Looking for the young entrepreneur of the year in the Mediterranean

The UfM supports, one more year, the ARLEM Award, aiming at showcasing successful examples of youth entrepreneurship in the region.

9 June 2020. Are you a young entrepreneur whose company has been registered for at least 3 years and who wants to share his/her experience in running a successful and innovative business positively impacting people’s life?

After two successful editions, the Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives from the European Union and its Mediterranean partners (ARLEM) is launching the ARLEM Award 2021 for young entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean, with the support of the UfM, who will take part as a member of the jury selecting the winner.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the limits of the globalisation and the crucial importance of the local economy. More than ever, young local entrepreneurs need support to develop their businesses and address local communities’ needs.

To encourage young entrepreneurs to work together to overcome the economic consequences from the pandemic, the award is aiming at showcasing successful examples of youth entrepreneurship (up to 35 years old) in the Mediterranean region, including Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey. Special attention will be given to the adaptation and transformation of the activities put in service of the needs to face the pandemic crisis and its consequences. 

This year the registration for applications will be open until 20 September 2020.

The UfM has been associated to this initiative since the first award. The enterprise Rima Dates from Algeria was the winner of the ARLEM Award last year, a company focusing on low evaluated varieties of dates to produce new market products such as syrup or dates vinegar. The enterprise was created in 2014 by Leila Rima Boussada and her brother Hammou Boussada in Ghardaia, Algeria. The first edition chose an inspiring new business, a fashion design company “Zimni Jdeed”, launched in Tripoli by young Libyan entrepreneurs, Ali and Najwa Najway Shukri.