The Malta Independent on Sunday
Best Entrepreneur Business Awards Gala
Malta’s Best Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2017 a great success with approximately 500 business leaders celebrating entrepreneurship in the Maltese business community
George Carol Malta’s Best Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2017™, organised by MBR Publications Limited (MBR), in partnership with the Malta Business Review and The Malta Independent on Sunday honoured remarkable leadership and saluted game changers of business in Malta for their continuing commitment to excellence, developing best practices and innovative strategies.
MBR is proud to continue the tradition established by the awards that define and celebrate vision, the spirit of achievement and excellence in business leadership in Malta. These awards distinguish and honour leaders who have contributed and shaped the Maltese economy, and are visionaries behind today’s outstanding businesses.
Winners of the awards exemplify the best in Maltese business leadership. They epitomize the core values of a successful leader, strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight – values that are imperative to carve out powerful business in a Maltese, as well as an EU/global economy. This year’s edition was by far the largest ever organised at this level and congratulations go to the organisers for the perfect way they carried out this mammoth task. As Johan Zammit, Director – Strategic Initiatives with NETREFER, aptly defined the talented and committed hard working players, “First of all a BIG well done on the organisation of the Malta’s Best Entrepreneur Awards. I am telling you this not because we won the best overall but because it was well organised and it is great to see that thanks to your efforts we have a platform to celebrate entrepreneurship in Malta. Many of the speeches on Friday mentioned the key role of Innovation for Malta and for its entrepreneurs. I must laud you for taking the lead in this and consider Mr Vella an innovator with great vision.” In October, NetRefer took the initiative to promote innovation and organise the Malta Innovation Summit at the Westin Dragonara.
Business owners and representatives mingled with judges, CEOs, C-level executives, business owners, venture capitalists, and members of the community throughout the celebration. Thirty-two awards were presented during the evening, preceded by a dinner prepared by James Caterers Limited.
“This is a really unique event because of the nominations and voting and deliberation it takes to determine who the winners are. We start planning well in advance. I think April was the first time our committee sat down and had a meeting,” said MBR’s executive director Margaret Brincat.
MBR’s managing director Martin Vella, who pioneered the annual Awards, said: “We have put in a great deal of planning, effort and minute organisational details, which are evident as you can see all around you here in the beautiful setting of Verdala Castle. We have built our reputation by giving our customers more than they expect to get, and this is by far Malta’s largest locally organised gala award ceremony, with the greatest entertainment value!” Mr Vella struck partnership deals with various sponsors, including Michael Debono Limited, agents of Toyota vehicles.
In his welcome speech, Patrick Clark, general manager of Continental Cars Ltd said, “As a motor vehicle import and distribution organisation, it is our role to provide the business community with the right backing. This year we felt that a genuine awards programme which recognises such brilliant achievers and celebrate them in an annual event which brings together the major business companies to work and network together under one roof, was the right vehicle for us to sustain. From experience, it is perhaps better to address fundamental issues of business literacy, understand the social context under which different cultures operate and keep always in mind that no one embarks on an enterprise for the express purpose of failing. It is the failure to plan, understand market conditions and properly manage finances and resources that are the likeliest contributors to an early demise for many companies.”
Mr Clark added: “We have learnt through successive award programmes that it is not about making money more accessible to people with very little by way of collateral but rather, giving and growing knowledge because money follows knowledge and not the other way around. That is why we teamed up with MBR, as we endorse and also practise the same work ethics and believe in promoting entrepreneurship.”
Simon Debono also addressed the guests saying that, “the awards have been inspired by the need to recognise Maltese business leadership, and acknowledge outstanding business leaders for their continuing commitment to excellence in Malta. This year, the awards grew into 32 business segments, or categories, – making them the most comprehensive awards programme which brought together all nominees from different working backgrounds and it was the pleasure of Simon Estates to celebrate and support such high powered events.” The awards ceremony and gala dinner included a one-hour show which was broadcast on Super One TV.
During the event, the organisers, in keeping with their CSR credo, raised the sum of €2,700 in a collection made for the Community Chest Fund, which was later presented to President Coleiro Preca.
Celebrating its seventh year, the awards have become synonymous with recognising the best in business leadership in Malta and continue to grow in stature. This year the organisers planned an ambitious non-stop show and awards ceremony, which was extremely well received by over 500 guests attending the grand finale. The entertainment included two stages set up against a spectacular natural green environment as well as a medieval backdrop, with special lights effects, lasers and sky beams. George Curmi (Il-Pusè) and his Quartet jazz band in attendance, fire eaters and fire jugglers from Fireplay Malta, a 25-piece dance group from Analise Dance Studio, with two extravagant performances conducted by Analise herself; a special show by the amazing Lorenzo the Magician and the award winning roving magician Brian Role’, followed by the awards. The show was hosted by TV personalities Stephanie Spiteri and Ian James Vella (Janvil).
The Special Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed to non-other than Enrico Zammit of Neriku Limited, inventor, thinker, confectioner and F&B specialist. The Chairman’s Value Award was awarded to Kenneth de Martino from DataByte Limited, while the Best Entrepreneur Award for Excellence was presented to Noel Borg of Manarinu Limited.
“We now close a chapter and open another,” said Mr Vella. “We start our work for the Malta International Boats & Yachting Awards as well as Malta’s Best in Business Awards, which shall be twice as large as tonight’s, so a lot of work needs to be done till the end of the year. As soon as we finish one event, another begins.”