Bangkok--26 Aug--Brand Now
BNOW.org (Bangkok Now), a Bangkok networking community for startups and SMEs, and a registered social enterprise based in Thailand, announced during a media group interview today at The Work Loft Silom, that The Entrepreneur Now Awards 2016 will be held on November 23rd 2016.
Up for grabs this year are prizes worth over THB 10 million including Baht 1.2 million of PR services from Brand Now, the go to agency for famous brands such as Grab, Lalamove, Eatigo and WearYouWant.
Other prizes includes a survey service YouGov, , a legal consultation service package from Thai Legal Counsels, Co-workspace passes from The Work Loft, a one-year membership from The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, a performance coaching program from AmPerformance, a training seminar from NLP Top Coach, a two 1-day mentorship programs each from Synergia One Group of Companies Founder, Chairman & CEO Fred Mouawad and Conor Bracken, Founder and CEO of Andovar, one year coaching of "Double Your Revenue" by Genius Mind for Gen Y winners in each category, a photography package by Schnellmedia Asia Co.Ltd. and a 6 months free business communication platform from Cloudee.
Supported by OSMEP (Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion), 20 community partners comprising of various international Chambers of Commerce and associations related to entrepreneurs and SMEs, and 4 media partners, the Awards' objective is to promote entrepreneurism, attract investors to Thailand and the ASEAN region, and revitalize the Thai economy and the SME sector.
The Awards is open to entrepreneurs of all nationalities who have a registered business in Thailand (no subsidiary or branch office). They will be judged on (1) uniqueness, (2) vision and potential growth, (3) value in Thailand & ASEAN, (4) eco-sustainability, (5) striking achievements, (6) overcoming challenges and (7) recognition and traction.
"The Awards acknowledges the commitment, hard work, innovation and inspiring stories of Thai and non-Thai entrepreneurs in Thailand," explained Pacharee Pantoomano Pfirsch, Founder of BNOW.org and Chairwoman of ENA 2016.
"Last year, the Award attracted over 100 entrepreneurs representing a wide range of industries including tech, F&B, travel, health, fashion, education, FMCG, sports and construction, among others," added Pacharee, who is confident of more entries this year as a result of the robust support schemes being provided to SMES from the government, banking and private sectors since the beginning of the year.
"As a social enterprise, we want to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem, as we all know that the entrepreneurs' contribution to a country's economy is of immense value and indispensable to the economic growth of a country. According to a recent report by Krungsri Guru, SMEs make up 98.5% of businesses in Thailand and account for some 70% of national employment," said Pacharee.
During the Entrepreneur Summit Thailand 2016 hosted by BNOW.org in July 2016, Salinee Wangtal, Director General of OSMEP said SMEs have been active this year with strong support from the government. Their proportion of GDP rose from 40.9% in 2014 to 41.1% in 2015 and currently stands at 42.3%.
She said the current government has a clear policy to support and develop SMEs so they drive the future growth of the country, with the higher number of SMEs in the service sector, especially tourism, having pushed SME growth to be better than expected.
OSMEP is also developing a plan to further develop and strengthen SMEs, with a focus on adopting new innovations into SMEs' businesses, supporting strong SMEs to penetrate overseas markets and also helping SMEs which are facing financial problems.
This year, Awards will be presented in the following nine categories:
Outstanding female entrepreneur
Outstanding entrepreneur
Eco entrepreneur
Creative entrepreneur (art, fashion, food and other artisanal products)
Innovative entrepreneur (tech, e-commerce, app, online)
Social enterprise entrepreneur
Most entrepreneurial team
SME (50 employees to 100)
Best newcomer
Special prizes will be given to the Gen-Y entrepreneurs (born between the years 1981-1995) in each category sponsored by Genius Mind, the renowned brain training program. Additionally, Schnell Media is sponsoring five prizes for upcoming e-commerce companies.
Judges this year include:
Artima Suraphongchai, Country Manager, iFlix
Ekasith Jotikasthira, Director, Hotelbeds (Thailand) Ltd.
Nicky Surapaitoon, Country Manager Thailand, Tapp Commerce Thailand
Jacky Cheng, CEO and Founder, Genius Minds International Sdn Bhd
Alexandre Dupont, President, Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce
Maik Fuellmann, Consultant, IKI-SEA, Bangkok University
Romain Mathieu, Co-Founder & CEO, Aloe Drink For Life
Voting for ENA 2016 will be managed and monitored by BMRS Asia, a business and marketing research company.
Applications for the Awards are now open until October 31st 2016 through a video and online application on http://entrepreneurnow.asia/. A networking evening will be held on November 2nd 2016 for finalists to meet with the judges and an award presentation will be held on November 23rd 2016.