UNITED

NATIONS

E

Economic and Social

Council

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

Distr.

GENERAL

OPA/AC.21/4

12 October 2001

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COORDINATING UNIT FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

First Forum of Women-Entrepreneurs

Geneva, 22 October 2001

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR

(Note by the Secretariat)

Recognizing the contribution of women-entrepreneurs to the economy of member States, the UNECE Secretariat proposes to establish an Award for Excellent Women-Entrepreneurs in five categories.

The Secretariat has already a commitment of the business community to support this idea and fund Awards. So far, the UNECE has selected as an Award a unique DELANCE bracelet- watch, which is 100% Swiss-made and 100% women-made product. It was designed by Ms. Gisèlle Rufer, President of DELANCE. The intricately hand-carved gold or steel case represents life, energy and harmony. She invented her talisman, or if you wish, a symbol of femininity. The watch epitomizes "Woman's Lifetime", her values and excellence.

Last year Ms. Gisèlle Rufer received the Golden Idea Oscar 2000 from the Swiss Association for Idea and Innovation Management.

The participants of the Forum are kindly requested to make their suggestions in which categories they would like the Awards to be given and select five out of the eight categories listed below:

The Best Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year

for micro and small entrepreneurs, having a positive balance sheet and maintaining a track record for, at minimum, 3 years;

OPA/AC.21/4

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The Most Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year

for entrepreneurs, managing innovative SMEs that apply or produce modern technologies. Special attention will be given to owners, who obtained patents on their new products or utilized a know-how in their products or services;

The Best Entrepreneur in Information Technology

for entrepreneurs, who are the owners of micro and small-scale enterprises that promote learning, application and operation of IT as a basis for the emerging of a knowledge base society;

The Best Entrepreneur in the Service Industry

for micro and small entrepreneurs that provide business advisory, counselling and information services, operating business incubators, and provide services in healthcare, catering and tourism;

The Best Entrepreneur in Craft

for individual craftsmen and micro and small entrepreneurs operating in various fields of traditional craftsmanship, including those, which are crucial for the preservation of national heritage (toys, national garments and clothing, etc.);

The Best "3 R" ( Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Entrepreneur

for micro and small enterprises operating in the field of environment protection and sustainable ecology development;

The Best Entrepreneur representing a minority in a given country

The Best Entrepreneur among entrepreneurs, facing the additional challenges of Physical Disability

The UNECE will undertake further consultations with respective government agencies, women's business associations and NGOs, as well as international organizations and business community, to prepare a concrete proposal on criteria and modalities of the process of selecting and nominating candidates at the national level. The proposal will be put for consideration at the first meeting of the Team of Specialists on Women's Entrepreneurship in February 2002, which is a part of the UNECE Working Party on Industry and Enterprise Development, responsible for policy advising on industry re-structuring, enterprise development and SMEs.

It is proposed to give the first UNECE Awards for Excellent Women-Entrepreneurs during the next the UNECE Forum of Women-Entrepreneurs to be held in 2002.

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