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Patrick Decuyper, co-founder Enfinity, wins international entrepreneur award

Creative Young Entrepreneur Award of JCI and Flanders DC awarded in Tunisia

Hammamet, Tunisia – 19 November 2009. Patrick Decuyper, co-founder of solar and wind energy company Enfinity from Waregem (Belgium), wins the Creative Young Entrepreneur Award (CYEA), an international entrepreneur award of Flanders DC and JCI. It is surprising that, although the award was established in Flanders (in 2005) through a cooperation between Flanders DC and JCI, it is the first time a Fleming has won it.

At the JCI World Congress in Tunisia, Patrick Decuyper defeated two strong competitors for the title:
• Stephane Ledermann of Smart Air from Luxembourg, a fractional private jet ownership business.
• Peter Williams, a real serial entrepreneur, of the Australian Preneur Group.

About the Creative Young Entrepreneur Award
The CYEA is an annual international entrepreneur award organised by JCI (Junior Chamber International) and Flanders DC. The award honours the best young entrepreneur out of more than 100 candidates from over 20 countries. The competition is open to entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 40. The criteria are the level of entrepreneurship as well as creativity, innovation and corporate social responsibility. In a first stage each country organises local competitions. In Flanders this was JCI Vlaamse Jonge Ondernemer. The local nominations are subsequently forwarded to an international jury, who selects the three finalists.

‘This Creative Young Entrepeneur Award naturally gives us wings, but we fly on solar energy and with both feet on the ground. It is especially an appreciation of the hard work of all Enfinity employees and certainly motivates us to continue our growth and ambition towards a world full of renewable energy’, says Patrick Decuyper, co-founder of Enfinity.

‘Every year, JCI Flanders sends the 3 finalists of the JCI Vlaamse Jonge Ondernemer to the CYEA. The selection criteria of both competitions are more or less the same; creativity and corporate social responsibility are of paramount importance. When it appeared that the corporate world was still sceptical about solar energy, Patrick Decuyper decided to rent company roofs and lands to produce renewable energy. He already was an ambassador for Flanders as a creative region and will now also serve as an example for many young colleagues’, says Edwin Grutman, chairman of JCI Flanders

‘We assisted in the establishment of the competition some time ago to make it clear to Flanders that our entrepreneurs need to compete at world level. It is the first time since the start of the competition in 2005 that a Flemish entrepreneur has gotten so far. This is proof of the creative entrepreneurial talent of Patrick Decuyper. He recently concluded an € 8 billion contract in China on behalf of Enfinity. This demonstrates that he really deserves this international award’, says Pascal Cools, general manager of Flanders DC.