The best projects from the “Zharkyra” contest are selected

On 30 Мay and 1 June, the final presentations of social business projects for the contest "Zharkyra" were viewed in Atyrau.

18 semi-finalists presented their projects to the expert committee, which included representatives of EFCA, Tengizchevroil LLP, Chevron, the “Our Future” Fund, and business experts. The selection of the best projects was carried out according to the following criteria: the social significance of the ideas of the project; the effectiveness of the proposed solutions; the sustainability of the project; the possibility of the enterprise’s own contribution; the persuasiveness of the presentation and leadership skills. As members of the expert committee noted, all of the projects are of social importance not only for the Atyrau region, but also for the whole of Kazakhstan.

As a result of the voting, the eight best projects were selected. The authors of these projects are now undergoing the process of due diligence. The announcement and awarding of the finalists will be held on June 23 in Atyrau. The winners will receive an interest-free loan for the development of their social enterprises.

The social projects competition was held for the second year in the Atyrau and Zhylyoi districts as part of the EFCA’s Zharkyra project on the development of social entrepreneurship, implemented with financial support from Tengizchevroil.  After the introductory motivational seminars in February 2017, the Zharkyra organizing committee received 70 concepts from social businesses aimed at solving urgent problems in the city of Atyrau and the Zhylyoi district.

In the first round of the competition, the expert committee selected the 25 best ideas, 18 of which prepared business plans and addressed the expert committee.

The participants were preparing for 2 months, honing their knowledge in business, marketing, and finance. They were trained in the following areas: marketing and sales, finance for non-finance specialists, strategic planning, presentation skills, and public speaking. The trainings were conducted by both local and guest speakers from Almaty and Shymkent.