A platform to groom SMEs
Awards have evolved over the years to better support small businesses
REALISING the potential and growth of the SME market and its contribution to the country’s economy, The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) came into the picture in 2010.
Star Media Group Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai said the establishment of SOBA was to promote business excellence and stimulate positive competition whilst showcasing the achievements attained by outstanding businesses.
“We always hope that more entrepreneurs and enterprises recognise that SOBA is a fantastic opportunity to elevate their business position while simultaneously taking a clearer look into their business processes. SOBA understands the important role of local businesses in contributing to the economic development of Malaysia.
“We are glad that SOBA has managed to identify the contributions by remarkable SMEs towards the country’s economic growth and also to put them through the mill to achieve greater accomplishments.
“Awards and events such as SOBA enrich our nation by inspiring and challenging Malaysians to go forth and grab a chance in making their dreams a reality,” said Wong.
Over the years, SOBA has received strong support from various corporations, trade associations and government agencies, all keen to lend a hand in boosting small businesses to the next level.
The awards have indeed become a credible platform to benchmark SMEs and groom them for bigger things.
Previous winners have not only gained wider exposure through their participation in SOBA, they have also been given the opportunity to share their success stories and knowledge with other companies through the many related events organised by Star Media Group.
In keeping up with the times to remain relevant with the industry, SOBA has also evolved over the years. New categories of the awards have been introduced to ensure that businesses of different sizes are benchmarked accordingly.
Among the notable changes over the years include the addition of the ‘Innovation’ and ‘Rising Star’ categories to SOBA in 2011 to recognise the role that innovation plays in pushing a company forward and to encourage companies with potential to go even further. In the same year, the ‘SME of the Year’ award was changed to ‘Business of the Year’ award.
In 2012, the ‘Business of the Year’ award was modified to ‘Malaysian Business of the Year’ award to better reflect the strength of the winner as a homegrown entity. The ‘Malaysian Business of the Year’ award remains a coveted title for many aspiring winners till this day.
2012 also saw a consolidation of the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Rising Star’ categories. Where there were three winners – Platinum, Gold and Silver – for both categories previously, now it is only one Grand Winner for each of the category.
In 2014, the ‘Most Promising’ award was introduced to recognise other finalists that may not have won titles in the other categories but are winners in their own right. These companies deserve to be encouraged to be future award winners.
SOBA has also witnessed previous ‘Most Promising’ recipients become prominent players in later years and have gone on to take home the ‘Malaysian Business of the Year’ award.
The following year, the ‘Male Entrepreneur of the Year’, ‘Female Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ awards were introduced to encourage more female entrepreneurs to come to the fore as well as to acknowledge the contributions of younger entrepreneurs eager to prove themselves.
In 2016, the awards were given out in two-tiers, ‘Up to RM25mil’ revenue and ‘Above RM25mil’, to enable companies of different sizes to compete on a fair ground. The two tiers were very well received by the industry as smaller companies were more emboldened to vie for the awards.
As the SME sector continues to grow and evolve, Star Media Group will remain steadfast in its support for the industry.