1. The Rules of Participation
   1. The following Rules of Participation and Terms and Conditions of the BLC Bank Awards: the WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR and the BUSINESS OF THE YEAR (the “Awards”) shall apply to all Participants.
   2. By submitting their registration, Participants agree to be bound by all the Terms and Conditions.
   3. BLC Bank and We Initiative reserve the right to cancel these Awards or amend these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. Any changes will be posted on the BLC Bank and We Initiative websites at: www.blcbank.com www.we-initiative.com
   4. BLC Bank and We Initiative reserve the right to change the format of the Awards at any time.
   5. BLC Bank or We Initiative may at its sole discretion ask Participants for additional information and/or documents to better assess their applications.
   6. In the event of dispute arising in relation to the Awards, whether such dispute concerns the conduct or eligibility of Participants, results and any and all other matters relating to the Awards, BLC Bank, We Initiative and/or the Jury’s decision shall be final. No correspondence or discussion shall be entered into with the Participants and no legal recourse shall be available to the Participants.
2. Conditions of Participation
   1. To be eligible, the participant must have more than 18 years, on the day of submission of his application form;
   2. Each Participant may only apply to one of the Awards and submit one Project. Multiple projects will not be accepted and will result in the disqualification of the Participant.
   3. The Project to be submitted:
      1. Must be an entirely original for-profit business creation;
      2. Must be Original. “Original” means a completely new concept, that is not a buy-back, a copy of an existing business concept, an off-shoot or a subsidiary of an existing business;
      3. Must be a business operational for at least two financial years;
      4. Must be a business with an annual turnover not exceeding USD 5,000,000;
      5. Must be registered in the Lebanese Commercial Registry;
      6. Must not have an activity listed in the BLC Bank Awards Exclusion List;
      7. Must be owned, at least 51%, by Lebanese entrepreneurs for the BUSINESS OF THE YEAR;
      8. Must be owned, at least 51%, by a Lebanese woman for the WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR.
   4. Only one business Leader will be accepted as a participant throughout the Awards, and that person will be the legal representative of the business.
   5. Any BLC Bank employees or anyone professionally connected to this Awards competition are not eligible to enter the Awards. BLC Bank reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all Participants.
   6. Any participant having won Awards previously is not eligible to enter the Awards.
   7. By entering the Awards, you, the Participant, hereby warrant that all information submitted by you is true, current and complete.
   8. Each Participant shall provide and maintain an active email address throughout the Awards period.
   9. The language of the Awards is either in Arabic or English or French.
3. Timing – Submissions
   1. Submissions shall be made in accordance with the requirements provided on the website and the following timetable:
      1. Deadline for submission of application form for the 2013 competition: Thursday, August 01, 2013.
      2. Announcement of the finalists: Monday, September 02, 2013.
      3. Oral presentations in front of the Jury (for finalists only): Period from Monday, September 16, 2013 to    Friday, October 11, 2013.
      4. Announcement of the winner during the BLC Bank Awards Ceremony (date will be communicated at a later stage)
   2. Failure to meet any of the deadlines may result in disqualification.
   3. The application form should be filled completely by the participants. If a question is not applicable, please write "NA". All entries that are incomplete, illegible, submitted through illicit means, or do not conform to or satisfy the criteria or the rules shall be disqualified by BLC Bank. BLC Bank takes no responsibility for delayed, misdirected or late entries.
   4. Any form received after the deadline will NOT be accepted.
4. Participation to Activities/Events
   1. Participants may be required to participate to activities related to the Awards organized by We Initiative or BLC Bank.

