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| Abu Issa and others at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 awards in Doha last year |
The awards will be given away at a glittering ceremony to be held at Monte Carlo on June 7-10.
The chairman of the Abu Issa Holding will represent Qatar at the highly acclaimed title among businessmen from over 50 countries.
Abu Issa will be the first Qatari entrepreneur to participate in the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of the Year award programme, to be supported by Enterprise Qatar.
The winners will be inducted into the ‘World Entrepreneur of The Year Hall of Fame’.
Abu Issa was named winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 awards, which were held in Qatar for the very first time in collaboration with Enterprise Qatar, under the patronage of HE the Minister of Business and Trade, Sheikh Jassim bin Abdul Aziz bin Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Abu Issa won the coveted award for establishing one of Qatar’s key retail empires and setting an example for business in his industry.
Enterprise Qatar chief executive officer Noora al-Mannai said: “We’re very happy to see Ashraf Abu Issa raising our country’s flag at such an esteemed and world-class business gathering.
“Together with Ernst & Young Qatar, we have succeeded in positioning a national success story of this innovative entrepreneur who is truly an exemplar for his industry and generation and who has founded a unique business concept not only locally but also abroad.”
Ernst & Young Qatar managing partner Firas Qoussous said: “We are immensely proud to see Ashraf Abu Issa represent Qatar at the award. Being part of this prestigious programme provides entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to build relationships on a global scale with other influential entrepreneurs”.
Abu Issa said: “Being the representative of Qatar in the World Entrepreneur of the Year Award itself is great honour as well as a serious responsibility.”
The 45-year-old Abu Issa holds a BA from the American University of London and was recently certified by the Business School of Harvard for the Owner/President management programme. Taking over a newly-started business at the age of 19 after his father passed away, Abu Issa demonstrated entrepreneurial and leadership qualities to develop his first company into 25 successful companies, going from 36 employees to over 2,000 to date and from one retail store to a 100-shop network, half of which being his very own created concepts. The turnover saw a 100-fold rise since his first step into business.
Abu Issa’s group represents over 250 global brands in fashion, perfume, cosmetics, watches, jewellery, confectionery, leather goods, luggage and electronics. He recently started advising multinational conglomerates keen to enter the Qatari market in infrastructure, construction and utilities.