OREANDA-NEWS. On 07 March 2008 Ernst & Young, a leading professional services firm, announced the beginning of the national Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 contest in Russia. This is the sixth year in a row the contest is being held in Russia under Ernst & Young's international program Entrepreneur Of The Year Award. It is aimed at recognizing the outstanding achievements of entrepreneurs in the development of global and national economies.

“The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award contest has been held annually for 22 years now,” said Andrei Pozhalov, EOY Program Director in Russia. “The contest is continually expanding its geographical reach, and today there are regional and national stages in 135 cities in 50 countries. The finest representatives of business take part in the contest — those who have realized their business ideas and achieved success not only at home but in the international arena as well. Since 1986 the contest has involved more than 12,000 bright and talented entrepreneurs from all over the globe and has earned a reputation as the most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The winners of the national contest participate annually in an international competition among the best global entrepreneurs. In June 2008 Alexei Podsokhin, President of the Association Alpi from Krasnoyarsk, the winner of the national Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007 contest, will be representing Russia in the international finals in Monte Carlo. We hope that Alexei Leonidovich will win, taking away the title of best entrepreneur in the world."

We invite entrepreneurs from all the Russian regions who are ready to share the story of their success with the national and global business community. The terms and conditions of participation may be viewed on the Internet at www.eoy.ru. Candidate applications will be accepted from March 3 to April 30. A summation of the contest results and the award ceremony for the winners will take place in November 2008 in Moscow.

The Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award program in Russia is sponsored by the U.S. Russia Center for Entrepreneurship and British American Tobacco Russia. Information sponsors are Kommersant Dengi weekly magazine, Gazeta daily newspaper, Your Own Business monthly magazine, and RIA Novosti information agency.