Unicaja collaborates with the Association of Young Business Owners of Cuenca (AJE, Asociación de Jóvenes Empresarios) in the AJE Awards, which were presented to seven young business owners from Cuenca in recognition of their talent, on Thursday, 16 May, in La Moraleja, Villalba de la Sierra (Cuenca). The main award was received by Sara Cebrián, while the other awards went to Elena Garrido, Tania Lafuente, Darío Guerrero, Fernando Moreno, Marta Garrido and Yaiza Eva María Mercadillo.
This is the eleventh edition of these awards that have gone to these young people who, have deserved recognition of their projects in different categories and also serve to make visible the work of young business owners and motivate many others who are on their way.
A total of seven awards were presented, the Young Business Owner Award, as well as one dedicated to the Business Future and five runner-up prizes that recognize aspects in which these companies or their managers stand out: business development, business and technological innovation, internationalization, social impact and circular economy.
In addition, in this edition, a recognition has been added to people who, although not being young business owners, have done a great job in favor of business and entrepreneurship, an award which has been given to Jesus Saiz, posthumously.
The awards ceremony was attended by the President of the Provincial Council, Álvaro Martínez Chana, the Deputy Regional Minister of Employment, Social Dialogue and Occupational Health and Safety, Nuria Chust, the Mayor of Villalba de la Sierra, Beatriz Rodríguez, and the Mayor of Cuenca, as well as the President of AJE Cuenca, Javier Redondo, and the President of CEOE CEPYME Cuenca, David Peña. Unicaja was represented by the regional director, María Martín.
Unicaja's support for this initiative is part of its interest in supporting activities aimed at promoting the business fabric and entrepreneurship in the regions where it operates.
The AJE Cuenca awards are organized by the Association of Young Business Owners of Cuenca and the Confederation of Business Owners of Cuenca and are sponsored, in addition to Unicaja, by the Provincial Council, Sanitas and Granero Diseño y Decoración.
Winners
The Young Business Owner Award, the main prize at this gala, went to Sara Cebrián Parreño, a 32-year-old woman in charge of SCP Ferrallas y Estructuras Metálicas and SC Plamave, a company linked to the building sector in Quintanar del Rey.
The award as Business Future, intended for companies that have less than two years of life in the productive fabric of Cuenca, has been given in this eleventh edition to 33-year-old Elena Garrido Dorado, head of Elena Garrido Nutrición Funcional.
As for the runners-up prizes, the Business Development award went to Tania Lafuente Martínez, from Centro de Estudios Ortega y Gasset Cuenca, the Business and Technological Innovation award went to Darío Guerrero Esteban, head of the company CloudTrip, while the internationalization award was received by Fernando Moreno, from the winery Carril Cruzado, located in Villagarcía del Llano.
Likewise, the Social Impact prize was awarded to Marta Garrido, for Mohbu Mobiliario Humano, located in Arcas del Villar, while the Circular Economy prize went to Yaiza Eva María Mercadillo, 33, for her snail company Helix Snails, in El Pedernoso.
