Citi Handlowy's Kronenberg Foundation Names "Microentrepreneur of the Year 2007"

Bank Handlowy
Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. is one of the major financial institutions in Poland and offers under the Citi Handlowy brand a broad range of state-of-the-art products in corporate, investment and consumer banking. Through its modern distribution channels and a network of over 188 branches, Bank Handlowy services 20,000 corporate customers and 800,000 individual ones. The Bank's group includes Dom Maklerski Banku Handlowego (brokerage house) and Handlowy Leasing. Being a member of Citi enables the customers of Bank Handlowy access to financial services provided in over 100 countries. Further information is available at www.citihandlowy.pl.

Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.


	Printer Friendly Page		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) December 14, 2007 Citi Handlowy Kronenberg Foundation Names "Microentrepreneur of the Year 2007" Warsaw – The Kronenberg Foundation at Citi Handlowy has made its annual award to the winner of the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition. The winner of the third edition of the competition is Halina Kustosz, the founder of kobiety.pl, which is an online portal promoting women in business through the interdisciplinary development of staff, implementation of new technologies, training and support of entrepreneurship. The award ceremony was held today at 3:00 pm in New Connect Room at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The winner of the main prize of PLN 30,000, Halina Kustosz said, "The results of the survey conducted in 34 countries by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor show that in the European Union an average business woman starts up her business before the age of 35, she is educated and she runs a microcompany. Through the portal we want to reach women in Poland and encourage them to take up entrepreneurial activity." In the main category, apart from the title of the Microentrepreneur of the Year 2007 and the main prize of PLN 30,000 for Halina Kustosz, the Jury also awarded three equal prizes of PLN 15,000 in the services and manufacturing subcategory. They went to Mariusz Norkowski from Torun (running a company Konserwacja Zabytków Mariusz Norkowski), Bozena Polak-Stojanova from Siedlce (the owner of Zascianek Polski), and Tadeusz Przymus from Torun (the representative of Polder Company, producing confectionery creams and fillings of kaymak, a creamy dairy product, similar to clotted cream). Three equal prizes were given in the special Beginners category (for entrepreneurs under the age of 32): Bernard Kukolus from Detalus Company (production of high quality architectural models), Janusz Ojrzanowski and Krzysztof Józwik, the owners of Bio-Eco-Bet (producer of biodegradable anti-adhesive coatings) and Mariusz Kowalski from Nadmar (production and sale of plastic seals used for the production of plastic windows). The Microentrepreneurship of the Year Competition promotes and supports this important segment of the Polish economy. "According to the data of UKiE, microcompanies account for 95% of all SMEs, and one fourth of SME employees work in microcompanies," said Adam Grabarczyk, Director of CitiBusiness Product Development Department, who was a member of the award jury. "As a member of the jury I can learn more about the most interesting business initiatives, which reinforces my conviction about the tremendous potential of small business in Poland." Due to a large number of applications, the organizers of the competition created an additional category – Micro – for the smallest entrepreneurs, who employ no more than three employees and whose sales in the year preceding the application to the contest did not exceed PLN 500,000. In this category the prize went to Stefania Krzyk, the owner of a company offering handmade quilts, most probably the only such company in Poland. The winners of the previous years include IVO-Software from Gdynia, producing software and accessories allowing people with impaired vision to use computers (Microentrepreneurship of the Year 2005) and Elzbieta Olszewska, the founder of the interactive Gingerbread Museum in Torun (Microentrepreneurship of the Year 2006). This year the jury of the competition was composed of: Andrzej Arendarski, President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, Adam Grabarczyk (Citi Handlowy) Grzegorz Galusek, President of Microfinance Center, Krzysztof Jaczewski (Micro Fund), Prof. Elzbieta Maczynska (the Warsaw School of Economics), Andrzej Malinowski, President of the Confederation of Polish Employers, Izabela Norek, President of the Micro Initiative Foundation, Piotr Szczepanski, President of the Rural Development Foundation, and Dariusz Zuk, Chairperson of the BCC Student Forum. The Jury received 160 applications. # # # Bank Handlowy Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. is one of the major financial institutions in Poland and offers under the Citi Handlowy brand a broad range of state-of-the-art products in corporate, investment and consumer banking. Through its modern distribution channels and a network of over 188 branches, Bank Handlowy services 20,000 corporate customers and 800,000 individual ones. The Bank's group includes Dom Maklerski Banku Handlowego (brokerage house) and Handlowy Leasing. Being a member of Citi enables the customers of Bank Handlowy access to financial services provided in over 100 countries. Further information is available at www.citihandlowy.pl. Citi Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.