The Siwa Sustainable Development initiative of Environmental Quality International (EQI) aims to direct private investment in commercial ventures towards sustainable development. Siwa is the largest oasis in Egypt and is located about 70 kilometers east of the Libyan border. The Egyptian Government declared it a protected area in 2002 to stress the importance of the Siwa ecosystem as part of a network of interconnected wildlife refuges. With the support of three IFC programs, including the Environmental Business Finance Program (EBFP), US$1.9 million in loans and grants were provided to EQI to conserve the Siwa Oasis by revitalizing traditional knowledge and practices that sustainably use Siwa's biodiversity, and in so doing, contribute to cultural preservation, bringing benefits to its indigenous community. Specifically, the project seeks to promote several forms of environmentally sustainable livelihoods, including organic cultivation and export of Siwa olives, dates, and herbs; ecotourism; production and export of traditionally-embroidered garments; and installation of biodigesters, which produce both clean energy and organic manure for agricultural production.
The World Business Awards are the first worldwide business awards to recognize the crucial role of the private sector in implementing the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half around the world by the year 2015. It is the fourth time the awards were given.