News
The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation
29th September 2014
Publisher of art books in finals of European Business Awards


The publishing house Kurtiak & Ley, 2012 Microentrepreneur of the Year, has joined the ranks of National Champions in the European Business Awards competition, one of the most prestigious European prizes awarded to entrepreneurs.

The European Business Awards is one of the most important competitions for entrepreneurs in Europe. The candidates are chosen by an award committee; they cannot be nominated by others. The National Champions are the next stage and this year we have joined this prestigious group. We will represent Poland in the next round of the competition, from which the best European firms will emerge, says Urszula Kurtiak, co-owner of the publishing house.

The European Business Awards is a competition that has taken place for the past eight years. Its goal is to award the best firms across the European Union. The competition evaluates various aspects of company activities, including relations with employees, clients, and the environment. Also taken into account are innovativeness, responsibility, management style, and community activities. Candidates are chosen by the Award Committee; the next stage are the National Champions, from among whom the best European companies are selected. This year, over 24,000 companies from 33 countries took part in the first stage of the competition.

For over 20 years the publishing house Kurtiak & Ley has published collectible books for bibliophiles. They are printing in limited editions, on handmade and decorated paper, in nearly all languages of the world. The publishing house's unique books have been ordered by the offices of the President and Prime Minister of Poland, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, as well as heads of state around the world. In the 2012 the firm was awarded the title Microentrepreneur of the Year given every year by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation.

The qualifications required for a prestigious plebiscite such as the European Business Awards once again show that firms don't win our Microentrepreneur of the Year competition just by chance, says Krzysztof Kaczmar, President of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation at Citi Handlowy. We award companies that have clearly defined goals and know how to make use of their business potential.

Microentrepreneur of the Year - a competition organized with the support of the Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the Coalition for Microentrepreneurship. The mission of the competition is to promote entrepreneurship, encourage people to start their own businesses, and reward and promote the best of them as examples of effective economic activities. The aim is to reward microentrepreneurs rooted in local communities, successfully running traditional or modern businesses. In the years 2005-2014, 103 microentrepreneurs were awarded.