      Evaluation Criteria

   2. Projects will be assessed by the Jury in accordance with fixed criteria including but not limited to:
      1. Creativity criterion: Innovation of the project’s idea and concept, its uniqueness and differentiation on the market.
      2. Financial criterion: The profitability and growth rates of the business, the financial impact of the business and the economic opportunities created.
      3. Sustainability criterion: The development strategy of the business, its governance structure and other aspects indicating its chances of long-term success and future growth.
      4. Corporate Social Responsibility criterion: Social opportunities created and impact on environment and society in terms of jobs created and diversity & inclusion in employment structure.
   3. The above criteria will be assessed with the following weights for pre-selection of finalists:
      1. Creativity criterion: 30%
      2. Financial criterion: 30%
      3. Sustainability criterion: 25%
      4. Corporate Social Responsibility criterion: 15%
   4. The Jury will select the winners of the “Awards” among the 6 finalists of each Award, based on the oral presentations.
5. Disqualification
   1. By entering the Awards the Participant accepts the conditions stated in these Rules of Participation, agrees to be bound by the decisions of the Jury and warrants that he/she is eligible to participate in the Awards. In addition the Participant certifies that its entry does not violate any of the Rules of Participation or these Terms and Conditions. BLC Bank or We Initiative reserve the right to disqualify a nomination or a winner discovered to be ineligible.
   2. BLC Bank or We Initiative reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any Participant from these Awards if his or her fraud or misconduct affects the integrity of the Awards. A participant may be disqualified:
      1. if BLC Bank or We Initiative has reasonable grounds to believe the Participant has breached any portion of the Rules of Participation or Terms and Conditions including any of the organizational measures as set out in the Website; and/or
      2. if the Participant is found to be acting in an inappropriate, disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner or with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass any other person; and/or
      3. if there is any attempt by the Participant to deliberately damage or undermine the legitimate operation of the Awards.
   3. Furthermore, any copying of an existing business, plagiarism or copyright violation will result in the Participant’s disqualification. For purposes of these Rules, "plagiarism" means:
      1. Any copying of another person's work that results in the Project not being substantially the original work of the Participant;
      2. Any other conduct that the BLC Bank or We Initiative determines to be of bad faith such as a copy of another existing business, plagiarism or other in its sole discretion.
   4. In addition, any substantial change in the Project may be a cause of disqualification including a change in the Business Leader (the applicant) if he/she is no longer the owner or the main shareholder.
6. General
   1. The winner of the WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR and the winner of the BUSINESS OF THE YEAR will receive each USD 30,000 in funding in the form of a cheque made payable to the official name of the Business. Prize collection details will be communicated to the winner.
   2. Payment of all and any taxes in relation to the winning prize is the sole responsibility of the prize-winning Participant.
   3. Participation in these Awards is totally free of charge, and no participant will be requested to make any direct payment at any stage of this process.
   4. Any and all costs and expenses incurred by Participants in relation to these Awards, unless otherwise stated, will be assumed by them.
   5. The winner’s name and address will be available from BLC Bank building, Adlieh square, 2064-5809 Beirut, Lebanon after November 2012. Results will be posted on the www.we-initiative.com  website and on the www.blcbank.com website.
   6. Winners of all prizes must be willing to participate in publicity surrounding the Awards including the publishing of their details, photographs and video footage which will be made available in all media, including on the Internet. By accepting the prize, the winner agrees:
      1. to take part in interviews including but not limited to magazine, television and radio interviews;
      2. to be photographed for the purposes of promoting the Awards and BLC Bank or We Initiative products;
      3. to participate in the BLC Bank or We Initiative other marketing and promotional activities.
   7. BLC Bank or We Initiative also reserves the right, and you as a Participant agree to feature the name of the winners in future promotions and/or Awards.
   8. The business projects together with any plans submitted will be treated confidentially by BLC Bank, We Initiative and the Jury. Other than a brief résumé of the projects (name of the project, brief description, field), in particular winning projects, destined for the press and the media in general, no other information will be made available to the public without the prior authorization of the Participant. 
   9. However, in spite of the foregoing, BLC Bank or We Initiative and/or members of the Jury cannot be held responsible for information relating to Participants’ projects released to the public by any third party.
7. Liability
   1. BLC Bank, We Initiative or any of the Jury members cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any Participant participating in the Awards or as a result of accepting any prize. Furthermore, BLC Bank or We Initiative will not accept any responsibility resulting from any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, standard mail, etc. resulting in the failure to receive e-mails, telephone messages relating to the Awards and/or other correspondence.
   2. BLC Bank or We Initiative shall not be liable for any interruption or cancellation of the Awards.
   3. This Awards competition is governed by the Lebanese Law.

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