A brighter future for young entrepreneurs

Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2015 – Young and talented Saudi entrepreneurs now get a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn their dreams into reality. Shell Intilaaqah will collaborate with The Royal Commission’s Business & Technology Incubators Centre Abde’ (‘get creative’) at Yanbu to support young Saudi men and women entrepreneurs start their own business. Through this initiative, Shell Intilaaqah and The Incubator Centre will create leaders who will help contribute to the Kingdom’s economy through starting their own businesses and in turn, creating further opportunities for youth employment.

His Excellency Dr. Alaa bin Abdullah Nassif, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Commission in Yanbu, explained that the signing of the agreement comes within the framework of cooperation between the Royal Commission in Yanbu and Shell in supporting entrepreneurs’ program and creating industry leaders who will have an effective impact on the growth of the Kingdom's economy. He also emphasized on the keenness of the Royal Commission in Yanbu to open new avenues for creative and technical entrepreneurs and help them turn their ideas into successful projects – particularly in the provision of services to help turn those ideas into successful pilot projects.

Patrick Van Daele, Shell’s Vice-President and Country Chairman for Saudi Arabia, said: “It is a delight to see Shell Intilaaqah grow to have reached Yanbu after all its success in other major cities in Saudi Arabia. We are honoured to work with The Royal Commission at Yanbu and continue to support the Kingdom’s goals to create jobs, promote economic development and workplace diversity”.

Shell Intilaaqah will provide world class training conducted by Saudi advisors, offered free of charge and The Incubator Centre will select the beneficiaries of the programme and will organize the venues where the workshops will take place.

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ABOUT SHELL INTILAAQAH SAUDI ARABIA

The Intilaaqah programme is part of Shell’s global LiveWire initiative, first launched in 1982 to address youth unemployment in Scotland. Since its inception, the programme has grown rapidly to become one of the industry's largest organizations for young entrepreneurs in the world, with a social network of more than 100,000 members. The Intilaaqah programme, a breakthrough in more than 8 countries in the Middle East, has successfully provided support and guidance to young entrepreneurs for nearly 25 years. Launched in 2010, Intilaaqah Saudi Arabia demonstrates Shell’s commitment to contribute to the sustainable development of the community. In association with partners, Intilaaqah provides free of charge workshops and training sessions.

Learn more about Intilaaqah programme

For media enquiries:

Mr. Nureddin Wefati
Head of Media Relations for Middle East & North Africa
Shell EP International
Tel: +97147055347
Cell: +971562162409
Nureddin.Wefati@Shell.com

Mr. Ali Khan
Spokesperson Middle East & North Africa
Shell EP International Ltd
Tel: +971 4 405 4563
Cell: +971 501 897 480
Ali-nasir.khan@shell.com

Mr. Fahad Bahdailah
External Relations Manager – Saudi Arabia & Bahrain
Cell: +966 540 088 444
Fahad.bahdailah@shell.com

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT SHELL IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Shell in Saudi Arabia is active in refining, in the manufacture of petrochemicals, in the blending and marketing of lubricants, and in aviation refuelling.

Together with local partners, Shell has investments of more than $8 billion in the Kingdom. We employ more than 2,000 staff, the vast majority (80%) of whom are Saudi nationals.

We actively contribute to society at large.

We work together with the Spanish football team FC Barcelona as part of our ‘FutbolNet’ initiative, using sport to teach essential lessons about teamwork, respect and responsibility.

Shell’s Road Safety awareness programme partners with our road safety ambassador prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal. Recently, he interviewed victims of car accidents so that they can tell their heart wrenching stories with the hope of preventing others from having to deal with the same problems.

For the first time, Saudi universities participated in the Shell Eco-marathon this year. This competition challenges young engineers to design ultra-efficient vehicles of the future that consume the least amount of energy. The King Saud University clocked an impressive 99.6 km on one litre of fuel while the Al Faisal University scooped the coveted “Perseverance Award”.