Emerging Enterprise Awards to highlight resilience in face of Covid-19

Singapore

AMID the unique backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's Emerging Enterprise Awards 2020 will look to recognise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that demonstrate innovation, resilience and sustainability despite the tough circumstances.

The awards, jointly organised by The Business Times and OCBC, are held annually to celebrate and recognise emerging businesses with an enterprising mindset. They are now in their 13th year.

With the impact of Covid-19, businesses have had to pivot and diversify through innovation and resilience.

Wong Wei Kong, editor of The Business Times, said: "Under such unprecedented circumstances, it is extremely imperative that emerging businesses focus on survival, rebuilding and growth in order to ride through these tough times.

"We hope that the Awards, along with its theme 'Innovate, Resilient, Sustainable', will serve as encouragement and inspiration for all the young businesses out there," he added.

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Since 2008, the award has been empowering startups and young enterprises with both recognition and resources to take flight and achieve stellar growth.

The most outstanding businesses will be recognised through four awards: the Emerging Enterprise Award, the Best Innovation Award, the Most Promising Startup Award, and the Sustainability Award.

Christie Chu, head of emerging business and commercial banking cash, global commercial banking at OCBC, said that with the scale of the pandemic different from previous challenges, startups and young businesses have had to adapt quickly to cope with it.

"Many of them have been simply spot-on - showing resilience and the ability to reinvent themselves to emerge stronger," she said. "The Emerging Enterprise Awards aim to give them the due recognition. By showcasing these businesses, we also hope that they can encourage and inspire others to ride out the current crisis."

In order to qualify for the awards, companies must have been in operations for at most 10 years, and a minimum of 30 per cent of shareholdings must be owned by Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents.

They also need to have an annual sales turnover of up to S$20 million as of the last financial year, and be registered as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership or private limited company in Singapore.

Businesses can start to apply for the awards from July 28 to Aug 28. The top 15 finalists will be selected on Oct 14, with the winners to be announced on Dec 9.