Sherif El Ghamrawy was declared the Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Egypt at a plenary session of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

Ghamrawy is the founder of Basata Ecolodge, a social business, and the complementary non-profit, Hemaya.

Zeinab Al Momani, founder and chairwoman of the Sakrah Women’s Cooperative, was awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Jordan.

The awards were presented by chairperson of the Schwab Foundation and Ibrahim Dabdoub, CEO, National Bank of Kuwait and chair of the Arab Business Council, in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid M. Rachid.

In her speech at the WEF, Schwab referred to the social entrepreneur candidates as a “vital and essential part of society in the Middle East” and noted that “while they have built profitable and sustainable institutions, their primary motivation is not profit maximization, but maximizing the benefit for society and the environment, often revolutionizing entire industries or creating systemic change in the process.”

El Ghamrawy has fought relentlessly for the sustainability and conservation of Egypt’s natural resources on both land and sea. He is the founder of two complementary organisations.

In addition, 12 leading social entrepreneurs from the Middle East, the US, Germany and Australia are also actively participating in the sessions of the WEF on the Middle East in Sharm El Sheikh. – TradeArabia News Service