the Awards scheme “is a marathon, not a sprint”, and will run for a further three years, and hoped that people will be encouraged to “reach out to find someone to do business with”. He added that although applications were invited from start-ups, “if someone has already been doing it for four or five years, then they deserve an award already.”

Sending out a message to future applicants – and to those who were unsuccessful this year – Haji-Ioannou said: “Try every year. If you know one of the winners today, please try yourself next year. Today’s business plan can be tomorrow’s business.”

The five winners of €50,000:

The Highgate School, a school offering integrated trilingual education from pre-Kindergarten to grade 12 in Nicosia; represented by educators Maria Theochari and Zubeyir Agaoglu.

Papazor Enterprises Ltd, an internet-based car and villa rental service represented by Izzet Zorlu and Stathis Papaefstathiou.

C&A Agricultural Products, which distributes and exports agricultural products grown island-wide, represented by Unsal Ozbilenler and Christakis Varnava.

The Three Ladies Team, represented by Praxoula A. Kyriacou and Ozlem Oguz, is an economic research and consulting company advising clients on intra-island trade.

OSP Continental Trading Ltd, manufactures PVC windows and doors for sale island-wide, represented by Andreas Petrides, Ozker Ìldeniz and Soner Yetkili.