Israeli youngster finalist in 'World Entrepreneur of the Year'
Fadi Elobra from southern town of Rahat establishes Duroos, an educational center for learning English, math, university entrance exams, which operates in number of locations in Negev
Fadi Elobra, 25, from Rahat won the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year title from the Keren Shemesh Foundation and is now a finalist contending for the top title of World Entrepreneur of the Year. About a year and a half ago, Elobra founded Duroos, a learning center for children and adults in Rahat to make up for the lacking educational centers in the south of the country.
Disappointed with the dearth of learning centers in his community, Elobra decided to expand the deployment of educational centers to Arab children. With the help of a loan and professional mentor from the Keren Shemesh Foundation, Fadi was able to establish Duroos, which today is a thriving school that takes in children from three years to 17 years, offering English and mathematics courses, and help with psychometric testing for university entrance exams.
Duroos operates two branches in the south, one in Rahat and one in Laqia.
Elobra's vision is to see the learning centers in every Bedouin village in the region. "Out of recognition of my commitment to the community and my desire to change, advance, and contribute to the development of future generations, I chose to bring quality teaching to the Negev," said Elobra, "with the objective of bringing members of the community closer to their dreams of academic learning and succeeding in life."
Elobra reached the final round in the category of "Entrepreneur of the Year" in a competition run by Youth Business International, the British prince's charity organization that serves as a leadership group for programs supporting young entrepreneurs through developing a global network to help them start their businesses.
YBI helps obtain credit for the young entrepreneurs and provides them with volunteer business advisors and start-up services. The organization's target is to support 100,000 entrepreneurs a year by 2010 that will create employment for thousands of people.
Israel's Keren Shemesh Foundation is part of YBI's initiative. Keren Shemesh was founded with the objective of encouraging young, talented entrepreneurs to found new business in Israel. To this end, it provides young entrepreneurs between the ages of 20 and 35 with close professional training and financial aid of up to NIS 90,000 (about $23,850).
Some 300 entrepreneurs contended in the national competition, out of which only 10 made it to the finals.
"It is an amazing feeling to know that I am successfully changing something in the lives of the children, a change that can really affect their future," Elobra said.
He concluded that in addition to educating local children, he hopes that his entrepreneurial spirit encourages the children to become entrepreneurs themselves: "I feel like I am acting as a model for the younger generation, a role model and inspiration to go after their dreams."
To vote for Fadi Elobra in the competition's People's Choice Award, click here.
