Sir Stelios launches new young entrepreneur awards
Sir Stelios stood down as non-executive chairman of easyJet in the early 2000s but he and his family are still major shareholders in the airline © Stelios Philanthropic Foundation
This is the latest initiative in Sir Stelios’s drive to promote young entrepreneurship.
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation has announced a new award scheme aimed at young entrepreneurs. The new competition will provide a total of £300,000 to support selected UK start-up founders as they grow, with job creation a key objective. Applications are open until 29 February 2024. Winners will be announced in early April by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou himself. Candidates can apply directly on the foundation’s website.
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The Foundation already provides awards for disabled entrepreneurs in the UK (in partnership with Leonard Cheshire, a disability charity). These will continue, and applications for 2024, the 16th year for these awards, will open in May.
The Foundation is keen to support a very diverse range of good causes but specifically ones that are “close to home” in the local communities where Sir Stelios has lived and worked in the course of his career, including the UK of course as in this case, but also in Cyprus and Greece, as well as environmentally-focused initiatives with the WWF and the Prince Albert II Foundation.
Remembering his own experience as a young entrepreneur, Sir Stelios says, “By the time I was 35 years old easyJet.com was already listed on the London Stock Exchange and having revenues of more than half a billion pounds and employed upwards of 3,000 people. With these awards we are hoping to the find and support the next big business success story […] More start-ups are the best way to create more new jobs.”
It is the revenue stream from the “easy” royalties that enables the easyGroup to donate most of its profits to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou receives Ordre de Saint-Charles
Last November, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Honorary General Consul of Cyprus in Monaco, was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint Charles, or Knight of the Order of Saint Charles, by Prince Albert II.
This is the highest distinction that Monaco awards, an even greater distinction than the Ordre de Grimaldi, and it comprises four ranks: Knight, Officer, Commander and Grand Officer, the latter being the highest of the four.